Mr. Rogers' Transgenderhood

Mr. Rogers was one of my favorite shows growing up.  I watched religiously.  I loved Mr. Rogers and all his friends.  All of his friends except for Lady Elaine Fairchild.  I hated her.  I hated her voice, I hated her nose, I hated her hair - overall, she was the shows' ace 'sandbagger'.

The picture in the last post of Andy Warhol, conjured my memory of Lady Elaine.  As I pull up this picture to revisit my feelings for her - I am overwhelmed with commentary.  Let us have a look, shall we?

There are so many things wrong with Lady Elaine Fairchild, I just don't know where to begin.  For starters, who are we kidding?  This ain't no Lady.  This right here, is Boy George after a failed attempt at Mt. Everest.  Was Lady Elaine confused about where to put his lipstick?  Where are his shoulders?  Why is his nose 6 inches long, and that tip...that tip is about ready to fall off.  Did they think Lady Elaine Fairchild would improve ratings?  I'm sorry, but this Queen was in the WRONG HOOD. 

So by the time Poltergeist came out, I was already really put-out with red noses and lips and perfectly arched eyebrows on men pretending to be women.  This movie is responsible for many wasted hours of my youth; checking under my bed, leaving doors open for an escape route, and demanding my grandmothers dolls be put away before my visits.

The difference here is that the Poltergeist clown was not supposed to be cute.  They didn't need to go ruining a perfectly decent and friendly clown and every birthday party I attended in the 80's.  They could have just used Lady Elaine Fairchild.