Thursday, December 30, 2021

April Ashley

Before I ever heard of Christine Jorgensen or Virginia Prince, there was April Ashley. She was celebrity du jour back in the early 1960s when it was revealed that the beautiful model and actress had previously been a boy.

The news appeared in tabloids like the New York Daily News and Daily Mirror, which my father purchased everyday. I read all about it and was incredulous when I saw the photo above of Miss Ashley that accompanied her story. “No way was she ever a boy,” I thought.

But I was wrong. And her beauty motivated me to try and achieve some semblance of a feminine visage myself. 

Anyway, I just learned (via email from various Femulate readers) that Miss Ashley died on Monday (the BBC has the story of this amazing woman here). 

Her passing saddens me. Of all the transwomen I have encountered over the years, she came along at just the right time in my life (my early teens) and probably influenced me as much as my mother to become the lady I am today.

Thank you and Goddess bless you, April Ashley.



Source: Rue La La
Wearing Michael Kors


Rachel in Orlando – a fun day dressed for lunch, shopping and dinner. Wore three different outfits!! Best crossdressed day ever!!!!

6 comments:

  1. She was truly a class act. 😎 I do not recall ever seeing her in anything not full fashion.

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  2. The word that comes to mind when I hear "April Ashley" is elegant.

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  3. I didn't know April Ashley's story until I read in the news about her passing. I started reading about her life and it was really interesting, so much so that I decided to write a short article about her. How nice that you feel she influenced you so much in a positive way. I recommend you to watch the video at the end of the article as she narrates it herself. Here is the link. I hope you like it.

    https://enjoycrossdressing.blogspot.com/2022/01/transgender-model-april-ashley.html

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  4. I remember hearing about April Ashley in the 60s, even though I was very young at the time her story inspired me, but my families reaction made it quite clear that she was not somebody I could emulate. It took me over 40 years to work out that even people like me could travel that path.

    We need pioneers so that the rest of us know what is possible, thank you April Ashley.

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  5. Looking back at this post , I Totatly love the Wearing Michael Kors outfit .

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  6. I think it was in the 1980s that I heard that she was living at Hay-on-Wye - not too far from where I sometimes worked. I'd long been fascinated by her story and so I phoned her and made an appointment to visit her one day.
    She couldn't have been more charming - she used two hands when shaking hands with me and that stayed in my memory.
    I'd been chasing this endless spiral tryng to find my identity - but at the time, I didn't have the confidence to open up to her.. How I regret that now.

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