She Man movie on Amazon's Prime Video streaming service

We're grateful to a gentleman in the US who alerted us to a title in the roster of old films on Amazon's Prime Video streaming service. She Man tells the story of a dominating woman who conscripts a recently discharged soldier to dress as a maid and serve her at home.

We're not going to comment on the acting, costumes, script, settings or photography. We can quibble about shortcomings elsewhere. But making this film in 1966 says a lot about the vision, insight and audacity of its creators. [In the 1980s, director Bob Clark earned success with his Porkys franchise.]

Opening and closing scenes show a doctor/expert sitting behind a desk speaking academic platitudes that pretend the motif of the film is exploration of alternative lifestyles. He preaches “acceptance” of those who resist pressure to conform.

From our 21st century view of the film, it's obvious that the literary cloak of science and tolerance intends to insulate the opus from characterization as sexploitation. This script component mirrors the page-2 disclaimers of pin-up booklets that assert — usually inside the covers, not on the cover — the intent of all this female nakedness is provision of a guide for photographers, models and artists. The film was advertised to attract individuals who were interested in looking at transvestites.

What makes this movie relevant to Fetish Nostalgia is its similarity to the 1963 Selbee booklet titled Forced Femininity, which we've been selling in ebook form for more than 10 years. Numbered C-20 in Mr. Burtman's Connoisseur Series, the comic was authored by Gene Bilbrew, the dramatist, story-teller, costumer, and dialogist of the tale.

In this implausible narrative, transvestites are connected to each other by an obscure history that ended before the comic's action begins. The plot involves blackmail, disguise and an unexpected exposure among characters who change their sexy fetish apparel often.

Between the She Man film and Mr. Bilbrew's story, we find multiple similarities.

1.
The villain is named Dominita/Domineeta.

2.
In both, a pretty blond assists with cross-dressing the trapped male and, through conversation, learns about his motivations and convictions.

3.
In both, the male is heterosexual, and says so.

4.
The captive in lace defeats his oppressor by exposing, with a photograph, that Dominita/Domineeta is male.

The narrative ends when the man in a short dress usurps the villain, a clever plot twist. The cross-dresser is exonerated by the fact that he likes girls, an essential quality for any American hero in 1966.

While the Rose/maid character of the film may not sparkle like today's poly-genderous glam queens, the work has value as an artifact of mid-century curiosa that skewered the envelope of convention. It takes some imagination for us to remember an era when the only place you could see a feature film was a theater.

You may be able to see the movie at https://bynwr.com.

She Man Movie Trailer