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I consider myself
somewhat lucky. For whatever reason, I've been enamored
with the soft, silkiness of girls' underthings, poufy slips
and petticoats, and frilly party dresses from the time I was
a young boy. Why was I lucky? Because I had an accepting
mother and a sister (the only sister in a family of five
children) who would indulge me in my love of feminine
clothing. Because I was the closest in age to my sister, my
father kind of turned a blind eye to our dress-up
activities. He must've thought, "What's the harm? He'll
grow out of it." He probably thought that I did; however,
that wasn't the case.
We (my sister, younger brothers and I, and even a girl and a
boy cousin who were close to us in age) would often play
dress-up, then put on fashion shows for the adults whenever
my aunt, uncle and their family came to visit or when we
went to visit them. (In the late 60s, our families visited
each other a couple of times a month, so it afforded us a
lot of opportunities to engage in my favorite activity.) I
was a late bloomer -- I didn't reach my full size until I
was a senior in high school. Until that time, my physique
more closely resembled that of a young girl. The only thing
that didn't give me pleasure in my cross-dressing was the
bullying and taunting of my older brother. Larry was
ashamed of me because he was big for his age and very
athletic. He excelled in sports in both junior and senior
high school. He wanted me to be just like him, and he had a
hard time accepting the fact that I wasn't. Mind you, I was
good at sports and I liked them, it's just that I didn't
make the school teams because I wasn't big enough. But, I
digress.
My father worked two
jobs and wasn't around an awful lot in my early youth.
Because of his absence, Larry punched and kicked me more
times than I can count, to try to toughen me up and to let
me know that he didn't approve of my activities with Linda
and Cindy (my sister and girl cousin). I don't doubt that
some of Larry's kidney punches and shots to my ribs
contributed to my slow growth rate. Well, his punishment
wasn't too much of a secret -- most of our extended family
knew about it. One summer, my aunt (my mother's sister,
whom I love greatly) came to my rescue. It was the summer
of 1970 -- three months before I would turn 11. All of the
stars must've been in alignment for the following scenario
to unfold. I don't know why or how it happened, but I'm
glad that it did.
My uncle, Richard, was a
college professor, but he had taken a sabbatical to finish
up the requirements for his doctorate degree. The school
where he was doing the work was three states away. They had
returned to our state just the year before (after a 2-year
separation), and the two kids in the family had wanted to go
with their dad for the summer to spend time with a family
that they had grown very close to in Oklahoma. My aunt
couldn't join the family because she had to take care of the
upkeep on the home, ensure that their monthly bills were
being paid, and be available for a niece on the other side
of the family who was getting married. Because she didn't
want to be alone all summer, and knowing that my sister
wasn't going to be available at the time she needed her,
Aunt Meryl had asked if I would be willing to spend a couple
of weeks with her, if for no other reason than to get me out
of the situation with Larry for awhile. I readily agreed,
not knowing that my cousins weren't going to be around or
what she I and would be doing in those few weeks.
The afternoon we arrived at her house; Aunt Meryl said, "Go
run around for awhile, Ally, but don't get dirty, okay?" (I
thought it odd that she referred to me using the feminine
connotation of my name, but I didn't question her.) When I
asked where Cindy and Jon were, it was then that I found out
that they were in Oklahoma and wouldn't be available at all
during my stay. Again, she told me to go play at the
neighbor's but not to get dirty. (She knew that I couldn't
not get dirty if I was playing with the next door neighbor
boy, Brad Martin.) I came in an hour and a half later with
grass stains on my the knees of my jeans and it looked like
I had been in a dust storm -- I was very filthy.
Meryl said, "Oh look at you!! Let's run you a bath!" She
made it a bubble bath and demanded that I disrobe right then
so she could treat the stains on my pants. She told me not
to be shy around her because she used to change my diapers
and give me baths all the time -- she'd seen me naked dozens
of times. I didn't question her from then on. As the tub
was filling, she said, "Let me rub some of this lotion on
you -- it'll get you cleaner and make your skin feel a lot
softer." I didn't know it at the time, but the lotion was
actually hair remover. She had seen Jon and I playing
Batman and Robin a few months before, and noticed that we
had raided some of Cindy's tights to use with our costumes.
Meryl hadn't said anything, but she didn't like the way the
hair on my legs poked out through the tights. For her plan,
she was bound and determined that my body from the neck down
would be hair-free.
After waiting nearly 10 minutes before I could get into the
bubble bath, Meryl wiped me down with a washcloth then had
me soak for a good 45 minutes. At the end of the bath, she
walked in with a large, fluffy, pink towel and dried me off
before wrapping it around me. I was now hairless like she
had planned. She lead me into Cindy's room and said, "Ally,
I've got some bad news: Your mother forgot to get your bag
of clothes out of the car. I was going to let you borrow
some of Jon's clothes, but they're all too small. Cindy's
will have to do." I found out later that it was part of the
ploy all along -- to "forget" the clothes from the car and
to get me dirty right off the bat so I'd be "forced" to
bathe.
I was dumbfounded more than anything, not upset at all, and
somewhat excited. After all, as I said at first, I love
frilly underwear and dresses. Aunt Meryl had seen me in
various dresses and dance outfits from all of my earlier
fashion shows. I just couldn't believe that she was "leading
the charge" and actually encouraging me into girls'
clothes. She slipped a pair of white, nylon tricot panties
up my legs and into place then said, "Oh, those look so cute
on you!" I couldn't help but notice how heavenly and
sensuous they felt -- I was fully erect! Meryl added, "I
know it's only about 6:30, but what if we just get into our
jammies right now, enjoy some dessert, and watch some TV
'til bedtime?" I told her that that would be great. She
pointed to the nightgown on the bed, instructed me to put it
and Cindy's bathrobe on, then meet her downstairs.
