Early Experiences - What turned you on?

[a9127]

Some interesting posts so far. Thanks for reminding me about "Tootsie" I had forgotten about that one, Boner. While not necessarily things that turned me on, the following are some of my earliest memories and helped shape who I am today.

Probably the first time I ever heard the term “transsexual” was in regards to Christine Jorgensen. She underwent SRS (back then it was called, somewhat callously, a “sex change” operation). This took place in 1952 almost 30 years before I was born so I’m trying to remember how I first learned of Christine. I believe it may have been in a high-school Sociology or Psychology class. Or I might have heard my parents talking about it.

“The World Acording to Garp.” John Lithgow as Roberta Muldoon. A 6’4” former football player no less. I did not see the movie until much later (probably early to mid-nineties). While not sexually attracted to Roberta, I liked her. She was one of the first transgender characters that I remember that was portrayed as a real person. In the movie Roberta becomes close friends with Garp (Robin Williams). Roberta could easily have been one of my teammates!

“The Crying Game” a sad movie, although with excellent performances. Jaye Davidson plays Forest Whitaker’s transgender girlfriend, Dil. I remember Jaye mainly as “Ra” from “Stargate.” My favorite pic of Jaye is this one. Very hot.

Described as “the worst movie ever made.” “Myra Breckinridge” from 1970, starred Raquel Welch as “Myron” who undergoes SRS. Based on a novel by Gore Vidal, I remember reading somewhere that Vidal condemned the movie and wanted nothing to do with it. I have only seen it once. It was at a friend’s house in the late 80’s. While his parents were gone we watched a VHS tape (anyone remember those?). Supposedly rated “X.” For a bunch of horny kids the main attractions were Raquel Welch and a very young Farrah Fawcett. I hesitated to even include it here as it looks like it was probably offensive to the LGBT community. I do so only because it was one of my earliest memories of a transsexual character in a movie.

Again, some years before I was born, several episodes of “All In The Family” featured Lori Shannon (a real life female impersonator) as “Beverly LaSalle” a woman Archie rescues in his cab and forms an uneasy friendship with. Beverly was also one of the first characters I can recall that was portrayed as a person and not a parody, although with humor. I was very young when I saw these episodes in repeats and if you have seen them you know Beverly tragically is murdered trying to stop a robbery. I cried over this at the time. Last summer I watched the episode on cable with my wife and we both cried! I had forgotten that Edith is so shaken she renounces her faith in God. Also the implication is that Beverly may have been killed because she was transgender. A very powerful and moving episode. Sadly Lori passed away in 1984. RIP