Where are you at?

[Brenda's Friend]

Edit from Reine: I've changed the title, from "Where are you in the crossdresser continuum?" to "Where are you at?" in order to make the title better reflect the OP's question. The thread is already up to post #21, in case anyone wonders why there is the beginning of a debate over why TSs are not called CDs.


Fetish – An obsession for a particular item or style. Generally used for sexual gratification.

All or Nothing – A strong urge to dress. Only satisfied if you are dressed as completely as possible. No particular desire to be the other gender, even when dressed.

Fashion – You like the look or feel of the opposite gender’s fashions. No particular desire to be the other gender.

Androgynous – You do not feel that you are either sex. A trend towards a more gender neutral look.

Partial – You have an urge to underdress 24/7. You may sometimes fully dress.

Part-time – You are both a man and a woman. You embrace both genders.

Full-time – You wish you were born the other gender. You either dress 24/7 or you want to.

Pre-Op – You are transitioning to change your gender. You live full-time as a as that gender.

Post-Op – You have physically changed your gender.

Other – Hey, I can’t think of everything.

I personally fit into the All or Nothing. I do have very strong urges to dress, but have never felt that I am female.

[Sandy Banks]

Same as you Brenda............

[katrinakat]

We all live on a spectrum of gender. Some go further others don't. It's up to you to decide how far your willing to go to obtain your "femme" goal. It's a journey, enjoy the ride.

[Sara Jessica]

Now don't get me wrong, I'm all good with the label thing. It's how we human beings describe ourselves and what we encounter in this wonderful world of ours. But even though I understand what you are asking, you make a key error in how you phrased the question. The continuum you describe is transgender rather than simply crossdresser. For example, I'd have a hard time imagining someone who is post-op describing herself as being on the crossdresser continuum.

[Cassandra Lynn]

I have to agree with Sara here, no offense Friend of Brenda, but your continuum is rather different from what many here feel. You might want to use the Tag feature and do some looking back into all the archives of labeling threads.
Your question is one of those that is very subjective. But if pressed to answer i would offer that i'm in a state of progression on the TRANSGENERED spectrum and i'm somewhere in the middle, sometimes less, sometimes more TG.
mj (Cassie)

[Karren H]

I don't put myself into categories... I where I want to be and don't plan on changing teams...

[Cindia]

While its true that it would be very difficult to come up with a label to fit everyone and really labels are not necessary, it is fun sometimes to see where you are in relation to others. So using this scale, you could call me a "part time all or nothing fetishist"
When the urge and opportunity to dress mesh, I go as all out as I can, try to act as a female and it is usually sexual.

[AvidFan]

When I'm at work I cant wait to get home and slip on some panties and a bra, I don't feel the urge to wear makeup all the time. Also, at work, every female customer that comes in, I find myself really watching what they are wearing. I also love "window shopping" on lingerie sites. I also cant help how turned on I am when I'm dressed. Partial, fashion, fetish. Its all 3 of those for me.

[Rachel Morley]

I agree with the others, labels are not always a good thing as it's hard to quantity where we all feel we all are. In my case, I guess the nearest thing on your list to me is: "Part-time – You are both a man and a woman. You embrace both genders." ... although more than that as I'm strongly leaning towards the next category on your list too as I (sometimes) wish I were born the other gender and would like to dress as near 24/7 as I could if there were no social stigmas involved (like dressing at work for example).

[thechic]

using your scale i would say im full timer

[Michelle James]

Crossdressing Continuum?

Wasn't that an episode on Star Trek? LOL

I would have to select D. All of the above

[Amy S]

Geez, that's a tough question. I choose confused! :-) I think I fall in to several of those categories, depending on the time of day.

[Marcy 1]

Probably somewhere between partial and part time, but then again sometimes it depends on what time of day it is.

[StaceyJane]

I'm not full time but I would like to be. I do wish I had been born a girl.

[AllieSF]

I understood the question, regardless of the title phrase. I, for now, am:

"All or Nothing – A strong urge to dress. Only satisfied if you are dressed as completely as possible. No particular desire to be the other gender, even when dressed. and,

Fashion – You like the look or feel of the opposite gender’s fashions. No particular desire to be the other gender."

