Significant Other

Good Will

A Significant Other View
by Julie Freeman

This article is reprinted with permission from DEVIL WOMAN, the Diablo Valley Girls newsletter. Ms Freeman is the wife of a crossdresser. She can be reached at Julie39@comcast.net

Good Will

During my break between classes, I had a chance to clean house. It had been several months since I had seen the bottom of my closet so I pulled out all the shoes I hardly ever wore (the ones I wore on a consistent basis were found by the bed), layered on top of each other, vacuumed the bottom of said closet and proceeded to sort the shoes and put back in a tidier manner. I soon realized why I had so many layers. There were so many old, decrepit shoes that I decided it was now or never. Into the Good Will bag, the sooner the better. In our house, nothing is thrown out. Every item of clothing, no matter how ragged, gets recycled although I have my doubts that anyone would ever choose such items. From my experience, even the poorest student I know somehow manages to buy designer shoes...
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Co-Dependency

A Significant Other View
by Julie Freeman

This article is reprinted here with permission from DEVIL WOMAN, the Diablo Valley Girls newsletter. Ms Freeman is the wife of a crossdresser. She can be reached at Julie39@comcast.net

Co-Dependency

One of the buzz words we hear all the time these days is "co-dependent" closely following the heels of those other catchy phrases "enablers" or "dysfunctional." It is no wonder that psychiatrists' phones are ringing off the hook and chat rooms are bursting at the seams as individuals worry that they may be "enablers" or "co-dependents" in their relationships with others.

This worry has certainly not escaped the world of the significant other fearful that by maintaining a relationship with a crossdresser she is either "enabling" his behavior or is a "co-dependent" by remaining in a relationship with him. This reminds me of a book written in 1976 by Deborah Feinbloom, TRANSSEXUALS AND TRANSVE...
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Peace of Mind

A Significant Other View
by Julie Freeman

This article is reprinted here with permission from DEVIL WOMAN, the Diablo Valley Girls' newsletter. Ms Freeman is the wife of a crossdresser. She can be reached at Julie39@comcast.net

Peace of Mind

I have known about my husband's crossdressing for over 12 years! In the beginning, I was bewildered, confused, angry, afraid, embarrassed - you name it! It took a long time for me to come to grips with my husband's crossdressing and realize that this was not something he asked for. It was something he was born with! But he did everything he could to help me to understand why he crossdressed; he never put pressure on me to do anything or go anywhere I did not want to; he bent over backwards to help me to understand.

For years, he and so many others hid their "secret" as best they could from family, friends, colleagues, neighbors, etc. Society has made it clear that crossdressing is not considered "normal", that it may even be "...
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Significant Fears

A Significant Other View
by Julie Freeman

This article is reprinted with permission from DEVIL WOMAN, the Diablo Valley Girls newsletter. Ms Freeman is the wife of a crossdresser. She can be reached at Julie39@comcast.net

Significant Fears

When crossdressers join support groups, it is not unusual for them to inquire about support groups for their wives or partners. Usually their wives have just recently found out about the crossdressing and are under great stress as their once peaceful lives have been severely jolted.

Their fears are quite significant. Does my husband want to become a woman? Is my husband gay? What about our children? Am I going to become a lesbian? Will my husband leave me for a man? How will his job be affected? Will he lose his job? What about our neighbors? What about our relatives? What about our friends? How will they react? Who can I tell? What about our finances? The list goes on and on. They fear his taking hormones; not sure of what medical outcomes may result. They f...
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Awkward Situations

Notes on Gender Role Transition
Anne Vitale Ph.D. Editor
A Significant Other View
by Julie Freeman

This article is reprinted with permission from DEVIL WOMAN, the Diablo Valley Girls newsletter. Ms Freeman is the wife of a crossdresser. She can be reached at Julie39@comcast.net

Awkward Situations

I am sure almost every significant other can relate to the following situation. You are seated at a dinner table with a group of relatives, or perhaps a group of friends, or even a group of colleagues. And someone makes a derogatory remark about crossdressing. It starts innocently enough - discussing movies - which to see and which not to - and then someone mentions Esther Williams and her discovery of Jeff Chandler wearing her red evening gown! From there it progresses to "No wonder she left him after that" And then someone pipes up that Cary Grant also crossdressed! (I have no idea if that is true). Before long, the chatter becomes less innocent and more hostile. Gay bashing...
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