Aunt Meryl was flipping through the TV Guide when I
got down there, and she said, "Would you like milk or juice
with your strawberry shortcake? I answered, "Milk, please,"
and she said, "There's really nothing on TV tonight - what
if we play a few games after I paint my nails?" I indicated
that that would be fine, not really self-conscious at all
about the way I was dressed. She followed that up by
asking, "Ally, we need to go get you some clothes tomorrow.
I have a bridal tea to go to on Thursday. followed by the
wedding reception of Friday. Jackie, my niece, really wanted
Cindy to come with me, but she's obviously not available -
would you like to go with me?" Before I answered her, I
wanted to know if there were going to be any other boys
there. When she said, "No, there won't. I was hoping that
you'd be willing to go in Cindy's place, if we can find you
a cute dress and some shoes!"
For the second time in just a few minutes, I was so shocked
I was speechless. Meryl felt awkward because of my silence
and asked, "Will you please seriously consider it before
telling me 'No'? It would mean a lot to me. I swear I
won't embarrass you, and no one will have to know that
you're a boy." I asked, "What about my hair?!" She was
quick on the draw and immediately, said, "After shopping for
dresses and shoes, we'll buy you a nice wig!" I picked up
on what she said and asked, "Dresses?!" She replied,
"You're going to be here for two weeks, Ally, and we can't
have you going to both the tea and the reception in the same
outfit, can we?" I take it from your sly grin that you're
willing to do it?!" "Only if you don't embarrass me and if
no one finds out I'm a boy." I replied. Aunt Meryl just
beamed at me and was almost as happy as if someone had just
told her she had won $10,000. Before preparing our
strawberry shortcake, she added, "No one will know that you
don't want knowing, okay?" "It's a deal", I said.
We enjoyed our dessert, then Aunt Meryl got out her nail
polish. She did her finger and toenails then asked, "Do you
want to match me or should I find you a different color?" I
said, "Let's match!" and she complimented me on my choice.
I had always been jealous of my mother and sister being able
to wear nail polish; now, here I was, openly wearing some at
my aunt's request. I was really enjoying getting dolled up
without being hit or made fun of for doing so.
I had one of the best nights of sleep I ever have that
night. We enjoyed a light breakfast the following morning,
then Aunt Meryl found a pretty dress of Cindy's for me which
no longer fit her. The white tights felt great after she
helped roll them up my hairless legs. They were followed by
a crisp, white petticoat slip, a lavender party dress, and
white patent leather Mary Janes. She had to dig out an old
Easter hat of Cindy's to cover up my short hair though.
After putting on some light blush and some soft, red
lipstick, we were ready for our shopping spree!
What an experience that was! We were both dolled up;
walking hand in hand around town. We must have hit three
different clothing stores and a couple of shoe stores and a
wig store. I got some interesting looks and comments
because most of the sales ladies knew I wasn't a little
girl. Most were fine with it because they wanted to make
the sale, I guess. I was somewhat embarrassed, but it
wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be. I trusted my
aunt! In all, I ended up getting three dresses (complete
with their own set of petticoats and slips), six pair of
tights, two pair of shoes (one in black and one in white
leather) and a sandy blonde wig. Aunt Meryl also got me a
couple of training bras, three girls' tops, six pair of
panties (in various colors), some girls' jeans, and a pair
of girls' sneakers.
We had an enjoyable few days -- just aunt and niece hanging
out together -- then had a great wedding tea for her other
niece, Jackie, on Thursday. I saw and Meryl and Jackie
exchange grins and winks after I was formally introduced as
"Ally." Jackie was old and wise enough to know that Meryl
didn't have a niece named Ally. I appreciated her playing
along though. All of the ladies and girls that were there
at the tea couldn't have been nicer. Most were none the
wiser, but I learned later that I hadn't been as passable
and convincing as I thought. I guess some of the girls were
wondering aloud to their mothers why I wasn't sitting very
ladylike at times. The high school-aged girls figured out
that I was a boy, but they didn't make a scene and were
actually very complimentary as we were walking out to our
cars. They said things such as, "You look very cute,
Ally." "I love that dress; I wish my brother would be
willing to let us do that to him." "It proves that boys can
come to events like this, look nice, and act civilized. --
I'm proud of you!"
I did meet a girl a year older than I (a girl named Natalie
who was actually closer to Linda and Cindy's age.) She had
the gall/courage to ask if I was really a boy. I went beet
red, looked at my feet and eek-ed out a small "Yes."
Natalie's mother got the biggest smile, and Natalie just
said, "That is so coool! Will you be at the reception
tomorrow?!!" When I answered, "Yes." again, she asked her
mother, "Mom, can we go through the line with Meryl and Ally
and, can Ally and I hang out after?!" Her mother responded,
"You bet!" I was dressed equally as pretty, in one of my
new dresses, the next night for the reception. We had
arranged to get to the reception at the same time as Natalie
and her mother, and true to her word, we went through the
line together. Jackie and her groom complimented both
Natalie and I on how cute we looked and thanked us for
getting dresses that coordinated with their wedding colors.
After enjoying refreshments at the reception center with us,
Natalie and her mother came over to Meryl's and spent the
rest of the evening with us. It didn't matter to any of
them that I was a boy in a dress and they liked the fact
that I exhibited no self-consciousness. I made a great
friend in that few weeks and it was two weeks in my life
that I will always remember and cherish. The clothes that
were bought for me remained at Aunt Meryl's, hanging in
Cindy's closet, but she periodically reminded me that the
were actually mine, not Cindy's, and I could wear them any
time I wanted (until I outgrew them.) Years later, Aunt
Meryl told me it was a sad day for her when she finally gave
the clothes away to Goodwill. She apparently thought back
on those two weeks very fondly, too!
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