For our SENIOR CD ladies

[Jenny22]

The Young Crossdressers post caused my grey matter to bubble a bit.
For we elderlies, long before PCs, what CD info did you have access to when you were younger?
Mine was book store's psychology stuff (Transvestites), adult stores' paperback and magazine stuff when I could find it, but "Transvestia" was my main one. Do you remember Virginia Prince?

[Laura912]

Was only vaguely aware of any literature and felt that the whole thing was so "wrong" that I stayed away from it all.

[Ceera]

Well, I remember back in the 1960's, when all the comic books had a few pages of advertisements in them. Mostly it was for joke and novelty items that kids would waste money on, like "Amazing X-Ray Specs!". But there was also often an ad for "Michael Salem's TV Boutique", offering women's shoes and clothes. I saw those ads for several years before I understood that the kind of TV they were referring to had nothing to do with television. :) Never ordered from them, but I still remember that as the first ad I ever saw for TV/CD related stuff.

[Stephanie47]

I'm completing my seventh decade on this planet this year. I'm a post World War II baby boomer. I grew up in Queens, NY and went to high school and college in Manhattan. I worked in a library after school. There was absolutely zero information available on cross dressing. The Kinsey Report was kept behind the senior librarian's desk. Playboy was about the only sexual magazine available which was fairly tame for today's standards. I was totally in the dark. I did know of Michael Salem's Boutique and I did pass by it on several occasions when I was in the area, but, I never would have had the guts to even stop and look.

To be a cross dresser back then was equated with being a homosexual. It was a very confusing time for me. Oh, and, I also had to think about getting drafted and sent to Viet Nam. And, whether the Cuban Missile Crisis would end my life. Anyway, on a positive note there were two women's stores in my neighborhood which had terrific window displays of mannequins attired in bras and girdles and slips and dresses. You don't find that anymore which is unfortunate.

[sweetdreams]

I really didn't have any resources, just the feelings and compulsion to do it. Certainly there was a part of me that questioned why and is this OK. I went mostly on the feelings I had, as if I had much choice (it wasn't going away).

Maybe I had one resource. Anyone remember the Sears' catalogue and sneeking peeks into the women's underware section with all of the girdles?

[docrobbysherry]

"Centurion" and "Transformation", magazines and catalogs for herbal hormones. Sold other transformation and kinky stuff for T's. :brolleyes:

[Helen_Highwater]

The only resources I had before the rise of the internet was my GF then SO's cast offs destined for the jumble sale but "surreptitiously recycled" to meet my own needs. Needless to say not much fitted well. Thank goodness I was slimmer then. I knew nothing of magazines or specialist shops. They idea that there was a community out there was not even in my thought process.

[SherriePall]

Before the internet, I had near to zero information available to me about this little "hobby" of ours. Most of what I remember is that of transsexuals returning from operations in foreign lands. Stephanie47's second paragraph mirrors how it was for me. If only... But then again, maybe it's a good thing I was pretty much clueless because of the many good things in my life now.

[carhill2mn]

Oh, yes! I used to subscribe to Transvestia as well as a couple of other sources. Times were VERY different before the internet!

[Rachael Leigh]

Mid 50s girl here just before the computer revolution and yes I remember that magazine as well, I'm sure I had a few copies.
I also remember stories I read about a few of the men who became women Rene Richards for one that comes to mind, it was all there but I was still very confused as to who I was and where I fit in

[Barbara Black]

All I can remember is that you were either straight, or a gay drag queen, no in between that I knew of.

[Sheren Kelly]

Other than tabloid TV, there were seldom any references to transvestites in the media. There were magazines (Tapestry) that could only be found in some Gay bookstores.
The first reliable information I was able to acquire came from the Library of Congress while doing graduate research.

[Dana44]

For me, wow, just went to store like sears or monkey ward. Then I found Venus and some other outlets Never knew about Transvestia.. Golly we were so protected from any thing for a cross-dresser.

