Well, where should I begin? My name is Rachel and I was originally born in November 1972 in the North East of England. I am an only child to two loving parents. However that's probably where normality ends.

I suppose this is more about me telling of why I have strong feminine feelings rather than a laborious meander through my inconsequential years. So, when did I first realise that I had these feelings? One of the first occasions was whilst on holiday in Bournemouth, at about the age of 7. My parents had taken me to see a traditional summer show on the pier based on the TV (that's television) show 'It Ain't Half Hot Mum' starring the TV cast. At the end of the show, the female character came to the final curtain call dressed in a wonderful showgirl costume (something like this). And as I sat there I just knew that when I grew up I wanted to be like that. There are innumerable other instances in my life I could describe, such as being taken through Marks & Spencer's lingerie department by my Mother, and thinking that I wish I could wear the underwear.

This might sound a little odd, however you must remember that in my own mind transvestism or transexualism were unheard of so I do not believe such ideas were seeded by external contacts. In the North East in the 1970s, coming from a working class family background, there is no way such concepts would be spoken of.

Apart from memories, I would say that I had a 'fairly' normal male childhood. I didn't play with dolls or desire any of the other traditional female toys. Instead I was fascinated by trains of all things and when I received my first trainset for Christmas, I was the happiest person in the world. My Mam has a photo to prove this!

However it must also be said that I was never a boy-ish boy. Football has never really appealed to me (that's why support Sunderland) and I never really felt that I fitted in with the boys in my street whose main interest was playing football, lighting fires, shooting things with catapults and other things you boys do.