Another one comes out...

[CJ]

Hi all,

Philippe Tisseyre (pronounced "teass-AIR"), Montreal musician, writer, and son of a prominent family of entertainers, came out as a crossdresser recently.

Let me translate a few passages from the full-page article written by reporter Nathalie Petrowski and published in last Saturday's edition of La Presse:

On the day I met him, Philippe Tisseyre wore a Lejaby brassiere. And not only a brassiere. The youngest son of famed television host Michelle Tisseyre also wore many fine necklaces, a dozen earrings, black lace gloves through which shone his red polished fingernails, high heels, Dolce & Gabana sunglasses, and he carried a designer handbag. When I saw him come in arm in arm with his sweetie, a real estate agent by the name of Zaza who also became his impresario and manager, I did not think "transvestite" or "transsexual." I thought instead of an anorexic androgyne or of a drug addict, à la Keith Richards or David Bowie. I was partly right, for Philippe Tisseyre has kept all his masculine attributes, does not seek to have "the big operation," and does not see himself as a woman--with the exception of the lingerie and the accessories. He also states, in a most virile manner, that it takes balls to come out the way he did.

(...)

To be honest, I went to meet Philippe Tisseyre while in a skeptical mood, wondering whether his new transgender persona wasn't simply a marketing ploy or a way for him to make himself more interesting so as to increase the sale of tickets to his concerts. But, from the very first contact, my skepticism melted under the charm and the undeniable charisma of this adult teenager with his square jaw and rugged good looks. I quickly forgot his Lejaby brassiere and red fingernails. I had here before me a weird bird, no doubt, but he was anything but an idiot and, especially, he was much more masculine than a first glance could tell.

Philippe Tisseyre says he first started playing the piano at about the same time he began dressing up in women's clothing. He was five years old. "I was in the basement watching a film about Beethoven with my brother Charles and I heard, for the very first time, the Moonlight Sonata. I, who had never touched it in my life, immediately went up to the piano and played the Sonata by ear, note for note. As to the dresses and the jewelry, it wasn't so much those of my mother--who was always gone--that excited me but those of our nanny.

(...)

Pierre Tisseyre (Philippe's father), born in 1909, died in 1995, was an open-minded man, to say the least. A few years before, his youngest son, then twenty years old, asked his father to meet him at the Casa Pedro on Crescent St. in order to tell him something important. The person Pierre Tisseyre saw coming towards him wore, against any expectation, a black leather mini-skirt, a cone bra, rings and bracelets galore, and high heels. Instead of being offended, this man from another era smiled and said to his son, "the important thing is that you be happy."

(...)

Philippe Tisseyre stops dressing as a woman at age 33 and simultaneously abandons his musical aspirations.

(...)

Married to a childhood sweetheart, he has four children who, like him, will grow up in Westmount. For a while, he makes a good living, first in the family business, then as a chef and caterer to the largest Montreal banks. For, aside from his talent at the piano and his aptitude for playing tennis and hockey, Philippe Tisseyre is, according to Zaza, a most excellent cordon bleu.

Seemingly, all goes well for a while. Daddy goes to work every morning in suit and tie. He has a nice house, well-adjusted kids, a happy and apparently harmonious family life. But, in reality, Daddy is desperately unhappy.

"I was so uncomfortable in my own skin that I'd gained 50 pounds. I wasn't who and what I wanted to be. I was spending my life trying to please everyone: society, the in-laws, my neighbours, my ex. Above all, I'd even renounced the thing that mattered most to me: music."

The rest of the story isn't too clear. Philippe Tisseyre refrains from revealing the undoubtedly dramatic details that led to his final rupture. He's content with merely saying that, one fine day, about two years ago, his wife freed him... and threw him out. He met Zaza a few months later while visiting a nearby apartment. He says it was a mutual coup de foudre, love at first sight for both of them, and this helped him reacquaint himself with love, with women, and with his own repressed femininity. Zaza says that, when she first heard him play the piano, her jaw dropped and she was struck by his talent, to the point that she wished to become his impresario and producer/manager. Both now live in Outremont with Zaza's nine year old son. Philippe Tisseyre says he's never been happier, more fulfilled, nor more excited in his life. He also says he could no longer care less what people think, even when people show themselves to be curious and open.

Philippe Tisseyre plays "Completely"

Love,
CJ

[DonnaT]

Cool!

[Elizabeth]

Hey CJ,

I sure can relate to that. I quit music, got a job, got married, had four kids, gained 60 lbs and hated my life. Now my Les Paul and Marshall are in the living room on standby ready to play at a moments notice, just like the old days.

Funny, I used to think I was so unique and alone. It turns out not only am I not unique, I am actually a stereotypical late onset transsexual. I have heard a zillion stories now, just like mine.

Love always,
Elizabeth

[Virginia]

We're everywhere, we're everywhere and Elizabeth, I love your story!
Love you all,
Virginia