Transvestia

though I know she is happy and stable, I'm afraid.

It looks like we are going to "make it" though, in spite of everything, including my doubts. We are cer- tainly grateful for Virginia's help and shall be for yours, too, if you have some time. Thank you.

Dear

H

I received your letter via Contact" and Virginia a few days ago and have read it over several times to be sure that I understand clearly the questions you ask. I have written to several wives of TV's in the past trying to help them to a better understanding of what seems to be a very difficult problem. Since I am not profession- ally trained in these matters I can tell you of the relation- ship between my husband and myself and hope you will find some answers through my own experiences.

When my husband told me of his desires, I was of course somewhat shocked because I really had little knowledge of Transvestism. I knew he had been deeply troubled for some time and I felt very happy when he finally decided to share his problem with me. I felt that although the desires to dress as a woman were uni- que it wasn't after all, harming anyone except him and that was only because of guilt in hiding things and feelings. It seemed to me that TVism was no worse than any number of problems that could arise in a marri- age and so, a solution could be found. I also deeply believed that should I have this problem or something similiar my husband would be there to help me and would try very hard to understand. So from this point we took a step at a time; first some clothes that fit, then the make-up, and finally the hair piece.

It wasn't easy for either of us especially in the beginning when we knew so little about the subject. We both read articles and discussed the subject over and over trying to find some answers to our questions. At first it seemed important to catagorize or "pigeon hole" his desires and as we came across words like Transexual, deviate. Drag Queen, etc., it became important to realize that no one is exactly anything specific and certainly he wasn't abnormal just because he wanted to

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