[DIANEF]

When I was young there was almost nothing concerning cross dressing available, apart from a few obscures ads in some equally obscure magazines. We had a few popular drag acts in the UK but the media mainly portrayed CDers as sexual deviants or effeminate homosexuals. Not until the mid to late 80s did I hear of a certain Stephanie Ann Lloyd, a transsexual who had founded the Transformation shop catering specifically for cross dressers. I visited the store, bought my first proper wig, and took away an armful of literature about the whole 'TV' (as they then called it) scene. For me it was eye opening stuff and the advent of the internet then changed everything.

[Cheryl T]

For me it was "Female Mimics" and the rest of the TV magazines. They were the only source of ANY information outside the staid, medical versions in the library.
True we were probably all seen then as "Queens", but I didn't care at the time as it gave me the reassurance that I wasn't alone which was the worst part of being this way in the 60's, 70's and all the pre-internet years.

[NicoleScott]

Early on, it was psychology books, especially interesting to me were case studies of boys and young men with crossdressing-related fetishes, and even better, fetishes like mine. Then magazines like Playboy and Penthouse, even though there wasn't much crossdressing content, I still liked to look at pretty, sexy women wearing what I liked and wanted to wear. Then crossdressing magazines. And I did get a Centurians catalog. Finally, the internet.
I dabbled in crossdressing until my early twenties when I finally went head-to-toe. I thought my CDing had fulfilled my desires, but I was wrong. Over the next few decades my preferences got more and more over-the-top, and my enjoyment increased along with it.

[franlee]

Just like the rest of you I read any thing I could find to try and understand my own desires. And you have named all the sources except one of the early means that usually was a positive narrative, Ann Landers and a few of of the other advise columns when they were asked. I started in 1970 and there was very little but the irony is in the TV shows it was either a comedy or for some defined purpose that the subject was portrayed. But in society it was still taboo.

[Barbara Jo]

I'm completing my seventh decade on this planet this year. I'm a post World War II baby boomer. I grew up in Queens, NY and went to high school and college in Manhattan. I worked in a library after school. There was absolutely zero information available on cross dressing. The Kinsey Report was kept behind the senior librarian's desk. Playboy was about the only sexual magazine available which was fairly tame for today's standards. I was totally in the dark. I did know of Michael Salem's Boutique and I did pass by it on several occasions when I was in the area, but, I never would have had the guts to even stop and look.

To be a cross dresser back then was equated with being a homosexual. It was a very confusing time for me. Oh, and, I also had to think about getting drafted and sent to Viet Nam. And, whether the Cuban Missile Crisis would end my life. Anyway, on a positive note there were two women's stores in my neighborhood which had terrific window displays of mannequins attired in bras and girdles and slips and dresses. You don't find that anymore which is unfortunate.

Same here.....I will be 70 in a couple pf months also...

The only thing you ever heard about TS and transvestites (as CDs were all called back them ) was "Christine Jogenson " and I was extremely confused.
There was also just 5 channels on television and certainly nothing even remotely about TS, etc .

I grew up about 50 miles from NY City... where my mom was from so, we frequently when there.
When I was old enough to drive and have a car, I drove to some Times Square Porno shops in NY City and bought some books about on TVs.

Young people today do not realize how good they have it with the net, the TV shows about TS etc, and changing public attitudes... :)

[Stephanie Julianna]

