Transvestia

their sons wear kilts, dresses, or pinafores when the boys misbehaved. There were also letters from men who had been subjected to one or more of these conditions when they were children, some claiming that he liked the experience, some claiming that they were humiliated. Conversely there were letters pointing out the harmful effects of dressing boys in girl's clothes.

I don't know why I was so excited over this contro- versy, but I was very disappointed when the subject was finally dropped from the "Letters" column. I think per- haps I was relieved to find that my own childhood was not so rare, and that there were quite a few others who as little boys had been dressed as girls. I would have liked to have contacted some of these people, but na- mes and addresses were not printed by the paper. It is also possible on later consideration that some of the let- ters were fictitious, sent in by people who wanted to keep the discussion going.

Another developement about this time was that a sort of "beatnik" influence was beginning to prevade some of the London colleges. It was not now uncommon for college boys to affect long shaggy hair, frequently accompanied by scruffy beards. This opened a potential aid to my own inner desires, for I saw a chance to have long hair again without being considered a "queer".

Digressing from the story again, I will try to explain some of my feelings. I think I must have a sort of fet- ish inclination, rather than pure TVism as I understand it, for long hair is much more desirable to me than fe- minine costume by itself. I believe from reading the psychology books that there are hair fetishists who have a compulsion to cut girl's hair and snatch pigtails. This thought is repugnant to me. For I could not dream of cutting a girl's long tresses. It seems somehow like de- stroying a beautigul painting or smashing a sculpture. I like to see girls with long hair, and as a generality the longer the hair, the more attractive they are to me. I do not mean that this is the only consideration that I can not be attracted to a girl merely because she has beautiful hair, but given two equally attractive and de- sirable girls, one with a short crop and one with flowing tresses, I should prefer the latter. I think most short