Transvestia

femininity as homemakers and they continued to be fed the same line of pap not only by the commercial interests but by numerous psychologists, sociologists, doctors, etc. who tried to make them happy in this role. But more and more women over the years began to feel vaguely and uneasily aware of what the Author calls, "The Pro- blem That Has No Name. This was her way of referring to the intangible unhappiness that vast numbers of women felt without knowing exactly what it was.

As she develops the book she shows that the uneasi- ness and emotional symptons, the physical ails and com- plaints that appeared more and more frequently among women were really due to the fact that they felt somehow unfinished and unfulfilled as human beings in this idea- lized, mystical housewife-home maker role. There was too much left out of their lives, too many needs unsatis- fied, too many abilities and talents allowed to waste a- way and this was the cause of the problem and it's symp- toms. She goes on to enumerate case after case of women who, feeling this uneasiness, went back into some sort of productive satisfying work in addition to homemaking and who were, so to speak "cured" of their uneasiness.

Well what, you may say, does a book review and an editorial on the problems of women have to do with our field and why am I spending time on it? The answer is clear once you ponder it a bit. This book was written by a woman about women and their problems in trying to be full, contributing, satisfied, productive human beings. The answer is made very clear in the book namely, that living half a human life is frustrating and irritating and results in many psychic, physiological and social symp- tons and disturbances. So who is going to write a book on the Masculine Mystique and the frustrations and psy- chosomatic disturbances that George and Harry have be- cause they too are trying to live up to an artificial and unsatisfying role forced on them by society.

It seems to me that all of you who read TRANSVESTIA and myself are collectively so-to-speak writing such a book. Unfortunately it is not yet in organized printed form though a collection of my editorials would make a good beginning. The point of it all is that the masculine mystique in our culture is an unsatisfying one too.

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