I went to a Catholic Prep high school in Brooklyn, N.Y. from '62 to '66. Part of our requirements was to write papers using the NYC Library at 42nd Street and 5th Avenue. In those days you could leave your stuff at the reading table and go out for lunch. One day I went down 42nd Street and crossed over Broadway to SIN CITY. All the movie houses had large XXX signs and all the book stores were ADULT ONLY. I remember it like it was yesterday when I looked in a store window and saw my first copy of FEMALE MIMICS. On the cover was a beautiful Blonde in a lilac gown and on the left was the same person in male garb. His male image would have set everyone's gaydar off today. "Not that there is anything wrong with that." quoting Seinfeld. But that was a pivotal moment in my life when I realized I was not alone. After that I spent all my lunches down at that end of 42nd. By my junior year i was shaving daily. So I did not shave on Fridays so that by Saturday I had a nice shadow and finally got into the adult stores and bought my first books. I did not get any studying done up in my room those nights. "Tranvestia" was a frequent purchase and Lee Brewster's Drag Magazine was a must. I would see his ads for an annual DRAG BALL in the Village all the time but never had the courage to attend. If you told me Lee and I would be fairly close friends by 1980 I would never have believed it then. As it turned out, Lee was a huge influence in my crossdressing and transgendered life in my 30's, 40's and early 50's. He was the first person to do a makeover for me and I exited his store on 10th near 42nd in 1980 fully dressed in the afternoon and my life has never been the same. I was 31. I can say with all honesty that I loved him as a dear friend. PS I do not consider myself a SENIOR! I am in the very late stages of midlife, but I'll take the discount anyway.

[RADER]

When I was young, I would sneak into my mom's closet and grab a girdle to wear at night in bed.
At that time, "Christen Jorgason" was in the news as she was transforming into a girl.
I read every news articular I could find on her. A few years later, now in the service on R & R
in Australia, I ran across a drag queen show. At first I did not know that it was a drag show,
I was very impressed with the very cute bodies on the stage. Later it was reviled that the dancers
where all men, I was floored, but secretly wish I could have been one.
Later when I returned home, I started wearing my girdles at night, and loved it.
THEN i got married, the new wife did not go for the fact that I liked to wear female clothes of
any type.
9 years of disagreement"s led to divorce. It was only then that I could expand my desires.
Rader

[Karen RHT]

Like several of posts above, the majority of what I read was in either Penthouse or Playboy magazines. There were a few others, remember Penthouse Variations??? Thankfully, I was smart enough to know some of those stories could be filed in the "pure fiction" category.

Then one day I opened my favourite motorcycle magazine and was fascinated to read that a famous motorcycle racer and moto-journalist Mike Duff, had become Michelle Duff.

I was also resistant to the use of computers in my job, and waited several years before I bought my first home pc. Anyway you cut it, I was late to the party. :laughing:


Karen

[Lana Mae]

I had not a clue when I was younger. I knew transvestites wore women's clothes and some of them had beards and wore dresses! But I never made the connection that I was one until I came here! Naive, yes! I remember Michael Salem's boutique and things in Playboy, Penthouse, and Penthouse Forum! The memories! Hugs Lana Mae

[CynthiaD]

I grew up in a small town in Iowa, but our local cigar-shop/news-stand stocked Sexology magazine which occasionally had articles on transvestites and transsexuals. They were, for the most part, accurate and non-judgmental. One article on transvestites that I particularly remember stated clearly that transvestites were, for the most part, heterosexuals who enjoyed wearing female clothing. It discussed a heterosexual couple, where the husband was a cross-dresser, and told how he came out to his wife. The wife's reaction was surprisingly accepting. (This was the late 50's or early '60s.) There were also occasional articles on sex-change operations. That being said, the attitude of the magazine as a whole seemed to be slightly negative towards transvestism.

Unfortunately, I left the issue containing the article on transvestism laying out on my bed one day, and my mother found it. She made me burn it in the fireplace. I guess it was just too evil to be thrown in the trash.

I knew that the article on transvestism was, to some degree, about me. But I was too young to come to grips with the idea at the time. At least I knew I wasn't alone.

[Aunt Kelly]

This is such a great thread! There are, literally, bits from every story hear that match my own experience. Early surreptitious dressing in "borrowed" clothes, every ad in the back of this or that periodical, every catalog (Centurions, hadn't thought of that one in a while), the CD magazines, Tapestry et al. That's all we had, well, that and the psychology texts in the library. It took me a little longer to embrace Kelly fully, but it's all good now.
I have an internet presence that predates the "boom" by a couple of years. I always envisioned what a transformative thing it would become as the boom started, and I have been fascinated by, and generally thankful for, the cultural impact it has had. So many younger people here learning and coming to terms with themselves so much earlier and easier now.

