Suzzie has been crossdressing for 71 years. Her first 23 years were in the deep closet. She has been out of the deep closet for 48 years. However, living square in the middle of the “Bible Belt” she still has to get behind the closet door from time to time. And age 83 has certainly curtailed her dressing somewhat. Suzzie has been retired for 18 years. Before retirement, she was a veteran, husband, father, pilot, engineer, and a CEO. After retirement, she has been busy becoming a published author. She is currently finishing her third novel.
Suzzie gives a transgender history lesson that features Roberta Cowell and April Ashely. She tells their stories and explains how she relates to them. They were contemporaries who took the path to gender transition. Suzzie also contemplated making that move but then she turned away from GRS and made a deal with a cisgender woman. Read her tale of three transgender women and see if you think Suzzie came out ahead.
Lou Reed sang in Sweet Jane, “Jack is in his corset, Jane is in her vest, And me, honey, I’m in a rock ‘n’ roll band. Huh. Riding a Stutz Bear Cat, Jim, Ya know, those were different times.” And times were different for LGBTQ people before and during World War II. Jack could only wear his corset in the privacy of his home. There was no internet to let people know they weren’t alone. Even into the 1960s and ’70s the difference was evident. And there were no “trigger” words, PC designations, and little understanding of those who were different. Susan Grant lived through it and writes about what it was like.
Our contributor Susan “Suzzie” Grant is 83 and has been crossdressing for around 71 years. This grants her some amount of wisdom concerning the crossdressing “hobby.” Today she muses about why she goes on sojourns to the Dress Barn to gaze upon the outfits on display. It is a pleasure but still, at 83, it is a guilty pleasure. How much guilt depends on the depth of her reaction to the outfits she sees. There’s guilt if she refrains from a purchase — and guilt if she gives in and takes that dress home. How does “camouflage” enter into it? Read on.
Suzzie has been participating in the crossdressing scene since before it was a scene. She’s been dressing up and going out for fun for 75 years. At one point, while attending a get-together at The Tiffany Club in New England she saw someone in a wheelchair dressed in male attire except they wearing a lady’s shirt. She noticed the way the buttons worked. His name was Bill and he was an older man who Suzzie surmised was unable to fully crossdress but still attended the group’s meetings. That was the first time she noticed that time marches on, and one day she might be that person. But even though adjustments had to be made Suzzie is still living the crossdressing life and having fun.
Today Susan Grant shares her advice, gained through years of experience. Don’t bother trying to “pass” as a woman. It is very hard for some males to do given the physical equipment they have. A wide face, large hands, big Adam’s Apple, all our burdens to camouflage or cover up while seeking feminine perfection. Suzzie advocates that it’s better to perfect your feminine “illusion” rather than trying to “pass” in public. Read on and see if you agree.
Susan Grant is one of the lucky ones who got to patronize the legendary Finocchio’s nightclub in San Francisco back in 1958 when men were men and and men were women onstage. She visited the club while she was in the Navy and Finocchio’s was on the Navy’s “Off Limits” list. That only made her want to check it out more. She returned to visit the club 30 years later and found that it no longer the same experience. Today she writes about the club and passes on a juicy bit of information on what may have happened after Howard Hughes visited Finicchio’s.
Susan was a mature crossdresser years ago. Which would make her an old crossdresser now. Time takes its toll, and it isn’t easy. But crossdressing never was. Dressing at her age is much like taking an old hi performance car out for a spin. She is cruising along taking it easy with the old machine thinking “this thing is running really well for its age.” Then at a stop light a sleek new Corvette pulls up. The driver and occupant look over, race the engine and giggle. Is that why Susan’s back in the closet?
Every few years the theory pops up again that the subject of Leonardo da Vinci’s painting Mona Lisa was actually da Vinci in drag. If not actually da Vinci some claim it was one of his male models decked out in feminine attire. Either way the only supporting evidence is thin. Susan Grant thinks that she may have a deeper insight on the subject. Today she explores it thoroughly and all she asks is that you pay attention to the hands, not that mysterious smile.
