New Theory on True Cause of Cross-dressing

[Wildaboutheels]

Not sure about anyone else but I think your title is downright silly. "True Cause" implies that one idea or line of thought process would cover ALL CDers of every variety. Surely you did not mean that?

ANYone here that actually takes the time to READ Qs and responses knows there are many reasons WHY. It's not Rocket Science.

People who bother to READ know at least ONE piece of the puzzle. Very few deny "it" in numerous threads. It's the ONE THING that binds most here regardless of any letter groups they might wish to put themselves in and it's not difficult to imagine exactly where the shame and guilt that so many here have, comes from.

There is plenty of information "out there" on the net as well as can be found at libraries but few people will have the time and inclination to sift through it much less be able to separate the wheat from the chaff.

I know they are not popular around here but what happens if we stick to the FACTS.

This site posts FACTS in many places in the way of #s. Members may lie in their OPs or stretch the truth in responses but those #s do not lie and merely confirm the "never ending wild popularity" of certain topics.

For anyone interested in learning much about what makes all us Humans tick, I highly recommend Helen Fisher.

[autogirl]

Interesting theory

[robindee36]

Ok Miki. Sorry my left brain was showing. Here you go:

Avogadro constant - 6.0221413e+23 - number of atoms or molecules in one mole (no not the cute fuzzy kind

Charles Law - heated gasses (hot air) expands

Hope this helps. Seems my simplistic take on the whole subject has captured the imagination of at least a few. Simple girl that I am

Hugs, Robin

[Julie Gaum]

Great OP and, yes, it is a hypothesis, but an interesting one. I've always believed in the trigger theory explaining why most males may be exposed to the same
objects, material, people or whatever but don't react while others do react and, voila, the CD! To date we attribute that unique response as having to do with the manner some of us were wired before or after birth and for a short period thereafter. I do believe that among this presentation by Confusious there very well might be the answer to why some have that trigger waiting to be released and others don't. One step for ....
Julie

[mikiSJ]

Ok Miki. Sorry my left brain was showing. Here you go:

Avogadro constant - 6.0221413e+23 - number of atoms or molecules in one mole (no not the cute fuzzy kind

Charles Law - heated gasses (hot air) expands

Hope this helps. Seems my simplistic take on the whole subject has captured the imagination of at least a few. Simple girl that I am

Hugs, Robin

Oops! No, I am really glad I had the chance to look up these concepts. Knowledge is knowledge and unless you are willing to open a book, you will only ever get one perspective.

Question: Since a H atom is significantly small than a Uranium atom, does this mean a mole expands like the Charles Law balloon (big effing smile!)

I will never have the chance to use them except maybe when I am bluffing in a poker game.

[Lucy_Bella]

Great theory !! I have just a few suggestions though..For those who find it hard to believe in having sex at 7, you are correct.. But I do not believe that was the O.P.s point. That being even as far back as into the womb we do get erections ( males ) which I am sure are caused by blood pressure and yes, touching ( not by attraction or sexual ) anyone who has had boys or cared for them should know this.. The ( "e" ) must have some type of sensation in how we feel, again NOT sexual at that age puberty is when that starts but it does not mean the little fella isn't working before then.. So I believe the theory could be the sensation felt from the material in wearing certain items different than what is normally worn , again not in any way sexual .. This could explain another fetish in adults who wear diapers as a fetish ( not as a need ) or have the desire for clothing with certain material and a style for the fit, just a theory ..

I do not buy into the gender role with the O.P.'s theory ( not saying it's wrong or it couldn't happen ) because certain groups dress for different reasons and I do not believe gender is a intermittent chemical the brain produces but that is a different thread all together.. I really do like your theory and I feel it's worth looking into,great post!

[MissTee]

Arrrggh . . . . synaptogenesis and neural pruning . . . . it all makes my brain hurt!

Sometimes I think being a guy really sucks. When I was growing up I watched a lot of Dracula movies. He sucked, too. Guess that made me this way.

Just a theory . . .

[LaraPeterson]

Of all the things I lost, I miss my mind the most; synes-what-ever-the-heck-it-is and all. It's very amusing that this psychobable is couched so as to not be psychobable. There is NOTHING in biology that remotely suggests cross dressing is genetic or neurological, period. You can argue this ad infinitum and you will never prove anything. Crossdressing is FUN and it feels good. Just enjoy it and stop trying to justify yourself with science that isn't science. Just sayin' . . . .

[Adriana Moretti]

I agree with Lara...just have fun

[scarlett]

This sounds like the old "nurture" arguement with a new wax job.
The guitar theory is a lot more scientific.

[donnalee]

My theory does not only apply to western society. For instance cross-dressers growing up in India have an affinity for saris, and in Japan they may enjoy wearing a silk kimono.

Actually, kimonos are worn by both sexes in Japan, although they are worn at home mostly and to some formal events. Women's are more ornate, though, and can be worth a small fortune.

[Brianne_bc]

Ill have to read further into this. It does seem to fit for me.

[Amy07]

Nice theory, but without background studies and evidence, hard to believe. Not bad theory, kind of like special realtivity...nobody believed that then either. Amy is an engineer and scientist by training and 29 year experience in advanced stuff.

[erica12b]

i like the theory, and it is very logical , how can we prove it?