[Tracii G]

There was nothing except magazines that I can remember.
My first foray into dressing was when I was a junior in HS.
It was fun but short lived.
In my late 20's I became friends with a local transvestite by accident actually shared a cab ride with her.
We stayed friends for years.

[Julogden]

Some time in the 1969-1971 time range, I went into an adult book store in downtown Chicago with a few buddies and I saw copies of Virginia Prince's Transvestia magazine as well as the older non-porn version of Female Mimics. Since I was very closeted, I couldn't buy them at that time, but I went back by myself shortly after and bought a few. It was quite a revelation to find that I wasn't alone.

Later, I found others, like Cathy (Charles) Slaviks' Transvestite magazine, also Lee Brewster's Drag magazine. Cathy Slavik published an annual magazine with personal ads from CD's all over the world and I made several pen pals through that magazine in the mid and late 1970's.

Eventually (1985), I moved into the city of Chicago and joined the Chicago chapter of Tri Ess and began going to meetings, and soon after, the same with the Chicago Gender Society. I was very active in the community activities until 2000 when I had to move back home to take care of my dad when his health got very bad.

[Ressie]

I remember (late '80s) looking for TG books at the college library and being careful that no one saw what I was reading! I actually learned a little just reading a couple of pages. There was also an article in the local newspaper about TVs that got together on weekends in the '70s. Similar to TG weekends or Keystone. And IIRC there was an article in Life magazine on transexuals in the '70s. I realy felt that I wanted to be a girl when I was 17...around 1970.

I also found some info in some psychology book that probably belonged to my mom. It explained the difference between TV and TS and had theories on why men wore women's clothing. Freudian type stuff!

My older brother had penthouse and Hustler magazines that had minor pictorials of CDs once in a while (70s & 80s), and then there were the ads in the back that always got my interest.

[BLUE ORCHID]

The Young Crossdressers post caused my grey matter to bubble a bit.
For we elderlies, long before PCs, what CD info did you have access to when you were younger?
Mine was book store's psychology stuff (Transvestites), adult stores' paperback and magazine stuff when I could find it, but "Transvestia" was my main one. Do you remember Virginia Prince?


Hi Jenny:hugs:, Along with all the above I found some books in our Main Library down town...:daydreaming:...

[Diane Taylor]

First of all, to answer your question, I do remember Virginia Prince and the publication called "Transvestia". My first encounter with CD material was unfortunately CD magazines from adult stores. after purchasing a few I decided these were not what I was about. Some years later I happened upon a copy of the "Hartford Advocate" which had adult ads in the back section and I found an ad for a clothing store that catered to CD'ers with a private entrance for those who would be nervous about mingling with other people. I bought my first wig there ( a horrible one at that) but the lady who owned the shop put me in touch with a group of CD'ers who got together once a month in a private residence. after contacting the group I went to a couple of meetings and was introduced to "Transgender Tapestry" magazine which had info regarding support groups in all 50 states and foreign countries. I joined one of the groups and met quite a few nice people at the meetings. A few years after that I finally got a computer.

[JenniferR771]

I remember going to the library and finding nothing. Later trips to the library a few years ago--found Dr Ruth and the novel "Mrs Doubtfire"--not much more. I was afraid to ask the reference librarian. I also read Penthouse and Penthouse Variations, helpful. But later I got up the nerve to visit a local adult bookstore: found "Ladylike", Transvestia, and a few similar publications. I bought a few things at thrift stores. Then found the internet. And "Fictionmania"! Then found a nearby chapter of Tri-Ess. Then other local groups. Joined up. Met others. I was not alone. Better now!

[lingerieLiz]

I started in the 50s. I was caught and told that there had been a boy in town years before who went around as a girl. The town was a very conservitive small town. I kept dressing at home with my sisters. They thought it was fun. I learned to dance backwards and in heels. Mother didn't like it but she wasn't around much. After I went away to work in the city for a department store I started dressing openly when not at work. Large city with lots of book stores that sold xxx. What I didn't know was it was unlawful for men to dress as women. It is amazing that I didn't get arrested. By the mid 60s I was traveling as a girl. I guess I passed back then, and people didn't suspect to see a CD. The GGs at the store were aware as were several women's stores that I frequented. By the 70s on I traveled and lived in towns for a short period all over the country. Most people didn't know me so I was free to live as I chose.

