"Sherman, set the Wayback machine to …"

1980 and to Tri-Ess.

Tri-Ess was officially know as Society for the Second Self it was a group for heterosexual crossdressers. No others need to apply, no transsexuals, no drag queens, no gay men, just happily married crossdressers.

It was founded in 1976 by Virginia Prince, it had member organizations around the country including one in New Hampshire with very strict rules. Virginia was a somewhat homophobe and transphobic.

So… going to the Transgender Archives I dug up one of their newsletter from the Chi-Delta-Mu chapter (They gave their chapter names like sororities.) their membership flyer begins with,

THE SOCIETY - A SORORITY WITHOUT WOMEN

Say the word "Sorority" and the last thing that most people think of is an all-male club! The Society For The Second Self exists to help the heterosexual male transvestite (TV) Straight men who have a recurring de·sire to dress in woman’s clothing. Tvs are probably the most misunderstood minority group in the world. As with other minorities, ignorance fosters prejudice and prejudice fosters intolerance and hostility toward T s by society-at-large.

In such a climate, many of us live in fear of discovery by a scornful public. We've kept our Tvism a secret from our closest loved ones. While in the closet many of us think that we are the only ones in the world with these rather off-beat desires.

In our isolation, we may even come to believe the popular sterotypes "Maybe I'm really gay. Maybe I'm headed towards a sex change operation. I must be sick to want to wear these clothes and to go out in the street wearing them, no less.

It’s not surprising that many of us feel or think these things. But we of the Society believe - and know from experience - that this mind-set is neither inevitable or irreversible. We believe that the fundamental problem for Tvs is not personal but actually social. We believe that our guilt, shame, confusion and fear are the products of a non-accepting and ignorant society. s! And even if I'm not sick, I must be wrong to want things to be this way. 

We of the Society firmly believe that Tv's con - and indeed many do - live happy, well-adjusted lives, and we dedicate ourselves to this end. We believe that the best treatment for Tv's is self-acceptance and the creation of a more knowledgable and understanding society. We firmly REJECT the notion that Tv's should -- or even can -- be "cured" of their desire to "crossdress ". 

We invite you to read on and - consider joining with us. Or, if you 're not a T v, we hope that you can make use of this information. Pass it on to a needy friend. Perhaps you might even re-examine your own attitudes towards Tvism and think of how you can be more supportive. Or, if you 're some other kind of crossdresser – and there are many other kinds – why not join one of those groups that have a more open membership policy. 

Now remember this was from 1980 so some of the words are antiqued but you get the gist of the group, they cis gendered, heterosexual crossdressers, period. Virginia Prince was very anti-trans which borders on transphobic, I meet her once at Fantasia Fair at a workshop on planning your transition and he put his two cents in about transitioning. The presenter replied, “Yes Virginia we know your views.” later at the conference she got the pioneer award that was later named after her.

In another article in their membership flyer.

Crossdressing is common to a number of behavior patterns - a fact that confuses Tv's and non-Tv's alike. Tv's, drag queens, pre-operative transsexuals, fetishists, female impersonators, and sado-masochists approach crossdressing with different motivations and derive different satisfactions from it. Tv's can achieve greater self-understanding -- and hence self-acceptance – by considering how our own motivations and satisfactions compare with these different personality types.

Now get a hold of this...

Drag queens and female impersonators are the most visible types of crossdressers. Drag Queens are gay - or at least bi-sexual -- males who typically don women's clothes and manners to mock society's sterotype of gay men. Or they do it to attract a sex partner, helping to ease the guilt that some gay men feel over their "abnormal" sexual preference. 

I think that there is still that fear of many crossdressers that they will be thought to be gay and that is the origins of their homophobia and internalized transphobia.

OTHER OPTIONS

Perhaps you are gay or bi-sexual or another type of Tv that really doesn't fit in with our organization. Or you could possibly be a Tv who is looking for a more sexually-oriented group. If you don't fit our organization, we hope that you will screen yourself out of consideration for membership. In that case you might like to contact one of the more "open" organizations susuch as the ''Alliance" located in Pa. 

Translated, we don’t want GAYS!

This is their membership application:

MEMBERSHIP PLEDGE AND AGREEMENT

I understand the purpose of The Society For The Second Self to be the assistance of its members in developing understanding, acceptance and psychological growth in the realm of my expression of the feminine side of my personality. I pledge to assist, when possible, in the dissemination

of information about crossdressing to the public so as to increase general awareness of this subject. I further agree:

1. To do my part in passing on what knowledge and understanding I can to those not so fortunate or as developed as myself.

2. To assist my Sorority sisters in handling their crossdressing related problems and to devote my energy to such problems when requested.

3. To take part in programs, when possible, and to actively contribute my talents towards making the Sorority a successful organization -- psychologically, socially, and therapuetically.

4. To recognize that information about Sorority sisters (real names and addresses) is theirs to give voluntarily. If such information is given to me, I will keep it most confidential.

5. To keep National Headquarters informed of behavior and activities which are against the best interests of the organization. I understand that my membership will be revoked if found guilty of conduct unbecoming of a sister in the Sorority.

6. It is further understood that the personal information revealed in order to gain membership into the Sorority will not be revealed to any other than the officers of the organization and only then when needed for Sorority business.

In seeking membership I acknowledge that I believe In the full expression of my personality, both masculine AND feminine.

Understanding and agreeing to the above I am: 

They expect you to turn in any gays.

Most of the members were married and lived in fear of being called “Gay”

This is a newsletter cover from the chapter

Then we have this for the guys… a shoe chart to convert women sizes to men sizes in a FTM newsletter;

I hope that you enjoyed today’s blast from the past! More of our history can be found at Transgender Archives.