The Magic of a Girdle
The Magic of a Girdle By Roberta Angela Dee
I was no more than a five-year-old, when I donned my first girdle. The garment belonged to my grandmother — a tall stout woman from the Caribbean island of St. Vincent. She wore her girdles religiously.
Girdles were not only worn for aesthetic reasons. They obviously lifted a woman’s derriere, trimmed her hips and thighs, narrowed her waist, and provided her with a more hourglass shape. However,the additional benefit was that women felt secure in these garments.
That feeling of being held
It was one thing to have a panty removed. It was quite a different matter to forcibly remove a girdle. Also, women like to feel held, as though they are in the arms of a powerful lover. A girdle helps provide that feeling of being held.
To my good fortune, my grandparents owned an apartment building in Brooklyn, New York. My parents rented a suite on the top floor of the building while saving for a home. Grandma and grandpa lived on the second floor. So, at least for a while, visiting my grandparents was a simple matter of walking down a flight of stairs.
During the week, my grandmother taught at a local elementary school. My grandfather attended to the apartment building.
I would transform myself…
I and my three sisters had free access to my grandparent’s apartment, but I was the grandchild most interested in browsing through my grandmother’s girdles and bras, wearing her lipstick, and spraying myself quite generously with her perfume. Each day I would select a girdle and bra, then lock myself in the bathroom across the hall. While inside, I would transform myself into a beautiful girdle-bound princess.
This had nothing to do with any fetish or anything that was of a sexually erotic nature. I was a child. Yet, even as a child, I knew that my body was not representative of what was going on in my mind. I wanted to be a girl. I identified with being a girl.
My desire to be a girl had nothing to do with homosexuality or any of the other labels that psychologists frequently assign to behaviors they fail to adequately understand. As girdles were used to shape women into lovelier and shapelier people, it was my hope that the garment along with the perfume would perform the same magic for me.
My secret practice was discovered
Understandably, it was not long before my secret practice was discovered. The heavy scent of perfume was readily noticed and led directly to the young culprit. My behavior was discouraged, not only because grandmother’s perfume was quite expensive (Chanel No. 5 being our favorite scent), but it was also discouraged because I was a young boy, or at least perceived to be a boy.
Mother did not wear a girdle. Consequently, when we moved to Long Island, I no longer had access to the garment for which I had developed such fondness. However, by the age of 10-years-old, I saved enough to buy three girdles — each from a Woolworth store not very far from my home.
Aromi, an American manufacturer, was my first purchase. It was an open bottom girdle with a very long tiny waist and four garters. Warners, another American manufacturer, produced the second girdle. The design was similar. It had the four garter clips but I remember that it had a tiny white bow in front that I simply adored.
I can’t recall how I acquired my third girdle
However, a manufacturer called Francine of France made it. Like the previous two, it was an open bottom girdle.
What most fascinated me about the girdle by Francine of France was that it was a pinkish color — not the typical white, and it had a beautifully decorative lace front. If anyone can recall this girdle, I would certainly appreciate a note via e-mail. I’ve not encountered any since my youth.
I eventually established myself as a “legal” female
At 25-years-old, immediately after graduating from college, I began taking female hormones, in order to live and work full-time as a woman. My first jobs were low paying clerical positions. However, I eventually established myself as a “legal” female and was able to use my degree to attain better paying positions as a technical writer.
Today, at the age of 50-years-old, I have successfully lived as a woman for 25 years, and previously lived with a gentleman as his wife, albeit common-law.
I’ve added corsets to my listing of favorite undergarments but still feel something wonderful when bound by a girdle. The open bottom types are far more difficult to find today. Rago and Crown manufacture those that I own. Although I’m five feet, eleven inches, and weigh only 155 pounds, I still love my girdles, and wear them whenever I’m not wearing a corset.
Some might consider these garments to be out-of-style or outdated. I, however, enjoy the sense of security they offer along with the heightened sense of femininity — not to mention how much they improve the look of my dresses. They remind me of a more romantic era for women. And isn’t it all about romance?
More by Roberta Angela Dee
The Transgender Guide Site Links:
- Trans Clothing & Accessories
- Transgender Support Groups
- Transgender Voice Training
- Trans Friends & Support Chat (non-adult)
- Trans Adult & Dating Chat (adult-oriented)
- Transgender Friends and Dating Profiles
- Transgender Social Media at TGGuide
Roberta Angela Dee, Journalist & Trans Activist
The Magic of a Girdle was written by Roberta Angela Dee for publication on TGGuide.com. © All rights are reserved.
Roberta Angela Dee (October 31, 1950–March 13, 2003) was an American author, transgender rights activist and frequent contributor to TGGuide.com. Roberta was born in Brooklyn, New York, grew up in Long Island, and lived in Atlanta before settling in Augusta, Georgia. She had a journalism degree. Her writing was published widely, and she was founder of the Women on the Net (WON) website, an early online resource for women of color.