[BillieAnneJean]

For all of you ladies who started in the stone age and paved the way, a big Thank You! Today is easier for we CDers in some ways because of your path finding efforts!

[Ellen Renee Edwards]

Well, I turned 60 just before Christmas and society seems bent on classifying me as 'Senior', replete with many of the discounts not reserved for 65+.

By the time I graduated from college, the 80's and 90's were upon us, and everyone and everybody seemed to be popping up on television with their own talk show. I'm sure I will leave some out but there were the likes of Phil Donahue, Geraldo Rivera, Sally Jessy Raphael, Jenny Jones, Ricki Lake, Maury Povich (pre DNA testing days), Montel Williams, and, eventually, Oprah. I won't count Jerry Springer as he was out for sensationalism even back then. And just about every one of these shows, at least once a year, and right at 'sweeps' time, would parade a panel of crossdressers, or transsexuals, or female impersonators, on stage for discussion, enlightenment, and ratings. I tried to catch every one that I could record or play hookey from work to watch.

The one that had the most impact on this 22 year old confused soul was one of the first I caught. It was when Ariadne Kane sat down, one on one, with Phil Donahue for the entire hour in late 1979 or early 1980 and frankly and realistically discussed crossdressing. While I had previously read various articles and texts, that show was really my 'I AM NOT ALONE' moment. I watched fascinated as she explained to a shocked and unsuspecting audience that maybe there were far more of us out there than they were capable of imagining. She suggested taking another look at the 'woman' shopping alongside you at the grocery store or mall, or to consider what your carpenter, plumber, lawyer, or neighbor might be doing on his free time.

If there are any of you brave ladies out there that sat on one of those panels, thank you! Thank you for educating, expressing yourselves, and opening up to what was, for the most part, a hostile and non-understanding audience... unless you were one of us.

And thank goodness I've made it to 60! I think C.J. Banks has a 10% discount waiting for me.

[AKADonna]

I had no clue what I was getting into when I first tried on my Mother's bra and girdle one night when I was 11 or 12 years old. Mom must have noticed that her lingerie drawer was in disarray and soon thereafter, I found a new Playtex living bra, in my size, under my pillow with a note attached telling me that "now you have your own, so leave my stuff alone". Nothing was ever said, but, like "SweetDreams, I kept the Sears Roebuck catalog under my bed so that I could look at the many pages of lingerie and dream and/or wank with comfort to know that I could quickly page over to the camping stuff or tools if I heard someone coming down the hall.

Vietnam changed all that and my CD'ing went dormant for about 30 years before coming on strong about 10 years ago! I love feeling feminine!

[mmandy31]

I thought I was the only one that dressed back in the 60ies never heard of any one else dressing until my friend told me his brother dressed in his mother clothes.then I got my first computer and discovered that a lot of people dress.

[kimdl93]

My earliest recollections of childhood dreams (mid 1950s) vaguely involved images of women in lingerie, images I liked very much for some reason. Not long after that I recall wearing one of my older sister's slips...and liking it very much. I don't recall being caught or even suspected, but I do recall the feeling that whatever I had done, it had to be kept secret from everyone. Fast forward to the late 60s. By then I had read about the existence of transvestites in Time magazine and seen jokes about them in Playboy, but that was the extent of my knowledge. Even then I felt what I can best describe as a guilt of association...now I'd say a recognition of common interests. That early guilt did not stop me from sneaking panties and nylons from my sister...and well, you all know the cycle.

The first time I donned a wig and make up was in the mid 70s. I tried on a cheap curly wig my wife sometimes wore...and frankly I was stunned when I saw myself in the mirror...much more feminine and prettier than I expected. From that point until just a few years ago, I avoided wigs for fear of seeing and recognizing myself for who I really am.

