The Man in the Red Velvet Dress: Inside the World of Cross Dressing

by J.J. Allen

Book Overview

"Readers will learn what cross-dressers talk about only among themselves. They will discover why a man who could be their neighbor owns 2,100 pairs of panties. They will find out what a marijuana-smoking man in a pair of pantyhose is doing in a hotel room with a she-male. And they will learn the nine most commonly cited reasons given by cross-dressers to explain their behavior."--BOOK JACKET.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1559723386
• ISBN13: 9781559723381
• Release Date: January 1996
• Publisher: Carol Publishing Corporation
• Length: 216 Pages
• Weight: 1.15 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 6.3" x 9.3"

Customer Reviews

Might just be THE book for your Spouse/Significant Other

This book begins at a party to which the author is wearing his new red velvet dress. One of the other partygoers, a woman, asks him why he crossdresses. He is again reminded just how complicated the answer to that question is and decides to write this book as a response. However, he doesn't just try to explain why he crossdresses, he also tries to explain why other people do too---including people whose reasons are often completely different from his own. In doing so, he organizes his answer in a way that sheds light on all of the myriad manifestations of crossdressing. He readily admits that it might be impossible to explain crossdressing, but he organizes his thoughts on the subject in a way which assumes that it can be explained---so that is why this book just might be the perfect "introductory course" on crossdressing for your spouse/SO! And it might also help you to organize or fine tune your own thinking, especially if you read it together (highly recommended!). Somewhere in here I should mention that I refer to the author with masculine pronouns because that is his preference; he does not consider himself to be female---feminine yes, female no. That's actually the subject of a chapter in the book.Okay, the author offers nine reasons why men crossdress. His approach surely oversimplifies, and the author allows that his nine reasons might not cover every single individual, but this is probably exactly the sort of "answer" your spouse/SO needs when she asks, "Okay, but why?" It tells her "why" you do, but perhaps more importantly to her, it also tells her that many of the reasons other men crossdress AREN'T the reasons you crossdress. This will be especially so if you read the book TOGETHER. Hold that thought.Once he's identified the nine reasons men crossdress, the author then identifies 13 types of crossdressers. Again, his list might not be inclusive, and he admits that some people will change "type" at different times in their lives and some people will be more than one "type" at the same time, But, again, this is almost certainly the sort of "answer" your spouse/SO wants and needs. Is it perfect? Probably not, but who knows? Either way, the "types" follow very logically from the "reasons" so, again, this format WILL help her understand. And that alone makes it a book worth sharing. So, if I think it's such a wonderful book for your spouse/SO, and for you too, then why do I only rate it a four? Two reasons. The author has a very quirky, prickly sense of humor which I think is simply marvelous. Not everyone will agree, because crossdressers are as likely to be the object of his humor as his subject. I'm okay with that. Most books about men in dresses are too damn solemn for my taste. As the author says: if crossdressing isn't fun, what's the point? But if you disagree, you are hereby forewarned! Second, in the final chapter of the book the author tries to conclusively explain why he (and, by implication, many other

The most important book I have ever read! I MEAN IT!

For many years, being an evangelical preacher who also had a penchant for haute couture, cross dressing was always a problem. I knew my Bible. I knew my Prada. But I also knew that my congregation never wanted the two to meet! So, I kept my fashion sense under a bushel. BUT after reading this wonderful and well written book, I FINALLY have the courage to BE ME! PRAISE! I've already picked out a fabulous little J. P. Gautier number for my next revival in Gary, Indiana. Thank you J.J. Allen for letting me know that GOD WANTS ME TO BE AS HE MADE ME. I could hear Him say to me, "you'd better WORK, Alan!" This is so FREEING! Praise!

Good, coherent, well thought out, and entertaining

I found this book entertaining and enlightening. Allen has plenty of fun with the topic. Ze also writes clear enough that anyone can follow hir, but still dives plenty deep into the scholarly waters to bring some fresh insight.Allen goes from discussing the man with 2100 panties to the transvestites' symbolic search for the Erotic Mother, and ze does it with a clarity that is rare in both popular works and scholarly texts.

A good, prudent midwife for the lonely TV.

Steers a steady course between detached academics (who rob the subject of pleasure) and screaming liberationists. Naturally, there is some ponderous unisex philosophizing toward the end, but this book is a great comfort for a shy TV in a lonely wherever you happen to be.

Informative and thought provoking

Having been a cd for close to 30 years, I found that the book had some wonderful insights. I am clearly a cosmetic CD, quite content to visit my feminine side when the stresses of my male world need relaxtion. J.J. Allen does an excellent job in explaining the distinctions between us "girls". I highly recommend the chapter on the "Black Lace Prison" for it's insight on the potential downside. Important reading for those seeking to understand.