Virginia Prince - Understanding Cross-dressing

1976, English, USA, Virginia Prince,

Full title: "Understanding Cross-dressing" by Virginia Prince.

According to IFGE, "This book has been published to serve two different purposes for two different groups of people. Not surprisingly the two groups are (1) those who are cross dressers, and (2) those who are not. The needs of these two groups are different; those who cross dress already know what it is like and the satisfactions they obtain from that behavior pattern, but in many cases they don't have much understanding of why they do it.

Moreover, great numbers of cross dressers think that they are the only ones in the world who indulge in such activities. Their needs therefore center around understanding themselves and becoming aware that there are vast numbers of other individuals who do exactly the same thing. The non-cross dressers have a need to understand a behavior pattern exhibited by others. Wives, parents, counselors, psychologists, psychiatrists, judges, teachers and just friends of someone who has been found to be a cross dresser need to know more about this pattern. They need information in order to deal with their own feelings - if the cross dresser involved is someone in whom they have a personal interest, such as a child or a husband - or to know how to be of help to the individual if the relationship is impersonal."

According to gender.org.uk, "Prince's approach and philosophy has attracted fierce criticism over the years, both from within and without the transgender community. It has been depicted as homophobic and sexist and has been criticised for its failure to engage with the issues of sexual politics raised by the women's and gay movements. Her promotion of heterosexual transvestism and her belief that surgical reassignment was the answer in only a very few instances alienated many transsexuals and she completely failed to address the needs of transmen, despite their presence in some Prince-influenced organisations. Nevertheless, Prince's contribution has been significant.

In the context of the 1950s and early 1960s it was a major achievement simply to bring transgendered people together. Prince provided the means for such people to contact others without jeopardising privacy and security. Prince's organisations and their off-shoots provided a safe space within which a person could explore and express their transgender feelings.

Prince's writings provided a positive philosophy of cross-dressing which aimed at encouraging in her readers (as the inside cover of Transvestia puts it), 'understanding, self acceptance peace of mind in place of the loneliness, fear and self condemnation they have known for too long'. Prince's philosophy was not only a positive one, she promoted the acceptable face of transvestism; it was purged of anything that might offend, particularly anything sexual."

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ifge.org

gender.org.uk

Photo via Wikipedia - University of Victoria Libraries, Transgender Archives