There's no use regretting missed opportunities or paths not taken. I'm happy to have found myself and to have the freedom, personally and, at least for now, in this country, to be myself.

[Peggy Gardiner]

In some of those Ladylikes from the late 80s people mention communicating via BBSs - Bulletin Board System for you young whippersnappers, people with computers hooked up via phone lines chatting with each other. I had a Compuserve account in the early 80s, mostly yakking with other teens about music or D&D though.

[GretchenM]

As a youngster (age 7 to about 17) my resource was the Sears & Roebuck as well as the Montgomery Ward catalogs - this was in the 50's and early 60's. I would take them in my room, under the guise of shopping for something else, and carefully go through the women's section, page by page, picture by picture, dreaming of desiring this and that and hoping that when I am the age of the models I would be able to wear this or that and actually look like them. But I had virtually no freedom to wear anything feminine unless I knew it was safe to sneak in an hour or two of something and maybe a little lipstick. After I left home for college and got married there really wasn't anything, but the desire wasn't really there either. But later when the desires returned I once again returned to catalogs. Today, when I read the newspaper and catalogs come in the mail I go through them carefully and examine everything carefully. My wife of almost 48 years has never commented on that, but I suspect she knows what it is about. She does know about Gretchen, but has never met her dressed, but Gretchen is there most of the time, dressed or not.

[AliB]

Growing up in an isolated rural area meant there was no access to anything except clothing and make up via mother and/or sisters. A open cd in our community would have had a very rough time. I did not find anything until my college years, Yes younger cd people have a few advantages.

[mykell]

.............................

By the time I graduated from college, the 80's and 90's were upon us, and everyone and everybody seemed to be popping up on television with their own talk show. I'm sure I will leave some out but there were the likes of Phil Donahue, Geraldo Rivera, Sally Jessy Raphael, Jenny Jones, Ricki Lake, Maury Povich (pre DNA testing days), Montel Williams, and, eventually, Oprah. I won't count Jerry Springer as he was out for sensationalism even back then. And just about every one of these shows, at least once a year, and right at 'sweeps' time, would parade a panel of crossdressers, or transsexuals, or female impersonators, on stage for discussion, enlightenment, and ratings. I tried to catch every one that I could record or play hookey from work to watch.

The one that had the most impact on this 22 year old confused soul was one of the first I caught. It was when Ariadne Kane sat down, one on one, with Phil Donahue for the entire hour in late 1979 or early 1980 and frankly and realistically discussed crossdressing. While I had previously read various articles and texts, that show was really my 'I AM NOT ALONE' moment. I watched fascinated as she explained to a shocked and unsuspecting audience that maybe there were far more of us out there than they were capable of imagining. She suggested taking another look at the 'woman' shopping alongside you at the grocery store or mall, or to consider what your carpenter, plumber, lawyer, or neighbor might be doing on his free time.

If there are any of you brave ladies out there that sat on one of those panels, thank you! Thank you for educating, expressing yourselves, and opening up to what was, for the most part, a hostile and non-understanding audience... unless you were one of us.



this would be similar to how i learned that i was not alone......in a movie "Gunn" was a trans character a boy fully shaved....i was like thats who i am, but the character was a villain unfortunately....

[Ressie]

Fast forward to the late 60s. By then I had read about the existence of transvestites in Time magazine and seen jokes about them in Playboy, but that was the extent of my knowledge.

I'm glad to see someone else remembers the Time magazine article. IIRC it even made the cover, but I'm not sure. And there might have been more than one issue that had similar articles.

I remember asking my mom about it and she said something like, "didn't you know about that?" Can't find any articles in Time magazine with a google search.

[Jenny22]

In my opening post, I mentioned Virginia Prince. Some elder sisters recall her and the 'Transvestia' magazine she published, but for you younger girls, you need to know that she was a true pioneer for our community. The link below has many references to her and her work in our behalf. You'd be surprised that the seeds she planted are still bearing fruit today (Beaumont Society, for one). I urge you to read some of the material presented and possible give her a silent thank you, Virginia.

