Tuesday, June 28, 2016

50 Summers Ago

When I read A Year Among the Girls by Darryl Raynor in 1968, I was a high school senior and trying to figure things out about my gender. The book did not help me figure things out, but it did make me aware that there were more guys dressing as girls than I had originally suspected. (I originally suspected only me and my best friend Billy.)

Little did I know then that the book was based on the writer's experiences at Casa Susanna. As soon as I read Casa Susanna 37 years later, I suspected that it was the location of A Year Among the Girls. My suspicion turned out to be correct.

I have been collecting images of Casa Susanna ever since. Here are some of my favorites from those summers in Upstate New York long ago. I hope you enjoy them.
















Source: Eloquii
Wearing Eloquii.


Thunderballs
Thunderballs, a James Bond spoof with a woman playing 007 and men playing the Bond girls.

8 comments:

  1. AnonymousJune 29, 2016

    6th picture down is Virginia Prince

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  2. AnonymousJune 29, 2016

    I recognize most of these photos from the "Casa Susanna" book, but some I don't. Where else do these photos come from? No matter where they come from they're all lovely. Especially the Donna Reed lookalike in the blue dress, she's stunning!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I found them on various Internet locations... too numerous to mention or remember!

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  3. I read that book. Bought it in a book store when it came out.

    Like most of the books I read back then, I bought it, read it, and then purged it. Couldn't afford to be "found out". I've tried to find the book since then but was never able to even find mention of it. Now I see the link.

    By the way, another book I wish I had never thrown away was called Canary Conn, The Story of a Transsexual Woman. Now, I see it's available on Amazon. Different cover, however.

    https://www.amazon.com/Canary-story-transsexual-Conn/dp/084021345X

    I remember sitting in my office at a television station. We were airing an interview show. Might have been Merv Griffen. He interviewed her. Back then, she was an absolutely gorgeous blonde, and a wonderful song writer/singer/musician. She was also about the same age of me. I just could not take my eyes off of her and kept thinking about her. Not because of any desire for a relationship but because it was then that I knew what I was and what I needed to do to fix the problem. Alas, she has since lived her life as the woman she was meant to be, and for more reasons than I count, I am still here as the male I was never meant to be....

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. AnonymousJune 30, 2016

      I have felt the same way Calie! Such repression and denial we do/did to ourselves... i am trying to unravel it all now

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  4. I clicked on the link for "A Year Among the Girls" and the cost of the book is $125 plus $18 for shipping. This is a good example of the economics of supply and demand. I am not sure what that says about us but it is interesting.
    Pat

    PS: I am not sure what is says about me and my age but I really like the styles worn in the photos

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  5. AnonymousJuly 27, 2022

    As a hetero guy I have to say some of the ladies look pretty good(very feminine!and arousing !). Ihave to say that I'm sure all of them were happy-the transvestites were aroused by the feminine versions of themselves and the others seem to have been transgender(or proto transgender-and if they couldn't pass -and knew it!-enjoyed living as ladies-without the T.V.s self excitement-when they could. I like the legs and feet in the peep toe shoes and outfit of the lady standing half shadowed in the doorway-but, I understand !

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