Transvestia

The next sections are not unfamiliar to readers of TRANSVESTIA.

I will refer you to back issues of TVia for comments on the following thesis:

"Young children often have difficulty in establishing their identity.... Dressing up is a favorite game often carried on well into adult life. One becomes another person when one puts on a uniform... When thinking of his childhood, the transvestite will say that he dressed as a girl because he felt that way' not as some little girls in the latency period will wear slacks so that they can move faster, or climb trees better, but because he felt more at ease in skirts.... School is probably easier for the girl with these tendencies than for the boy. The girl can play games; the boy must, if he is not to be teased. He is not expected to show any interest in sewing although cooking is sometimes open to him". "The Mother is the central figure in most boy's lives, and he identified himself with her, in fact wishes to become her and so takes over whatever household duties he is allowed to".

Next comes adolescence which is where the problem really starts for most of us. "Adolescence is a stormy time for all, but for the transvestite the problems are even more acute".

I feel that Virginia will want to comment on her re- marks about marriage "Sometimes one may marry, and it proves disastrous for both. However much in love a girl may be, she finds it almost impossible to cope with a husband who feels the need to wear female clothing from time to time. If she can be helped to do this, real growth may occur in their relationship, but this demands an exceptional degree of understanding." As an unmarried TV, I feel that it is placing too big a burden on the GG. However, we have examples of successful marriages. Per- haps the problems are different but no more acute than those which many marriages survive when TVism is not involved. For those of us who are unmarried, our own loneliness may be the real barrier.

זו

The case history comes now and I hope that Virginia