Hi, I'm Richard/Alice Novic, M.D., psychiatrist and crossdresser. Please
enjoy the pictures and advice column below. If you would like to learn more
about me, please pick up a copy of my book Alice in Genderland: A
Crossdresser Comes of Age.
Review of Alice In Genderland |
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| As the American civil war was ending, Lewis Carroll, a mathematician and academic,
authored one of the most enduring classics of English literature: Alice's Adventures in
Wonderland. This masterpiece has been interpreted by puzzled scholars as fantastic
nonsense, children's' entertainment, a massive and complex work of symbolism, a
political argument, and even as a mathematical treatise in disguise. Perhaps it is all of
these things, but more than anything else, Alice's incredible journey involved having new experiences that contributed to personal growth. Most importantly, it was a story about
the formation of identity.
One hundred and thirty-eight years later we have psychiatrist Richard J. Novic's personal memoir, Alice in Genderland: an account of a cross dresser's quest for identity, self-acceptance and personal fulfillment. The author opens his personal journal to reveal two themes that become progressively integrated over thirty years. The first deals with sexual motivation and expression: Alice Novic is motivated to find novel and sometimes-risky sexual experiences. Some of these experiences, we are told, were very gratifying, but some resulted in self-recrimination, shame, and distress. In the end, however, these negative feelings turn out to have been the products of middle-class Puritanism and they are supplanted by a more hedonistic view. Shame is replaced by exceptional pleasure and a sense of well-being. The motivational foundations of the second theme are less explicit because they deal with the evolution of Novic's conviction, that despite his male anatomy, he desires nothing more than to become a part-time beautiful woman. While struggling with the possibility that he might want to live full-time as a woman, he rejects this in favor of a solution that permits him to incorporate three life objectives. These are the responsibilities to his wife and children, his professional work, and a once-a-week outing as Alice Novic, including the joys of erotic escapades with a steady boyfriend. Through psychotherapy and real life cross dressing experiences he learns that his wish to be a part-time beautiful woman is central to his personality, not simply a fantasy or an accompaniment to masturbation. He dedicates himself to learning how to appear to be a woman and practices this through many encounters in the drag clubs of Boston, Chicago, and Los Angeles; these fascinating haunts are his Genderland, but instead of encountering Humpty Dumpty, he meets many happy cross dressers and transsexuals who teach him useful skills and help him to learn greater self-acceptance. Written in a very engaging and lively style, the author opens the door of his cross dresser's closet to show the reader how a real man can become a convincing woman. How does he explain what compels Alice's gender transformation? He doesn't. This is an exceptionally complete case history, not a theoretical treatise. Novic makes no claim that his pathway or his transgender solutions will work for any other cross dressers, nor does he say much about the possible biological or social roots of his own conduct. He remains atheoretical, explaining his transgender behavior as an important source of pleasure and separating it entirely from any hint of psychopathology. Throughout, he reveals less about the published research concerning transgender behavior than might be expected. His main goals in writing the book were to give hope and help to other cross dressers, and to shine some light into dimly lit closets. In describing the many fascinating twists and turns in his life, he simply tells us what happened, what it all meant to him, and of the compromises required to sustain his roles as a family leader, medical practitioner, and part-time beautiful woman. Novic's Alice does not tease us with the riddles, conundrums, and the puzzles of Lewis Carroll; he is far more direct and uninhibited. Very likely, his description of steamy sexual encounters would terrify the wives of many cross dressers. His wife, we are told, has learned to live with it although despite much dialogue attributed to her there is never a sense of hearing her speak for herself. This Alice has to struggle with two basic personal issues: first, what sexual behavior is right or wrong? Second, how may transgender behavior be expressed without sacrificing family and professional relationships? Happily, Novic works this out through some ambitious negotiations with his wife. Over two decades he comes to accept that behavior like cross dressing that may be viewed as "weird" is not necessarily "wrong" or maladaptive. With some difficulties, Lewis Carroll's Alice found her way out of Wonderland and was all the better for the experience. Richard Novic's Alice has also found gratification through her adventures in Genderland, but as Novic points out, who can say where all this may lead? He often wonders if some day he might be living entirely as a woman? Perhaps we should let the real Alice have the last word: "Would you tell me please, which way I go out from here? 'That depends a good deal on where you want to get to,' said the cat.' " |
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| I'm proud to announce that Go Ask Alice is now Through the Looking Glass and to dedicate it to all the amazing people throughout the U.S. and the world who have supported and encouraged my efforts on my advice column and my book. Here, I'll be actively exploring issues like crossdressing, transitioning, relationships, and sexuality from the special perspective of a fun-loving transvestite psychiatrist and welcome your questions or comments. | ||
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I’m happy to offer my services as psychotherapist, psychopharmacologist, or keynote speaker. Please contact me if you’re interested.
If you would like to meet me in person, I may often be found on Saturday nights from nine-thirty to eleven at the Oxwood Inn in Van Nuys. Please stop by and say hi!
If you would like to meet me in person, I may often be found on Saturday nights from nine-thirty to eleven at the Oxwood Inn in Van Nuys. Please stop by and say hi!
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