We didn’t have the word gay when I was a child, only the word sissy. Thanks to my older sister’s 1950s movie magazines, I was obsessed with Hollywood glamour. In this photo, I’m emulating Marilyn Monroe, Jayne Mansfield, or Mamie Van Doren—perhaps all three! Growing up “special” in a tiny, rural Texas town wasn’t easy, but I survived. Through the years, I cringed whenever I came across this photo. But now, some fifty years after it was taken, I find it charming. Self-acceptance at last!
