My First Time OutBy Hayley Rogers Would you like to share Your First Time Story with us? It's easy! Submit your copy by e-mailing it to Cindy Martin here at TGF. Editing is done by Stef Matthews and Cynthia Smith. Hope to hear from YOU soon! I It was the fall of my freshman year in college. Until this time, my crossdressing experience was limited to indoor activities, unless you count the time when I was 10 or 11, and two of my friends and I dressed as old women for Halloween (I don't count any occasion where the objective is to obtain candy.) But being the typical brash 18 year old, I figured that I was ready to go out in the world, so I decided to make my first venture out en femme. I had planned to meet some friends at a Star Trek convention in Philadelphia, so what better event could there be for making one's debut in drag? I lived in the suburbs of Philadelphia (in New Jersey), and, as I was going to school in Philadelphia, I commuted from my parents' house my freshman year. That only lasted a year, as it puts a real crimp on one's style, not to mention one's ability to dress up! But, as I was at home at that time, I couldn't very well leave the house dressed. But that was no problem. I wore a loose fitting cotton sweater, and a pair of loose fitting pants (they were called "baggies"- that was the style at the time- we won't mention the exact year), and a pair of platform shoes (I think I'm dating myself here). The look was very unisex- in fact, I bought my clothes at a unisex boutique (remember those?) I didn't need a wig, as my hair flowed past my shoulders (ALL RIGHT-it was 1975!). I figured that I could just do a bit of primping, and make myself into a female. I carried a few things (a bra, a pair of my mother's clip-on earrings, some makeup that a girl that worked with me at the drugstore bought for me, etc.) in a duffel bag, and off I went! I took the train from home into downtown Philadelphia. The convention was at the Bellevue-Stratford Hotel, which at the time was the nicest hotel in the city. The following year, 34 people would die there as a result of at an outbreak of a mysterious disease at a convention of the American Legion (the first incidence of Legionnaire's Disease), and the Bellevue would be shut down for some time. Arriving early in the day, I went into the hotel to get myself prepared. I ducked into the ladies room at the Bellevue and commenced my transformation. I had shaved extra close before leaving home, and now I did a quick makeup application. I was going for coverage, not subtlety, but the result was surprisingly convincing. While I was applying my makeup, a well-dressed woman came in and went into a stall, and did not seem to notice anything amiss (or should I say "not a miss".) I was about to go into a stall to put my bra on under my sweater, when the woman emerged. Again, she did not seem to notice that she was sharing the ladies room with a college guy. In fact, the ladies room had pay toilets- she asked me if I would like to give her 5 cents for the stall she had just used, rather than paying 10 cents for another. Grateful for not being read, I gladly split the cost with her- a woman who easily was wearing several thousand dollars worth of couture and jewelry! Now that I had on a bra, stuffed with my extra panties, and my face was made up, I actually looked like a reasonable approximation of a college girl. Now on to my next mission. At that time, I did not wear contact lenses, and my glasses were decidedly masculine. Being rather nearsighted, I was not about to navigate the city sans glasses. So I stopped at a place that made glasses in an hour. These one hour places are so ubiquitous these days, but in 1975 they were a novelty; this was the only place in the city that I knew of. But an hour later, I returned to pick up a pair of glasses with oval, tortoise shell frames. Ironically, I have a pair of reading glasses today that look very much like them. I came upon a place, I believe on Chestnut Street, that had all kinds of things set out on a table on the sidewalk. Including, strangely enough, foam breast forms! These were the cheap kind that sell for around $5, but what the hell, they worked better than stuffing the bra with panties! Next, I decided to try a few clothing stores. I went into the first store and picked a few dresses (I was so thin in college, they probably were around a size 6!) and went into the dressing room. Not finding any quite right, I emerged to pick out some more but the saleswoman told me that I could not go back into the dressing room! I asked why not (dumb question), and was given the obvious answer that men aren't allowed in the women's dressing rooms. It was my first (and last!) experience of being denied entry! But, I always believed in the old saw that if you don't succeed at first, blah blah,; and things worked out better in the next store. I picked out some kind of a gauzy skirt and top that girls would have worn at school at that time, and I also found some tights (I wasn't about to shave my legs then!) and some clogs. Back to the ladies room at the Bellevue to change into my new finery, and off I went! As it was a nice day outside and I was really enjoying walking around the city as a girl, I wasn't in a hurry to get back to the hotel for the convention. While I was standing on a street corner waiting to cross, an old gentleman came up to me-he didn't want me to have to cross the street by myself. I think that he was the one who needed help crossing the street! When I stopped to light a cigarette (a very bad habit that, fortunately, I gave up while I was still in college), a man seemingly appeared out of nowhere to light it for me. Being a girl was cool, everyone wanted to do things for you! The remainder of the day was anti-climactic. The only problem with dressing up at a Star Trek convention is that no one notices you, everyone is dressed as something. That evening, partying in the hotel room with my friends and a group of people that we met, I don't think that anyone even commented on the fact that I was wearing a dress. Of course, that is how it should be. Eventually that night (or early the next morning, I should say), we crashed for awhile, and then I reverted to my male appearance for my return home. I had proven to myself that it was not such a big deal to go out into the world dressed as a woman. Unfortunately, circumstances in my life were such that it took me nearly twenty years to relearn that lesson. But the most bizarre moment of that weekend had to be getting a kiss from James Doohan ("Beam me up, Scottie!"), who was the Star Trek celebrity appearing at the convention. Judging from the scent of whiskey on his breath, I don't think he could tell if I was a boy, a girl, or a Klingon! Visit Hayley's Haven at www.geocities.com/SouthBeach/3401 |