ready in the parking area. As we got out I saw a man and his wife moving slowly toward the church the man carried a suitcase

"Are you going to help Richard?" Mary asked, as John and I got the two suitcases out of the trunk.

"Yes,"

John answered, "you two go on into the assem- bly-room. It's your turn to see how long it takes to look femi- nine," he said with unbridled humor invading his usual solemn tone.

I was appreciative of the slight levity John had introduced and the girls went off towards the front of the church laughing at the irony of what he had said as John and I moved to the door leading into the dressing room.

Inside it was just as he had said it was a long corridor leading the full length of the room, and on either side, small doorways with curtains pulled shut, each opening into the var- ious cubicles. There was a dis- tinct aroma of perfume and a surprisingly quiet murmur of voices here and there, with only an occasional laugh, or louder note of conversation.

Despite the relaxation of knowing that no one except John would see me until I was dressed I was aware of my moun- ting doubts as we entered a cub- icle near the end of the corridor. Could I actually have allowed myself into such a ridiculous thing? At once, I was consider- ing that I could back out; just watch as John dressed; and still- he was opening my suitcase, not

his.

I stared into the open suit- case where a white blouse, neatly folded, rested next to a skirt I had seen Mary wearing the day we arrived in Los Angeles. I was about to say something when a loud, aggravating buzz eminated from the cubicle next to ours.

"What's that? I asked John. "An electric razor," he said absently, "here, you can mine you better get started." "A razor

-

―

-

""

use

"To shave your legs and arms here," he said, extending his razor and holding onto the long cord he than plugged into a recepticle near the small sink fix-

ture in the dressing table near the rear of the cubicle.

"Oh, now, John," I said, "this is going too far. Why my hair is so dark and coarse what will I look like in the locker room at the Country Club when

I get back to Kirkwood?"

"Locker room?" John ech- oed, "what about me? You know my penchant for swimming, no- body really notices or even cares whether you're as hairy as the Neanderthal Man. Now go ahead, I have to use a safety razor on this beard of mine."

"}

"Oh, John," I said, "the dressing, maybe, but here you're altering something permanent-

??

"You see, Richard," he an- swered bluntly, "you're falling victim to the very fears and doubts we all have about our ex- aggerated manhood in this so- ciety - the very thing this Fem- ina philosophy brings out. This is why it's important to bear wit- ness to your belief, to commit yourself. Sure, you'll feel a little funny at first, but your old hair will grow back soon enough."

John's very persuasiveness told me he already had his legs. and arms shaven, and as I con- timplated the thing, he got busy at the sink in the dressing table, preparing to shave his face. Mo- mentarily my mind focused on the vast expenditure in plumb- ing alone, if every cubicle had its own sink facilities but my mind wouldn't rest on such prac- ticle matters. I could only con- clude that there was something deep and indeed profound about the Femina matter something that swept you up in it.

-

I sat in the small chair at one side of the dressing table and slowly removed my shoes and socks, then I lowered my trousers and took the razor in my hand and snapped it on. With savage swiftness a large swath of hair disappeared in a path across my thigh and even in that absent moment I realized I had gone too far to back out explaining this would be more difficult than ex- plaining the total absence of all my hair. Quickly, I went on eras- ing the hair on my calf, and then, caught up in the swiftness of it, I went to work on my other leg. When the hair on my legs 36

and forearms was gone the rest of the preparation went faster; I followed John with the safety razor and quickly shaved my beard. Now I was aware of my growing enthusiasm, or was it de- termination, to go through with the thing. I couldn't decide and John allowed me no time to con- sider it, as he carefully took me step by step through the various phases of applying makeup to my smooth face.

"I was afraid you'd pluck my eyebrows," I said once, as John smoothed some powder over my face, "now I would have drawn the line on that.'

-

"

"No they smoothed down quite nicely with the foun- dation cream," he said, "now I'm going to out-line your lips with this lip-stick pencil, then you fill them in with the lip stick, and you needn't worry, this kind comes off real easily.'

As he said this, I turned, and for the first time since John had begun applying the make-up, I saw my reflection in the mirror. He had twisted a towel around my head the way Beth did when she set her hair in curlers, and the total effect of the make-up was overwhelming. John had placed another towel around my shoulders: in the mirror it seem- ed that all evidence of my mas- culinity had been erased. But as I delicately stroked the lip rouge onto my lips with the tiny brush I became aware that there was a distinct masculine reaction set- ting in. Once I looked at John, but he was now busily engaged in his own preparation and didn't acknowledge my questioning glance. Uncertain, and embarras- sed, I went on.

When I again faced the mir- ror and saw the long, sleek hair framing the beautiful face with its red lips and darkened eyes the sensation was overwhelming; too vast and over-powering to fully comprehend. Whatever doubts and frustrations I had over the embarrassment of these reactiors had to be ignored; I had no way to cope with them; not now. I would have to have long deliber- ation about all this after it was over. And even as I struggled with the thoughts of postponing my deliberations the first feelings