I mentioned Esther Williams to a wife of a crossdresser not long ago and she looked at me blankly – silly me, assuming everyone knows the story of the million-dollar mermaid and her crossdressing movie star boyfriend.
“Jeff Chandler was standing in the middle of the bedroom in a red wig, a flowered chiffon dress, expensive high-heeled shoes and lots of makeup,”
she said about her near-husband, Jeff Chandler, Hollywood hunk.
Here’s a great review that talks about the genderedness of it all that originally appeared in Salon, and I find it interesting the way he ties in her LSD trip, the recognition of her own animus, and how her acid-induced knowledge of her male self makes a crossdressed husband especially horrifying.
I wonder if the acid is required, since otherwise I fall into the same category of being aware of my animus, except I didn’t scream. Not even once.
“assuming everyone knows the story of the million-dollar mermaid and her crossdressing movie star boyfriend.”
I, erm, had never heard of Esther Willims – or the million$ mermaid – so thanks for the link.
This is incredible!! I’m a serious Jung fan, and my first therapist even had me have a conversation with my anima as I began to deal with what I thought was my urge to crossdress.
I identify because as I found my true self, that self was not exclusively a single gender, and I don’t think anyone’s is. I’m a femme and I think I’m more female than male, but as became me, I found that my integrated “feminine” self was more assertive and expressive.; I found confidence that I always wished I’d had as a “male” and in fact I think I make a much better “man” on the outside because of it.
freakin great, this….