[NicoleScott]

For all of you ladies who started in the stone age .........

Hey, I'm not THAT old. I didn't start in the stone age, it was the iron age. Before permanent press, I had to iron everything.

[Amy Lynn3]

I thought I was the only person on earth who liked to dress in women's cloths, until about age 12. I saw a few paperbacks that referred to transvestites, but I stayed under the radar. At that point I only knew others like me existed, but where.

Like others have said the Internet has opened up worlds of information. Thanks, to this one and other sites I have meet a good number of people who walk in Hi Heels also.

[Brenda Freeman]

I am going on 63! early on it was always the catalogs Sears and Montgomery Ward I would look at the adds loved how women looked and the clothes. Deep in the closet. The movie Some Like it Hot stirred my thoughts hopes and the Flip Wilson Show with Geraldine I loved how she dressed but it was all about the laugh, entertainment! Not much until the internet for me. I sometimes wonder if I had all that info when I was young if I might have done things differently. I think the world back then would have to have changed a bit too. Young people today have so much information I wonder if it may be a little much as young people can be impulsive, but I am sure it has helped greatly as it has me to know how many out there have the same or similar thoughts and needs that need to get out. Isolation and fear was my early life.

[Julie Gaum]

Wonderful posts - enjoyed them! A few names and magazines I have never run across before so new to me as I thought that I knew the whole nine yards (Far from it). In the 1940s I believed for sure that I was some sort of deviant and alone in the universe. Will be 92 this May and living most of my remaining days as Julie. So much to say and do but energy is fast depleting - scary you know.
May your journeys be all you dream they will be.
Julie

[kimdl93]

I'm glad to see someone else remembers the Time magazine article. IIRC it even made the cover, but I'm not sure. And there might have been more than one issue that had similar articles....

As I recall, the Time article came out during the school year, probably 1966-7ish. I read it in the school library and recall several girls commenting on it and drawing parallels to an underclassman who decorated his room in pink, stuffed animals and dolls. As always in such situations , I was wary that one of them might notice me blushing!

As I read back through the rest of this thread I recalled walking past the Virginia Flora Corset Shop, a long established lingerie and foundations store on Broadway in Fargo, ND. That was sometime in the mid 70s, and even though my dressing was limited to nylons and panties, I remember a nearly overpowering desire to walk in, confess my desire to present as a woman, and get fitted. It was a fantasy that I relived often until it finally became a reality just eight years ago.

[Amelie]

For me it was going to Times Square NYC. I learned more there from people on the streets than I could in a hundred books.

Also later on I learned a few things from Lee Brewster. Mardi Gras owner.

[susie evans]

Hi Jenny
I do remember Virginia very well I met her in the mid 70 s when she was active at the Claremont collages she was very persistent in her thoughts we had more than one heated argument she was a true pioneer to the cause and I really don't believe most people know the doors she opened for us

Susie

[Jaymees22]

My first knowledge of this was in the early 50s. My parents had a rich friend, we went to a gathering at his home. He mentioned that he had been to a party where he had danced with Christine Jorgenson and that she was a good dancer. Being curious as to why he mentioned dancing with this particular woman I asked my mother and she explained who she was. At that time I didn't know I would be where I am today.

[Jenny22]

Hi, Julie! 92 ! WOW!! May your dressing pleasures continue forever!!

[MissJoanne]

Coming up on 60, and growing up in Scotland, there wasn't much in the way of "resources" available in the early 70s. Thankfully, we've moved on from the thought process that crossdressing is a "mental illness", and although we're still a very misunderstood section of society, there are many more places (like this one!) we can turn to.

[Ellen Renee Edwards]

Here's a first for me. I don't think I have ever replied to the same thread twice, but here goes.

I realize that I am probably not surprising any of you with this, but just in case you haven't been over there yet, there is another thread in progress entitled “Digital Transgender Archive.”

