CONJECTURE

by Tecla (38-M-2)

the rest of the world knew what we know about transvest- ism, it is entirely possible that one of these days we might be an economic force. Fanciful though the idea may seem (and IS) let's dwell on it and see how it would come about and what would be the results.

The scene is in the home office of a large chain of women's apparel shops. With some astonishment, the president is going over the books with his man- ager. She has just told him of the increasing number of sales to men, adding, "...and just the other day, one of our girls in Cleveland said one of her male customers admitted that he was buying the clothes for himself!"

Now the president ponders. As he studies the upturning curve on the sales chart before him he asks, "You say that you believe that this increase is be- cause your clerks never ask embarrassing questions of the men?" "Absolutely", she replies. "At first, I wanted to make our stores easier for men to patronize when gift shopping. I issued an order for all our girls to be as helpful as poss- ible to the masculine clientele. And it has worked! More and more men are shopping in our stores!"

The wheels start to turn. Special test sales are arranged in selected mar- kets; the results are encouraging. Then, gingerly, a new product for men is announced; let us say it is a specially designed panty girdle. This is even more encouraging! Other people in the industry get word of what is going on and, as inevitably happens when competition appears, a committee within the industry is formed to keep the ball rolling for the good of all. Leading manufacturers of women's clothing organize a campaign to promote the wearing of their products by everyone! Why not? It would double their market.

Soon transvestism is the talk of the nation. Its pros and cons are debated throughout the country. Plans are made to counteract the advertisements of the men's clothiers; and then (Oh Happy Day!) in thumbing through your favorite magazine, you just MIGHT come across an advertisment like this:

Post Script:

You don't think it will ever happen?

Frankly, neither do I. But, we can dream, can't we?

Tecla (38-M-2)