77.

are true precisely because it is the male in us that makes us yearn toward the female and which, therefore, enjoys the satisfaction of joining and entering the feminine world even though it is done symbolically. It is the male who sees the female as good, virtuous, beautiful and desireable. It is our maleness that drives us toward the boudoir and makes us want to merge with the feminine. Once we remove our maleness and drive via surgery we would no longer feel thses motivations and the victory would be hollow. We would after great pain, cost, and struggle have arrived at a destination having in effect forgotten why we strove to get there and yet being unable to return whence we

came.

No, my sisters, if you harbor the idea of surgery and at the same time qualify as a Femiphile by the definition previously given--FORGET IT! You reach toward it now be- cause you see it as a condition in which you can be your beloved self with no social restrictions, in which you can you feel be "free". But you must realize that the desire- ability of this wonderful feminine state exists in your mind wholely and solely. BECAUSE YOU ARE A MALE with male hormones coursing through your system in effect telling you that the opposite sex is wonderful you are driven to reach out toward it. But--NO HORMONE--NO DRIVE TOWARD THE FEMALE--NO APPRECIATION OF THE FEMININE--ERGO NONE OF THE SATISFACTIONS THAT YOU NOW ENJOY! NO, surgery is not the answer--we just have to make the best of the situation we find ourselves in, and one of the most important steps in this direction is to come to understand as much as we can about the problem in general and ourselves in particular. When we can be objective rather than subjective about it we are in a way to begin to get some peace of mind about it. The lot of the Femiphile is a difficult one. He must be constantly striving toward something he cannot obtain, knowing all the while that if he attained it he wouldn't really want it because he wouldn't be the same HE that was striving for it in the first place. Like many other things in life, it is the struggle toward and the reaching for something that provides the thrill and the satisfactions. Achieving the ultimate goal is a momentary and passing thrill