I have digressed at some length to develop the gender concept and the personality manifestation that can and does develop in some trans- vestites. But what of the erotic aspects while this is going on? This process that I have been describing goes on for years, increasing in complexity and development with time. It represents one branch of the psycho-somatic (mind and body) trunk of the human tree — the psychic branch. The other, the bodily branch or the physical mani- festations, which is where the sexual manifestations lie, also branches out from the same common trunk. Erotic aspects of cross dressing are likely to remain with an FP until such time as his body is no longer able to generate the impulse. But its importance as part of the whole episode of cross dressing will shrink as the gender-personality develop- ment portion increases. Erotic does not necessarily mean orgasmic, it must be understood. Lots of thoughts, attitudes, and actions are erotic in nature yet may not, for various reasons, result even in an erection much less an orgasm. Thus this part of the whole cross dress- ing scene remains in the individual throughout his life regardless of how far into the background it is pushed. It was conditioned there in the beginning and nothing serves to uncondition it.

Even today living full time as I do, I find every now and then that I get involved in and fascinated by some story that I am editing in exactly the same way that Charles used to be. But Charles represents the erotic side of my development and when I become fascinated by a story it is really the Charles part of my total self that is reacting. It would not only be pretty ridiculous but relatively impossible that I as Virginia — could become so involved, engrossed and fascinated by a simple story in which the hero-heroine is doing sometime, in some way and on paper, things that I am doing every day of my life. Dresses are no longer fascinating to me - Virginia they are just my kind of clothes as for any other woman. To put it another way, Virginia is not an FP in the sense that I use it as a replacement for TV. Charles, on the other hand, was and is but he doesn't get much opportunity these days to come to the surface of my consciousness much less into real life. But the increased pulse, the tense feeling, the involvement that is manifested when he takes over while I'm editing a story is basically an eroticly motivated reaction (even though nothing happens sexually) and the same mechan- ism is at work in those of you who read this. It would not be necessary to discuss the matter at all were our society open and frank in the area of sex; but it isn't and everyone knows it. But what people don't stop to consider is that they were programmed into their attitudes and feel- ings about sex and its various manifestations when they were very young and unable to evaluate and criticize. There is nothing physio-

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