The Man in the Red Velvet Dress: Inside the World of Cross-Dressing [Hardcover]

J. J. Allen (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1996

This is a revision of the 1996 classic The Man in the Red Velvet Dress: Inside the World of Cross-Dressing. J.J. Allen, a longtime cross-dresser and past president of Powder Puffs of California, one of the world's largest cross-dresser support groups, provides an insiders view of a world most of us have seen only on talk shows, yet is more widespread and complex than the public realizes. The author takes the reader on a tour of the underground sexual scene in Los Angeles, behind the closed doors of the secretive clubs and societies and into the psyche, sexuality, and social life of male cross-dressers.

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 216 pages
• Publisher: Birch Lane Pr; First Edition edition (April 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1559723386
• ISBN-13: 978-1559723381
• Product Dimensions: 9.6 x 7.3 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,618,973 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Might just be THE book for your Spouse/Significant Other, October 3, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: The Man in the Red Velvet Dress: Inside the World of Cross-Dressing (Hardcover)

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 men) crossdress, I get lost in the Freudian miasma. Besides the fact that I found his reasoning hard to follow (which could my problem), I also consider Freud debunked as a Fraud. He may offer the occassional interesting insight, but I can't think of one and anybody who comes up with "gender is destiny" and "penis envy" is clearly confused and possibly deranged. Hence my "4" rating. But---this is still a wonderful book, and I emphatically recommend it to your spouse/SO!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars The cover is nice., April 20, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: The Man in the Red Velvet Dress: Inside the World of Cross-Dressing (Hardcover)

Unfortunately I did not realize that this book was intended primarily for the general public. While fairly informative and easy to read, It doesn't add much to the need for people to understand the motivations behind crossdressing, never mind help people come to terms with it and accept it as a "normal" behavior for mainstream society.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Informative and thought provoking, January 6, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: The Man in the Red Velvet Dress: Inside the World of Cross-Dressing (Hardcover)

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.