OBSERVATIONS

HOMOSEXUAL—YES OR NO

By Virginia Prince, Ph.D.

It is always fascinating to me how people can fool themselves with words or with rationalizations that help them to mold the world the way they want it. Not really mold it in fact but to mold it within their own view of it. Unfortunately, there are always a lot of others around who are pretty good at doing the same thing so that they buy some- one else's fantasy thus reinforcing it.

This bit of philosophy is brought on by a letter I received a few months ago. I had received a letter of inquiry about Transvestia and Tri Sigma by someone who indicated that he was contemplating surgical sex reassignment. There was something about the letter that induced me to write a letter of reply instead of just sending him the information requested. Among other things, I went into some detail about the matter of surgery and made mention that those who seek surgery come either from the gay side of things or are heterosexuals who ought to realize that their desire to be women did not require them to become female. Anyway, from that inauspicious beginning I received the following letter. While the writer will probably never see Transvestia in view of his reply, I will still print the letter anonymous- ly...

Dear Friend:

I am sorry I have to disagree strongly on what you wrote to me. Transsexuals (me, personally) are NOT gay or homosexuals. They have the mind of a woman, and think and want to satisfy a man like a woman does. THEY ARE NOT GAY! We can't emphasize this enough. I am thinking of getting just the hole so I can be happy. I won't change any other physical characteristics (breasts, hair, skin, etc.)____

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