Transvestia

into a beautiful female, to live a life as a woman leads it that many TV's would be tempted. However, I'm sure that most of them would be very disappointed, and would long to be men again. Society and nature put many res- trictions on women that men would find it difficult to adjust to. When you say you honor women by wanting to be like them you must remember that you are selecting those aspects of femininity which appeal to you and discarding the rest. A woman cannot do this and may have difficulty accepting or understanding the concept of the woman that you are trying to portray.

Much has been written speculating as to why a man becomes a transvestite. All I can do is speculate too. It seems logical that environmental facturs are the most important. And since the personality is to a major extent formed in the first few years of life it is most likely that the parents, or those adults who act as parents for the child, are the prime influence in this development. I believe that the child evolves the idea that being a girl is a better deal, or at least in his particular situation he would be better off as a girl. How many in their case histories state that their father was the dominent figure in their household and that the mother played the feminine passive role. But appearances can be deceiving and it is difficult for an adult to look back to his pre-school days and evaluate his thoughts or the emotional climate of his house at the time. A seemingly passive mother may still subtlely dominate her masculine husband getting her own way, pushing him beyond his capacities, criticizing him in front others, making him spoil her and withholding her physical love. She may at the same time 'seduce' her young son towards femininity by overprotection, being overdemanding of his love and acting as the martyr in any family dispute. She may use illness to get sympathy and get things done for her. The emotional climate of the house may be such then that the father seems to do all the work and the mother gently, femininely pulls the strings and gets the most attention, benefit and credit. It may be this way, or to the young boy, only seem this way. In any event he identifies with his mother and there- fore with the feminine. As a child he is influenced by these events. As a completely dependent person he is acutely aware of the emotional climate of the house. He can't analyze it or his reactions to it and as an adult he

35