Tri-Ess

Tri-Ess (The Society for the Second Self) is an international educational, social and support group for heterosexual crossdressers, their partners, the spouses of married crossdressers and their families.

Tri-Ess has more than 30 chapters nationwide in the United States, and is a member of the World Congress of Transgender Organizations and the International Foundation for Gender Education (IFGE).

The Tri-Ess vision statement is expressed in the acronym FIBER:

F -   Full personality expression, in a blending of both our masculine and feminine characteristics, in order to be all we can be.

I  -   Integration of our masculinity and femininity to create a happier, more complete, person as we use our enhanced  understanding of ourselves in our daily lives.

B -   Balance between masculinity and femininity in our total personalities.

E -   Education of Crossdressers toward self-acceptance, education of our families toward understanding, and education of society  toward the acceptance of Crossdressers as ordinary people with  a special gender gift.

R -  Relationship-building in the context of crossdressing.

History of Tri-Ess
Tri-Ess was founded in 1976 by the merging of two existing groups for crossdressers, Mamselle, a group formed by Carol Beecroft, and another group called the Foundation for Personality Expression (FPE), which was formed by Virginia Prince.

Tri-Ess Membership Publications and Programs
The Femme Mirror. A quarterly magazine covering a wide range of topics in crossdressing, including coming out stories, community news, etc.

Sweetheart Connection. A quarterly newsletter produced by wives, for wives of other crossdressers.

Big Sister Program. New members joining Tri-Ess have the option of being assigned a correspondence Big Sister, serves a supportive role during their first year of membership.

Pen Pal Program. For members who live far away from any chapters, Tri-Ess has a Pen Pal program.

Sisters Across the Sea Program. This program encourages international correspondence between Tri-Ess chapters in the United States and similar organizations abroad.

Tri-Ess also organizes events including an annual Holiday En Femme for crossdressers (held in November), and Spouses' and Partners' International Conference on Education (SPICE), a non-crossdressed event specifically for wives and couples.