Book Review

Sheila Niles (30-B-2) FPE

SEX AND GENDER, by R. J. Stoller, M.D.; Science House, Inc., New York. 273pp +72 App. of case histories +25 Chapter refs. and biblio. +7 index. $10.00 (1968).

This is the long-awaited treatise from the head of the UCLA group with whom Virginia has worked for several years on the study of transvestism and related phenomena. To some

extent it represents her thinking, as she and Dr. Stoller have come to agree on many points in the course of this cooperation. Nevertheless, it is written from the point of view of a Professor of Psychiatry, and not that of a TV.

One thing that should be made clear right away: when Dr. Stoller uses the word "transvestite", he does so in a special sense defined in a footnote at the end of page 177: "I shall be considering only those men who wish to pass . . ." This rules out 77% of the readers of TVia according to Virginia's survey, and 59% of the FPE members according to my own - drawing the line between those who go out "rarely" and those who go out more often. This is important, as much of what he says might cause resentment among those who miss the footnote - and more especially, their wives.

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