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Dear Auntie Helga, Whilst many of you correspondents describe coercion, or even blackmail, to achieve docility through petticoating, one correspondent to PDQ some years ago described the joy of being allowed to wear girls' clothing; the "great comfort" of having arrived where one feels right. Quite often, one is there for life. The subduing of male exuberance by a change in deportment, caused by the "feel" of different clothes, and the wish to avoid drawing attention to them, is there, and doesn't need coercion in many cases. Because of the austerity that filled Britain in the immediate post-war years, my mother was obliged to dress me in my older sister's cast off vests and knickers as she grew out of them. This continued until I was about 4 years old, when my sister, having started school, changed to navy knickers rather than white. It was felt that as I would follow very soon into school, knickers, especially navy blue ones, would not be appropriate. I remember how desolate I felt having to wear boys underclothing with, horror of horrors, a fly front. How I envied those navy school knickers in the style of the day, with short elasticated legs. They were now forbidden fruit but, on many occasions, I tasted that fruit surreptitiously, experiencing the "great comfort" of wearing them under my trousers. Later, when my sister moved to secondary school,a new item of clothing appeared on the scene-a school gym suit, immediately renamed "gym-rompers". These were all in one, like a leotard, but with the same navy knickers and elasticated legs married to a navy vest. It was rather loose fitting, and was tied with a belt of the same material. This was all a long time ago and later, of course, I graduated to grown women's clothes, which I wear whenever I can. I mentioned the "feel" of different clothes, and as an alternative to a girdle or garter belt with stockings, some open corselettes are mid-thigh, with a tight elastic lower hem. These certainly remind one to walk with the thighs close together! Best wishes, Georgina Thank you for your letter Georgina. I'm sure many of our readers can relate to your experiences and this illustrates an important point about the calming effect girl's clothes can have on a young boy. Auntie Helga |