ransvestia

The point to be stressed over and over again is that "being" a wo- man really has no direct connection with one's sexual anatomy. You can be a "woman" regardless of what is between your legs and nobody knows this better than Mary and I. I have sarcastically been referred to in other publications as "Fearless Leader”, an appelation that I have no love for and don't try to deserve. Except in this one area. I wish more of those who talk surgery would follow my lead. They would find that womanhood is a life style, a way of living in relation to other people, a set of attitudes, patterns, even stereotypes. The fact that most women are female has little to do with it. There are females who are born with- out a vagina, there are genitally normal females who never have sex with a male all their lives and neither of them feels less a "woman" for it. Why do the so-called TSs hang their whole self concept on the genitials? It's ridiculous.

If, as many homosexual TSs do, you plan to become a prostitute then rearranging your body in order to meet the competition might be looked upon as good business. If others in the same business paint their stores, offer free lunches, and have television sets in the corner you had better do likewise or you won't last long. So, if your business to be, is sexually serving males, then a vagina is a handy little gadget. But if that isn't your purpose then the whole surgical bit is unnecessary, undesireable, ex- pensive, painful, often unsatisfactory and dangerous. YOU, the real SELF resides in your head not in your loins. Investigation has shown that a goodly number of operated male to female TSs never have sex with a male and others have it only a few times, find it unsatisfying and unfulfilling and discontinue it. So of what value is the surgery? ONLY AS A FULFILLMENT OF THEIR OWN CONCEPT OF WOMEN BEING SYNONYMOUS WITH BEING FEMALES. It is ironic that this is exactly what Women's Lib complains so about that men con- sider women just as sex objects, that is as people who have a place to put an erect penis. The so-called TS is really looking at women in terms of their organs rather than in terms of their personhood, a typical mascu- line point of view strangely enough. (When you have been over on this side of the street long enough it becomes very clear to you that that is the way it is I've been a recipient of some of this attitude from men myself. What they don't know won't hurt them but it also doesn't stop them from proceeding in their time-honored fashion.)

—

Being a woman is great. I love it and I'm not about to revert to being Charles. I can't fault others for yearning for the same satisfaction but I can, do and will continue to attempt in every way I can not to discourage

71