The difference in the "All or nothing" is that it is not always all or nothing. At this stage of my life I just really enjoy dressing up and going out to meet and interact with people in the real world in mainstream venues, with some LGBT sites thrown if for fun and games. I don't need to be totally satisfied by dressing, just like being dressed and getting out.

[carhill2mn]

"Labels" and "definitions" are tricky. Not everyone will ever agree in total. Although I would disagree with some of your "labels", using them as written, I am both "all or nothing" and "part-time". When I am en femme I always am completely en femme and I do not have a desire to physically "become a woman".
When I am with my family and non-T friends I am male (although my underwear is not) even though I wear my gel nails long with some sort of light polish, draw on my eyebrows and keep hair off my hands and arms.

[sandra-leigh]

I feel that I am not male, but I am not at all sure that I am "female". That part would place me as androgynous. However, I only wear female clothes, sometimes not noticeably, sometimes pushing the boundaries ("since a guy is wearing it, I guess it must be men's?") even at work, sometimes outright wearing skirt or dress (though not at work). I haven't worn a wig in about a year and a half. I would be happy to switch over to obvious women's clothes even at work.

I do not fit the above list, as I would wear the clothes 24/7, but I do not "wish I had been born the other gender". I've had some tough experiences in my life, but that doesn't mean I wish they had not happened.

[Loni]

well i am in the universe as know to humans, on planet earth in a distant and lonely arm on the milkey-way galaxy. with a small yellowish star, third ball from it with only one natural satellite, living on one of the larger chunks of land,(planet is 2/3 water) in a great country, but on a hill side, over looking a very large valley, in the middle - left world map block listed as 12/D, and/or 38*08.887 X 120*50.831 +- a couple hundred feet via the local gps satellites.
this is were i live.

but as for how i live i am a part-timer. born male, dress mostly woman, even as male i dress in items bought in the lady's dept.

[linnea]

Given these choices, I'd say, "Full-time." I'm not full-time yet, but I want to be and I'm making progress in that direction.

[MargaretJ]

Fashion and all or nothing. I got into this because of stockings and heels, but as the years rolled on, got the urge to dress, and now I'm not satisfied unless fully dressed and made up. Still with an strong interest in stockings and heels though.

[Christina2008]

On you scale I’d say somewhere between Partial and Part-time, with a bit of fashion thrown in.

[crashd0309]

partial

[Susie2]

Partial, Part time, with an occasional leaning towards Fetish, and intermittent thoughts about Full time!

[Mahoro]

I found your choice of the word "continuum" to be extremely thought provoking, and had to look up a few definitions to be sure I was considering the question clearly;

World English Dictionary (via Dictionary.com) says;
"a continuous series or whole, no part of which is perceptibly different from the adjacent parts"

Where Merriam Webster has a slightly different take;
"a coherent whole characterized as a collection, sequence, or progression of values or elements varying by minute degrees"

Taking these definitions under advisement, I would have to give two answers based on 'The Crossdressing Continuum' being encompassing of both internal gender identity and outwards expression.

For identity I am "other", and would self label as bi-gender, which could be described as the opposite of androgynous - meaning I have all the personality traits typically labeled as both female and male mixed together into one whole, regardless of what I wear or how I choose to present my self at any given time. It's not neither, it's Both, all the time, and I've felt that way inside my entire life. This would be the aspect of my 'personal continuum' that is continuous and coherent.

For presentation I guess I would select "part time", as I love being pretty and dressed up with cute clothes and make up, and do so as often as possible, however I am just as comfortable in a suit and tie as well, and find that drab mode is more advantageous in certain circumstances. This would be the aspect of my 'personal continuum' that is a series, collection and sequence, and certainly over time a progression regarding how this manifested on the outside.

For me presentation has also at times been more a 'blended' solution fitting with my bi-gender internal makeup, for example when I was younger I had long curly hair and often got mistaken for a girl even though I was not dressing as such, and now days I often grow out my natural nails and still have feminine mannerisms at all times, although without the wig and concealer on these days there is little chance of my guy mode being mis-read any more. As time has taken it's toll I've just had to find ways to adapt, LOL!

Anyways, thanks for the interesting question!

[Samantha43]

Somewhere between all or nothing and fashion with some part time thrown in.