Most of the afternoon, I wanted to take a nap. Not exactly as easy as it sounds when you're slaving over a hot computer at work. When I got home, I almost dozed off in the middle of "Buffy," but I wanted to see how the story resolves. The second the "scenes from next week" were finished I darted to the bedroom and went to sleep and woke up an hour later.

Gender identification and transgender role-playing is a vastly complex subject. Some men get their kicks by dressing up in silk undies in private. Some want to dress up as women in public. Some want hormone shots. Some become female. Some are hetro but appear effeminate. Some are gay and appear effeminate. For some it is sexual turnon. For some it's an attempt to find the true person. For some it is a matter of pure or not so pure commerce.

My quess is that each person possesses a number of different gender identification attributes. And the same person may be at different points for each attribute. Even being very masculine for one, but feminine for another. You might not have the least interest in draging but be capable of admiring feminine clothing.

Actors not infrequently portray women in movies and television. Jack Lemmon and Tony Curtis in "Some Like It Hot" are wonderful. As is Dustin in "Tootsie." Milton Berle is reknown for his drag roles on tv, even appearing in drag in a Ratt music video. But part of the fun is knowing that it's a man dressed as a woman.

Several superb performances occur to me of transgender role-playing in a serious context. In "The Crying Game," a man plays a woman, and most people had no idea. In "The Year of Living Dangerously," Linda Hunt plays a man, and won a supporting actress Academy Award. Not for one second did it occur to me that it was a woman until I saw the credits. And the very recent "Boys Don't Cry" is another example.

I guess in the "purer" sense of drag, RuPaul is head and shoulders above everyone. Several weeks ago, I heard an interview with him on NPR's "Fresh Air." First off, I didn't catch the first minutes, so I had no idea who it was. The voice was totally unfamiliar. He talked about winning drag contests in NYC and trying to use that as a wedge into regular show business but to no avail. He said he then realized he needed to do what he did best, which was to be "a fierce drag queen." RuPaul has certainly been the first person to be able to use the drag image in advertisements, which I've seen but can't remember, including one for a brand of computer.

Although I'd heard of Lypsinka, I first saw her in an HBO movie, "Witch Hunt." In which she plays, Vivian Dart, the owner of a very high class bordello in 50s Hollywood. A non-comedic role that was very effective. (I love the name "Vivian Dart.") In "Dragtime," he discussed growing up in Halzehurst, Mississippi. Curiously enough, Emmett of QAF talked about growing up in Halzehurst, Mississippi. Another sly inside joke, no doubt, which makes me like QAF even more.

PAX!