Barry has written again, and has enclosed another petticoat discipline letter which was published in the 'Melbourne Truth' in the 1960s. 'Petticoating in Australia' has been a most popular series of pages, and this is the first addition to it for 2001. Previous instalments have been: 

As always, it gives me great pleasure to present it. Barry's own comments follow the letter: 

Mrs B. wrote:-

‘One of my friends has an 18 year old boarder. He is a quiet, mild mannered boy who rarely goes out. I was surprised when my friend, a widow, told me that the boy dresses as a girl at the weekends and helps with the housework.

I was at my friend's recently when the boy came home from work. She told him that I knew about his dressing up, and said that I would like to see him as a girl. He went off to shower and reappeared wearing a floral house gown. He smiled at me as though nothing was unusual, then went to his room. When he returned I couldn’t recognise him. His face was made up, and he wore a long black wig, frilly white blouse, cardigan, pleated skirt, stockings, and black midi-heeled shoes. With his trim waist and delicate features he certainly looked very feminine.

He paraded before his landlady and me and, at her prompting, raised his skirt to show off his long shapely legs, and with that I saw his lace-trimmed slip, and a glimpse of the panties he wore. Since then I have seen him dressed up many times and he is barely recognisable as a male. My friend doesn’t mind. In fact she gives him girls' underwear as presents, and helps him choose his clothes.

The boy is from the country and works in an office. I haven’t said anything to my friend, but I feel that something should be done for him. If he continues to behave like this I can’t see him ever going out, or having a girl friend and getting married. The trouble is that I am not certain where to start. I do not know the boy’s family, and I feel certain that if I said anything to my friend she would ignore me, as she is very a determined woman.

Should I let things be, or should I try and help?’

Barry comments:

This was published in about 1969, and whilst it is possible that the story, if taken at face value, reflects the situation of a willing cross-dresser, I believe that the real situation is somewhat different.

The visitor is clearly somewhat naïve, and the reference to her friend’s ‘determination’ perhaps gives the clue that the young man is under some considerable influence, and probably duress. That he is ‘prompted’ to show off his feminine stockinged legs, and with that his lingerie, to a visitor, suggests that he is very much under his landlady’s control.

It would seem that his landlady is exerting very real control over him, as he has to dress up at her instruction, and the fact that he does not offer objection to being shown off to the visitor suggests that he has been well trained to do as he is told.  The alternate is surely to risk a greater predicament at his landlady’s whim, perhaps even physical as well as emotional stress. I for one well learnt that lesson, and can recognise a similar scenario.

Every indication is there that the young man is totally compliant to his landlady’s wishes and is most docile, presenting himself for inspection and meekly lifting his skirt and slip on instruction. It is most likely that he is well used to such rituals and that he has submitted to similar inspections many times before, becoming used to showing off his frilly underwear without complaint.

How sweet…