Tranny-friendly shops already carry an identifying characteristic - it's called a door. Almost any shop with a door will welcome trannies, however they're dressed. You don't even need money, although it's useful if you intend to make a purchase.

OK, so that sounds facetious - but it's absolutely true. The only reports I've heard of negative reactions from shop-assistants have involved charity shops. This actually comes as no surprise to me, since the owners of such establishments are usually old ladies who are more likely to hold the view that trannies are perverts - and seeing the way that some trannies skulk around the rails of second-hand underwear, they may well be forgiven for thinking this. You also have to remember that, while other shops rely on their profits derived from sales, charity shops are usually run from donations, so the loss of a customer or two is less important.

It's nearly five years since I started going out in public wearing what society traditionally regards as women's clothes. In the beginning, this meant dressing fully as a woman, although recently, my preference has been simply to wear a skirt as a man. Over that time, I've bought everything from knickers to nail varnish, from food to furniture, from a haircut to a house, and from carpets and curtains to a kitchen sink - and no-one has ever said a bad word about how I'm dressed. They know it's more than their jobs are worth to discriminate against a customer on the basis of their clothing. And they're right to be careful - any small indiscretion, and I would certainly report them.

And you know what? All the shops I've ever been in had doors. So next time you see something you want in a shop, check to see if it has a door - if it has, it's a tranny-friendly establishment, and you're quite safe to boldly walk in and buy whatever it is your heart desires.

Kind regards

Graham

Submitted for publication in the Beaumont Society Magazine, September 2000.