This man once was a Chinese Princess.

What if you are a man and were to be dressed up as an oriental girl?
To be paraded around town sitting in a man-pulled rickshaw?

Most male fervent and loyal blog readers will deny to accept this imagination by saying that such an event is most unlikely to ever happen in the life.

And this is granted.
Who would cross-dress you and next parade you publicly?
You don’t have friends or enemies like that!

Some centuries ago in Europe, as a kind of punishment, they would put pitch and feathers on a person and make him or her walk the streets to the amusement of the public.
And when the Second World War was over, women who had been having relationships with occupying German soldiers, had their hair shaved off their heads and were forced to walk the streets to be covered by spit and phlegm of punishing compatriots.
Often with the half German baby in their arms.

In Europe they have also another way to parade in the streets.
This happens when they celebrate Carnival.
It is happening in Roman Catholic countries in early Spring.
People put on the most weird costumes and dance in the streets.
They also organize parades and groups from society participate trying to stand out by a very original presentation of a theme or a subject.

In this context of Carnival it happened that a boy scouts group decided to participate in the street parade.
They came up with the idea to pretend to be a delegation from China.
So, all the boy scouts were dressed up in silk pajamas.
Wearing wok-shaped hats.
From which long black tails dangled.
And the skin of the boy scouts was painted yellow.
Of course there was also a Chinese Princess sitting in a rickshaw pulled by her loyal staff and she was the climax of the parading group.

As most fervent and loyal blog readers already have understood, this Chinese Princess was yours truly.
In a stunning kimono.
Wearing a wig of black hair.
And red lipstick and mascara.
Oh la la.

Yes, the life of the pioneering photographer has been exciting from a very early age on.
Since he was a boy scout for sure.

But events in life like having been pulled through the streets of the hometown dressed up as a Chinese Princess has tremendous repercussions.

To begin with, the event must be processed in a positive way.
That one doesn’t traumatize oneself believing to have been the local laughingstock.
Or to get doubts about the correct sexual orientation.

It is for sure that when the managers of the boy scouts were looking for a candidate to be the Chinese Princess, many boys probably refused.
What boy wants to be made into a girl?
Unfortunately, the memory is completely blank when trying to remember what have been the considerations to accept to be the Chinese Princess.
And that’s scary.

There is a picture where one can see the protagonist in the rickshaw dressed up as the Chinese Princess using with elegance an oriental fan.
A picture that is not in the Fuso Szulc and probably in the possession of a family member in the Netherlands.
However, that picture is burned on the retina like a tattoo on the arm.
And when that picture shows up in the memory the question rises time and time again: for heaven’s sake, why did you ever do that?

Now, to be dressed as a Chinese Princess driven through town in a rickshaw to be laughed at by the local population during Carnival is not the same as to be covered by pitch and feathers or to have the hair shaven from the head because of cooperating traitorously with the enemy.
But this conviction needs some work.
To come to the ultimate conclusion not to have been an idiot whatsoever.

One way of doing this, besides psychotherapy, is to bring it out into the open.
To reveal the truth publicly and internationally.
To lift off the seriousness of the event.
Not to have that experience from the past hidden viciously and destructively in a corner of the memory.
No!
Just throw it in the open!
And combine this with humor.
To laugh about oneself.
Together with the others.
What’s wrong to have been crazy once?

To become beyond shame and embarrassment.







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