Kissing the Mask: femininity in Japanese culture
* Last Updated: September 09. 2010 9:37PM UAE / September 9. 2010 5:37PM GMT
Vollmann's book explores feminine gender roles in Japanese theatre, through fascinated Western eyes.
Kissing the Mask
William T Vollmann
http://www.thenational.ae/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20100910/REVIEW/709099990/1008 (http://www.thenational.ae/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20100910/REVIEW/709099990/1008)
In one striking example, that is far more detailed than even the following quote suggests, the author hires, expensively, a Japanese make-up artist, Yukiko, who caters to cross-dressers and ->-bleeped-<-s at $700 (Dh2,600) a pop, to try on a female guise himself.
"Who am I?" Vollmann asks, once the elaborate makeover is complete. "My reddish-gold hair spills down to my breasts, so soft and golden in its highlight, matching my new eyebrows. I have pearly-pale skin – no, actually I seem to be a rather hard-skinned woman; the creases in my face show more and more; soon my stubble will overpower the concealer; at least I possess a bright glowing smile. (Thank goodness I recently got my teeth cleaned.)"