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"Word of Mouth" How The Trans+ Community Found Itself

Transvestia

Transvestia Spread

Transvestia magazine served as the central publication for Tris-Ess and for the crossdressing community more generally. It contained a variety of stories, both fiction and non-fiction, as well as opinion pieces, tips, and a correspondence section. Despite beginning in 1960, it did not take long for the magazine to grow to a length of eighty pages per issue.

Running for 111 issues, Transvestia was printed in many different formats throughout its life. Here, we see how the style evolved over time, including the earliest two issues at the front. Towards the back is the larger size in which Transvestia was printed during its final years.

Two versions of Transvestia's first issue (1960)

Crossdressing was still illegal and very taboo when Virginia Prince began publishing Transvestia, which is what inspired her to print miniature versions of the earliest issues. The intention behind this was to allow them to be concealed in a shirt pocket, allowing greater discretion and safety.

The Transgender Archives has all 111 issues of Transvestia available online, free of charge to the public. Here is vol.01 no.01 from January, 1960. View all issues here.

Transvestia, vol. 01 no. 01 (January 1960)

To read more about Virginia Prince's work, browse these pages:

For more publications, browse these pages:

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