The Story of Stephanie Anne Lloyd
Page [ 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 ]
Transformation's greatest success, however, has been through its pioneering of the transvestite cause. Remember, before Transformation, there were no specialist shops in the UK catering exclusively for the needs of TVs. There was nowhere in the country that TVs could go to try on a skirt, never mind being able to dress as a woman and spend several hours in the role.
Manchester didn't want us, and when the Transformation store opened in Birmingham there was an outcry in the evening papers. In the late 1980s, just a short while ago, transvestites were merely perverts in the eyes of good Midlands folk. It was Stephanie who showed them they were wrong. Now, cross-dressing is considered more quirky than kinky. You can hardly open a women's magazine or turn on the television without some cross-dresser getting in on the act.
The one person you're not likely to see is Stephanie herself. After years of campaigning in the harsh lights of media coverage, she now leaves that to others.
"I did it because I felt I had to, when no one else would. Transvestism was just swept under carpet and society didn't seem to care about the effect this had on the TVs themsleves. And as for transsexuals like myself, we were just freaks of nature that no one wanted to know.
"We've got beyond that, thankfully. I'm still here fighting on issues, like the stupidity of the law that prevents me from being my husband's legal wife, but from the sidelines and not from centre stage. I just want a quiet life."
Stephanie has had a life with more than its fair share of ups and downs. Who could have predicted that the high-flying, macho marketing manager of the 1970s would in a few short years be spending time in a women's prison? But then who could have predicted that she would have found a husband to protect and care for her; that she could have built up an international company; that she could have broken down barriers that had existed for centuries, or that she could have helped deliver a lamb.
It's been quite a life so far. Only time will tell whether her dream of a quieter life for the future is the one fantasy that Transformation can't turn into reality...
Page [ 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 ]
Related categories: True Life Stories
Copyright © Transformation 2006
0.159753799438
