65.

-FURTHER COMMENTARIES AND IDEAS

Dear Editor:

Your exposition in the January issue, of forces mak- ing for Transvestite behaviour, is, in my judgement, the most profound, accurate, helpful and by far the finest monograph ever published on the subject, Other psycholog- ists and psychiatrists have given some attention it is true to the subject of transvestism, but it has been mostly a peripheral attention, and their explanations have grown largely out of trying to fit transvestism into their under- standing rather than to come to grips primarily with the specific phenomenon of transvestism and evolve an under- standing primarily of it, I believe this article of yours stands alone at the present time in the understanding of transvestism and should be in the hands of every psycho- logist and psychiatrist in the country. I hope the article will be republished in one of the professional journals.

Several items came to mind as I read your masterful presentation. On e concernes the Plains Indians of the USA Apparently there was a rather high incidence of transvestism among the males, and it has been thought that the excessive demands made upon masculine endurance and aggressiveness--running the gauntlet, tribal initia- tions, the rather commonplace brutality of inter-tribal warfare, etc. was a direct factor în inducing some of the young males to choose instead the female status with- in the tribe. Apparently this choice could be made with- out the social difficulties visited upon a 20th century American male making the same choice. Also, I have heard that in some sections of the Phillippine Islands, a mother may choose to bring her son up as a girl if, in her op- inion he does not show in early years the qualities of aggressiveness, strength, etc., required for a successful masculine life there. I understand that this choice is usually made in early years, probably by the age of six. Do you have any further knowledge of this? My information is only hearsay on the Phillippine matter.