18. Francois De Choisy, Writer (1644 � 1724)
French author Francois De Choisy was dressed as a girl by his mother until the age
of 18. Her reasons might have been political: De Choisy�s playmate, Philippe I, was also encouraged to dress as a girl, possibly so
that he would not be seen as posing a threat to his older brother, King Louis XIV. As an adult, De Choisy took up male dress for a
while but soon went back to his preferred female clothing. Many young women of the day visited him for fashion advice, encouraged
by their mothers. He enjoyed their company: so much, in fact, that one ended up pregnant by him. Although he later wrote
a number of historical and religious works, De Choisy is most famous for his tell-all book The Transvestite Memoirs, published
in 1737.
