TRANSVESTITE CROSSDRESSER FIRSTS

I have a long list of Transvestite / Crossdresser firsts but on came to mind recently which was going to a completely mainstream restaurant fully dressed. It was in the mid 1990’s and not a planned event under my control so I just sort went with the flow, letting others take the lead. It was arrival day for the CHIC ladies of Long Beach at the Texas “T” Party in Dallas I believe. My friend Lolita and I had planned on people watching as dudes that night instead of rushing to get ready as gurlz. We ran across a couple of other CHIC members and wives who were already dressed in the lobby that invited us out for dinner with them that night. Not wanting to scramble to get ready in the short time before the reservation time we declined but one of the wives was having none of it. She persuaded us to join the group so we went ran upstairs to see how fast we could get ready and in my case skip like lashes and nails.

Our groups of 6 ladies rendezvoused in the lobby on time and consisted of Janet & Cindy a married couple from Houston, Lexie & Maggie another married couple from Long Beach California, and single Lolita from California and myself also from California. We ventured out the door with Cindy leading the way where I saw the hotel van which I assumed they had arranged to ferry us to dinner. Cindy strutted right around the back of the van and to my surprise opened the door of her Rolls Royce Silver Shadow parked beside it. We all got in and I got my first and only Transvestite Crossdresser ride in a Rolls Royce Silver Shadow. Cindy drove us out of town through the night and finally to a restaurant near a suburban mall where I was sure we would be murdered by Texas Rednecks. You can’t exactly sneak in anyplace when you show up in a Rolls and I have no idea where we are.

I was relieved when the restaurant is located at the far end of the complex all by itself where I am hoping there are not a whole lot of customers inside. As we enter Janet takes the lead and in her unmistakable Houston accent informs the hostess of our arrival as I scan the restaurant for Billy Bob and his band of Redneck killers. At that time in my life never having been to Texas much I thought most males in the state were named Billy Bob so you can blame Hollywood for that. I was again surprised that the place was filled with nice classy looking people who were smiling and wishing us no harm. That was a good thing because soon the hostess took us to our table where I achieved another Transvestite / Crossdresser first.

As is always my custom I wait for the wives or girlfriends to select their seats before choosing mine which does not leave much after their spouses sit next to them. The only remaining seat left for me was the one directly under the 500,000 candle power recessed spotlight formerly used to spot enemy airplanes in WW2. Being literally in and under the spotlight was a definitely a new first for me. I felt like I was on stage and maybe I should start singing which, would empty the place for sure. It turned out though everyone had a very much illuminated view of me nobody much cared except a couple of women who kept looking at me. The funny thing was they kept pointing me out to their husbands who kept looking without expression then each time went back to eating their dinner. No matter what the women said to them they had no interest in me or any of us so I forgot about them and enjoyed my evening.

We finished dinner without incident and piled back into the Rolls heading back to the hotel with another adventure added to my log book having survived my first civilian encounter. Even back in the 1990’s people did not get too exited about men wearing dresses other than some curious women. Possibly if food wasn’t around their husbands might have paid more attention but I doubt it, might not want to tip his hand about his secret trunk in the garage. Once again things turned out better than I expected and my fears were unwarranted but it was the 1990’s and things were different back then. For the record, I have never seen or met a Redneck in Texas only nice people so blame Hollywood again.

Ironically things were improving for us year by year back then with the daily talk shows presenting us in a more favorable light and educating the general public about who we are. The big takeaway was that we mean them no harm and just want to live our lives which included Transvestites, Crossdresser, Gays, Lesbians, FTM & MTF Transexuals and Transgendered people. The general public took a much more tolerant attitude once they had a better understanding and nothing to fear from us. That all changed once COVID started and Transgender news stories started appearing all over the internet with the majority of them negative. In many cases the public’s opinion can’t help but to become more negative against us unless they have access to our information so ironically in some ways we are going back to the pre 1990’s mindset.

All is not lost though because we can change peoples minds the way it was done before the internet by word of mouth which, is the most powerful sales tool ever. I have written before about CROSSDRESSER AMBASSADORS having positive face to face interactions with the public and it’s more important now than ever. The non Transvestite / Crossdresser goes back into their circle of friends with a much more interesting vacation story than most of their group. On many of my solo adventures while sitting at the bar I have been approached by women both single and in pairs. It’s starts with a question about the television sports or something harmless then evolves into their true motive. I work the fact that I am happily married into the beginning of the conversation which, leads to many more questions. Often times it ends with a hug initiated by them and I know we now have one more person who understands us better.

I encourage you to interact with the public as much as you can to help promote a positive image of us. I have seen pictures online of ladies venturing out on cruises interacting with other passengers for a week and based on the mixed group photos I have seen they accomplished the mission. Maybe this will be the year that you have a Transvestite / Crossdresser first in the form of a positive interaction / conversation where you educate a civilian who takes that information out into the world changing minds one at a time.