Pinocchio, Peter Pan, a court jester, these were Fredericka’s grade school Halloween costumes. Never a princess. She thrilled to get out of her stupid dresses and be a boy. Lederhosen with suspenders, green leggings and a puckish hat meant freedom for a day.

By the time Fredericka became a young woman, women wore pants everywhere and she joined them enthusiastically. But on Halloween, she yearned for a break from playing men’s games by their rules. She would put on a vintage femme fatale dress and let the neckline plunge.Her yearning for gender balance got worse. One Halloween, Fredericka of Hollywood emerged poured into leopard pattern pants and a matching bustier, topped with a full head King Kong mask. No one at the party saw this as a cry for help.

After that night, when doubt, Fredericka took comfort in the words of her hairdresser, “We are born naked. All the rest is drag.”