If any of you millennial-age girls want to see some of the publications being referenced on this thread, or if, like me, any of you other more mature ladies want to reminisce, then check out the links over on that thread.

Just to name a few, there are collections of Chrysalis, Cross-Talk, Drag, Female Mimics, LadyLike, Transgender Tapestry, and many others. There's even the one I never managed to get my hands on, JoAnn Roberts' publication, Art and Illusion: a Guide to Crossdressing. No sign of Transvestia though.

Salutes to Peggy Gardiner for giving us that other thread. Isn't it nice to live in the information age?

[Heidi Stevens]

I do remember Virginia Prince and the Time magazine article. I remember the Time article because my parents tore it from the magazine so my brother and I would not " see it and get ideas". I read it at the library a month later. I also would purchase in the late 70's and early 80's copies of Penthouse Forum. The transvestive and transgender stories were fascinating to a young person seeking answers in the middle of nowhere. The college library also had a few books and obscure medical papers on file that gave me more info. So some info was out there, but you really had to dig for it. You now see more than all I ever read over those years just logging on to this website. Things are improving for educating us. We need to educate everyone else now.

[Barbara Jo]

Speaking of Virginia Prince......

I meet Virginia a couple of times in the '90s at a couple of east coast CD weekends.

One time, she saw me (out side) with a cup of coffee in one hand and a cigarette in another.
I was talking with Virginia and she gave me a very friendly "lecture" about smoking and too much caffeine etc .
She was evidently very adamant about clean and healthy living.

I have always remembered Virginia's words to me .... particularly when I quit smoking about 15 years ago. :)

[Connie.Marie]

Jenny22,

Lots of fond memories in here.
I remember watching film of Christine Jorgensen walking down the stairs from the plane, probably early 60's 10th anniversary, asking my father what was so special about her. He said that she used to be a boy but had surgery to turn him into her. I was amazed that that was possible but then again I was only 10 years old. I also remember how pretty I thought she was.

I remember laying on my top bunk for hours, looking over the ladies in the Bra section of the Sears catalog.

No magazines, no shops, but I did "borrow" my mother's bras every now and then.

Never knew there were this many others with similar desires out there.

Hugs, Connie Marie

[Peggy Gardiner]

This is bringing back some memories - when I was a little kid we had a doll that was Flip Wilson on one side and Geraldine on the other, that thing messed up my circuitry I'm pretty sure! :eek: I loved checking out the risque parts of catalogs too.

Just remembered watching Glen or Glenda when I was about 12. That actually presented a wholesome message, as awful as its execution might have been. Tootsie and Dressed to Kill on the other hand suggested to me that CDs were opportunistic or flat out nuts, respectively.

Monty Python were favs for comedy and they showed to me that very talented and intelligent people had no qualms about dressing up. Later on came the also brilliant troupe the Kids In The Hall who were much more fetching - Dave Foley, grr...:daydreaming:

[oclare]

I'm 70. Lots good memories in this thread. You can now relive all those great publications and many, many more at the URL listed below. I've just recently found it and have been glued to it for several days. Give it a look!

https://www.digitaltransgenderarchive.net/

[Sallee]

met her once at a support group on San Diego Wonderful person although a bit opinionated

[stacey.eyes]

I can identify with so much of what's been recounted here. Growing up in a rural area there was no access to such magazines, and TV references in Dear Abby were few and far between. I did marathon research in library psychology sections, but the rewards there were few until I went off to a college with a better-stocked library. My only pathway out of the closet didn't come until the Internet arrived.

[LaurenDeHart]

Actually, I never thought to do research about it. I didn't perceive my desires as "clinical" so-to-speak. Much later, with the Internet around, I did do some research just to see what the "experts" were saying. None of it changed me in the least.

Lauren

[Rhonda Jean]

Renee Richards in Sports Illustrated. There was a copy in the library at my high school. I don't know how many times I took that magazine to the reading table and just stared at those pictures and dreamed. I was particularly fascinated by her big hoop earrings... and her boobs... and her thin, arched eyebrows. Other than that, adult bookstores.