The Last Time I Wore a Dress by Daphne Scholinski

Scholinski, who lives in Denver, is also the founder/witness for the Sent(a)Mental Studios, an artistic safe haven dedicated to helping facilitate creative alternatives to suicide. His memoir was listed in the Top 10 Must Reads in Out Magazine's first transgender issue.

This book is both a powerful indictment of Gender Identity Disorder treatment and an inspiring testament of one person's survival.Scholinski's work portrays the anguish of his hospital years and his ultimate triumph - as well as examples of artwork from his 'Lead with your Heart' workshop in which participants use the image of the heart as a template to create their own artwork and show how the heart connects us all. This sounds awful enough, but when you realize that the confinement and treatment took place from 1981 to 1984, it's absolutely chilling. Because she was a tomboy who wore jeans and T-shirts and didn't act enough like a girl, her treatment, in addition to talk therapy, isolation, and drugs, required her to wear makeup, walk with a swing in her hips, and pretend to be obsessed with boys. Her family, not knowing how to handle her, agreed. When Daphne started acting up at school, her shrinks decided to put her away.

Daphne came from a busted home: Mom left to go to college and become a feminist and an artist Dad stayed home with two daughters, the elder of whom, Daphne, he often beat. This terrifying memoir recounts author Daphne Scholinski's three years spent in mental institutions for, among other things, Gender Identity Disorder. Daphne's story-which is, sadly, not that unusual-has already received attention from such shows as '20/20,' 'Dateline,' 'Today,' and 'Leeza.' But her memoir, bound to become a classic, tells the story in a funny, ironic, unforgettable voice that 'isn't all grim Scholinski tells her story in beautifully evocative prose and mines her experiences for every last drop of ironic humor, determined to have the last laugh.' Publisher: Riverhead Books (November 1998)ĭimensions : 0.62 x 9.20 x 5.53 (in inches)ĭescription : At fifteen years old, Daphne Scholinski was committed to a mental institution and awarded the dubious diagnosis of 'Gender Identity Disorder.' She spent three years-and over a million dollars of insurance-'treating' the problem.with makeup lessons and instructions in how to walk like a girl.

The Last Time I Wore a Dress by Daphne Scholinski