RANSVESTIA

My wardrobe is small. That is probably a typical woman's comment, but in my case rather true. Still I have a lot of flexibility in mixing and matching my blouses and skirts, and in planning my accessories. It is always a lot of fun to think for several days about what I am going to wear, to finally settle upon the exact costume, and then at the last min- ute change it to suit my whims. If I dressed every day, I might just pull things off the rack without a second thought.

Virginia is undoubtedly correct in her remarks about an FP being able to make up with a bare minimum of cosmetic goods. But cosmetics are my weakness. I love to have bottles, jars, tubes, creams, powders, lotions, sprays, and lots of paraphernallia. I have three different shades of moisturizers. I use a cleanser after shaving, and then a skin freshener. Of course, the moisturizer goes on next, and then I can select from a number of bases or mix them or try shading. I won't go through all the goodies I have; I certainly couldn't use them all at one sitting without looking like Emmet Kelly, the clown. I am aware of my foible so I try to restrain myself in applying the base and rouge and eyeshadow. Still there is a lot of it that I could never use up if I were a GG and a lot that I carry around in the makeup bag in my purse that I don't need that day. It's the girl scout in me saying, "Be Prepared." For what? Oh, maybe a rare Southern California rain that will ruin my makeup and require me to start all over again. That's the fun of being a woman; the logic need not be too sound. It's the feeling that counts.

The very last activity which I perform before going out is doing my nails. My real nails are rather long. Some other time I'll pass on a tip about using false nails an FP friend showed me. But to date, I have al- ways wound up my ritual by putting on a coat or two of polish, occas- sionally using a base underneath. Few things feel more feminine than sitting and waiting for your nails to dry. It requires patience and serenity. It gives me a chance to relax before saying, “Bon Voyage.”

In our society, TVs are a covert group. Those cross-dressers the public sees (and recognizes as cross-dressers) are the homosexual drag queens or the female impersonators. The public also sees the term “TV” used in various sex ads placed in the Underground Press and Drag Magazines. We, heterosexual FPs, particularly we married ones with families, do not care to be characterized in these groups. While I per-

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