a needed excuse not to blame herself. She accepted the unalterable conditions of my sexuality a little reluctantly, and was also hurt not having been the first person told. On the bad side, though; even when I was young and very much the hippy in the 60's guardian had always seemed my ashamed of me, for no reason except that she didn't like long hair and rock and roll and other things a younger parent might have recognized as a part of a child's adolescence. So I could hardly expect her to take pride in having a new granddaughter she'd always thought of as her grandson. Her acceptance of me, then, verges more nearly to tolerance. Hers, then, was the worst reaction, and even hers was quite mild.

Uncle Wilbur. My mother's brother and I never did get along. If anything, he has grown more tolerant of me since my change.

Uncle Bill. My father's youngest brother didn't recognize me for a whole hour after I was Introduced to him by my new name. When his mother, my other grandmother, couldn't stand it any longer, she prodded him to try to remember where he'd met that girl before. At last he made a flabberghasted recognition and, laughing, said that I missed my calling and he'd been thinking what a good looking chick I was. His wife, from South America, pushed on my padded bra without embarrassment, and asked what was in there.

Another Uncle reacted basically Indifferently. In no case, please note, did anybody treat me less respectfully than before. It may have been harder if I'd been going "back and forth" the way transvestites do, but in these early stages of my change, I do not think I was much more skilled or perfect or attractive as a lot of transvestites who might expect the same range of reactions from others.

Teenage Cousins have without exception been supportive. I think the older generation is becoming more tolerant and understanding of things because they

are emulating their open-minded sons and daughters.

Aunt Ellen asked very snidely, When are you going to get out of that dress and start acting like a man?" Oh well, Not everyone is going to go along with things. Only one other woman, related, has ever had a similar reaction. In both cases, the women had low IQs and had spent time in mental institutions. No one of average intelligence has seen the value in hurting my feelings, so the few bad apples are easier to overlook.

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My Mother received a studio portrait in the mail. Later wrote to ask if I were homosexual or just goofing off. She added that it wouldn't make any difference. She didn't raise me, does not know me, and I haven't seen her since my "change". She says in her letters, that she supports me. But she is too far away have a chance to really understand.

Grandmother, father's side. My dad's mom has accepted me for myself without the tiniest qualm. I can't express her understanding enough. She thinks I'm "cute as a bug's ear" and she likes to pinch my butt the way she does all the young women in the family.

My oldest sister digs me but is jealous of my wardrobe, saying things like, "When you're tired of that dress, I'd like to have it". So we trade clothing sometimes.

My father has reacted the best by far. He has given me jewelry from his trips in the orient, and so does my step-mom. They take me dining and encourage me socially, personally, Intellectually and in every way they

can.

My father's side of the family all apparently had a loving and reasonably healthy unbringing People from an excellent environment are bound to be open minded and understanding. My mother's side, however, were mostly from very poor and unhealthy backgrounds. Families were too large houses ill kept, property littered. This side of my family was

mostly "tolerant" while my father's side was "accepting". But both sides reacted more often positively than not, so all kinds of people from radically varied backgrounds are apt to display compassion to à TV or TS in the family.

But what of friends outside the family? Are "allowances" made for someone who is not a relative?

Without exception, those that I truly considered close friends were no less close when I "came out". A very few acquaintances who never were counted as close friends were eventually to cease being acquaintances, but many thers took their place.

Joanne was my first lover, long before my change. We had long before ceased to sleep together, but remained fast friends. She was entirely sympathetic throughout my change.

Karen was an Amazon who kept me as her "wife" after my change. We loved each other, but we were opposites in everything and fought constantly. It may be that she eventually became selfconscious about me, but I think there were other reasons for our eventually breaking up. We remain close friends.

James was my first male lover whom met during the hard part

of my change. He always tried to be helpful and seemed to love me, but I think he was mostly homosexual, and the more female became month by month, the less interested he became.

Foreman at work. Yes! My boss at a job in a factory knew. I went through my change while maintaining the same job. My boss' main reaction was to laugh good naturedly and say, "You son of a bitch!" not in a derogatory

manner.

Fellow employees. Because of some fantastically beautiful women friends in my life, there was a false rumor at work that I was some kind of stud even though I looked kind of like a faggot.Gossip in factories is always as heated as in an old lady's quilting bee. Considering their previous rumors, they were vastly amazed to find me turning into a

woman before their very eyes. became an instant celebrity and liked it at first, but later I felt like a freak In a show, and I quit the job not because of the pressures they put on me, but simply because I wanted to find an environment where everyone did not know about me. I wanted to be accepted as a woman first, not a transsexual.

I don't suggest you tell your employers of course, but if it were necessary, it does NOT go without saying that you'11 FOR SURE be fired. But still, my experience might be somewhat relaxIng.

Where I live there are no laws against cross-dressing, so I was not bothered by the law during that period when it was possible for me to be "read" as different from other women. When stopped by a policeman for a traffic violation, and he ended up asking all about TS and TV instead of about the traffic violation, and he let me go without the ticket. In other states, the laws might be different, or the police more red-neck.

Perhaps had good luck so often because I was at least minimally attractive from the start and became more attractive as I learned more about my own womanhood. Some TVs or TSS might have harder times than me. But from my experiences, I find that it is easy to be accepted, and to become more accepted as time goes If you're guilt ridden and ashamed, though, don't expect others to overcome your guilt for you. Your feelings about yourself will be reflected by the people around you. So feel good about yourself, and others will feel good about you too.

on.

I did not pick and choose only the people who reacted kindly. This article reflects the full range of the attitudes I generally felt from everyone, and usually those attitudes were on the fayorable side.

For those of you considering telling all and coming out, this article should show you that it can be a rewarding thing to do.