COVER GIRL from "DOWN UNDER"

by JOAN of AUSTRALIA

and

Two nights ago correctly and quietly dressed in my din- ner suit, I squired a girl to a formal ball; tonight I start typing the story of my transvestism, and I am wearing a pale blue twinset, straight white skirt and white high heeled court shoes My feet are tucked femininely under the chair in a way that I would never affect when dressed as a man, I can feel the nylon hem of my slip caressing the finer nylon of my stockings, I am wearing little makeup, just pancake foundation, powder and lipstick and my long brown hair is 1008 ly held in place with a white ribbon, If I were writing this for any audience other than the readers of TRANSVESTIA all this would require far more explanation, far more defensive forestalling of the "wrong ideas" and would still stand very little chance of a sympathetic hearing. Writing as I am for people whose experiences must parallel mine exten sively I am freer to explore the motives and results of my delight in feminine clothing.

It started when I was very young indeed, around four, but then it simply took the form of a wish that I could be a girl and wear pretty frocks, a wish that probably started with my sister's dressing me in her frocks much as she dres- sed her dolls. Again, it may have been due to the fact that my father was often away from home and the only company I had was that of my mother and sister (we lived very isolated). But it was not a continuous and consistant desire Later in my childhood I forgot the desire to be a girl, and lived a perfectly ordinary, rought and tumble, tree-climb- ing boyhood, It was not until I was fourteen or so that I started once more to feel a desire to dress as a girl. At that time I had no opportunity to do more than slip my sis- ter's shoes on, or pose in a skirt in front of a mirror for a moment. Nor had I the money for cosmetics, so would paint my lips with water paint.

Much of my dressing at this time centered around a pair of high heeled silver sandals of my sister's and I would put