[Patty-Fay]

Interesting theory, but I'm not aware of any evidence to support the notion that it's nature vs nurture. In my case, I can think of environmental factors that may have led me to desire female clothing when I was young. It seems to me that I'm simply attracted to femininity, the femininity defined by our culture. The culturally defined feminine ideal is not hard-wired, so our attraction to the cultural specifics also can't be hard-wired. We have an innate attraction to the opposite sex (if we're hetero), but it seems clear that we have to learn those culturally defined aspects. Perhaps when I learned these, I mixed things up - so it could be more like dyslexia than synesthesia.

[Marcelle]

Interesting hypothesis (theory implies a body of research which proves the hypothesis) and from a neurochemical stance it is plausible but very hard to prove due to far too many outlying issues which factor into neuronal development.

Synaptogenesis and pruning actually occurs throughout our lifespan to some degree or another. What the OP is talking about is "exuberant synaptogenesis" which occurs early in our development and is associated with synapse elimination (pruning) a process in which development of the competing axons opposite a strong neuron for synaptotrophins determines a strong connection vice a weak connection (effectively starving the neuron - pruning).

All this to say that while it is plausible we are talking about a neuro chemical process of neuron development in the cerebral cortex which provides the connections to sustain cognitive processes not so much behavior. Can we be hard wired CD due to synaptogenesis? Possibly but that would imply specialization of neurons to regulate behavior (i.e., specific CD neuronal connections). I agree that neuro chemical imbalances across the synapse could cause behavioral issues (e.g., schizophrenia, OCD, bi-polar) but CDing . . . not convinced. The only study which links synaptogenesis to environment that I am aware of is one conducted on cerebral development in rats in which those rats raised in a loving and enriched environment produced approximately 25% more neuronal connections but this was not linked to any one specific behavior only neuronal development.

There may be something there but I think this is a long way off on explaining CDing as given the amount of neuronal connections (literally billions) the probability of some people developing a propensity to CDing based on a small percentage of specific neuronal connections occurring are infinitesimal at best. However great hypothesis which is deserved of further study but how you would do such a thing would be difficult.

Sorry not hacking on the OP, just providing another view.

Hugs

Isha

[BLUE ORCHID]

For me it's just who I am , And it's just what I do.

[Sarasometimes]

Sounds good but I doubt it. How do you explain a crossdressing homosexual? You still haven't noted your sources and if you are correct I commend you. In just 43 posts you figured all of us out, impressive if you are correct.
The schizophenia, mentally disturbed? Following your explanation could someone be a crossdressing hairdresser who associates numbers with smells and like Karren only learned about sex at 15 be mildly mentally disturbed and held alot by thier father? Just asking?

I think your mom held you too much and then that sister showed up out of no where (too young to have that explained). Mom plays with the girly one so maybe I should be girly too theory.

[Lynn Marie]

Thanks Confucius. Sounds fine to me. I'm an older lady now and I'm just no longer all that interested in trying to justify my CDing, but it's fun hearing possible explanations.

[AKADonna]

Interesting theory! In particular, I find the part about being exposed to feminine clothing at a very young age to be right on. On this site as well as the "Men Wear Bras" site, there are many examples told of guys who were first exposed to female undergarments as a young boy or in puberty and then not have he urge to crossdress until something triggers that desire later in life. I know that such is true for me, to. I don't know about many of the other explanations o attribution in your article, but I find myself, at age 70, feeling feminine urges on an increasing basis. I have even thought to attribute it to chemistry - that my body is just not producing as much testosterone these days (and maybe an increase in estrogen somehow.).

Anyway, I'm beyond trying to figure it all out. I'm resigned to simply enjoying the strong feminine feelings that I am getting and to dress as much as possible to be able to feel them more realistically.

[CONSUELO]

It is a hypothesis and it has a certain plausibility. Beyond that it is hard to comment. We all tend to go to our personal experience as a first 'check" on such ideas. In my case I did start dressing very young and it was intensely pleasurable and exciting and was my entire pathway to sexual exploration and gratification between the ages of around 5 or 6 and my early teenage years. Being a child of the fifties, I was much attracted to the feminine fashions of the day and still love the beautifully decorated slips and corsets that were prevalent at that time. Yet that is just one data point and does not prove anything. It is just consistent with the hypothesis as presented.
I do remember an interview between Charlie Rose and Watson of Crick and Watson fame. He, Watson, asserted that in time we would come to understand that all behaviour could eventually be linked back to our particular DNA. A sweeping assertion indeed. In a way it is the old Nature versus Nurture argument all over. As recounted in this hypothesis, it may well be the interplay between them that is important but it will take much work and some good experiments to prove.

[suzy1]

This is a first rate explanation of why we crossdress. All I can do is add my two pennyworth to this most difficult of subjects.
I have my own ideas about why we crossdress and its obviously not one simple thing. Add to that the many reasons why we crossdress and the variation between a crossdresser a transgender and a transexuial and you have a hell of a job on your hands trying to get to bottom of ‘why’

So lets break it down a bit and make it look a bit simpler. Now this is just my opinion for what that’s worth?

A heterosexual man can get a sexual rush out of the closeness of a female article of clothing. [Its sexy and its feminine] Notice that a lot of crossdressers dress in erotic clothing, stocking, panties, heels and so on. If it was not a sexual turn on for them then any old woman’s jumper would do? And then they become there own lover and masturbate. [Autogynephilia]
And what man has not gone to his wife’s underwear draw and felt her panties to remind himself of his sexual partner when she is away. So its only one more step to actually putting the panties on.

Now to the transgender. It could still be a sexual thing but it is also a conformation of there [real] sexuality. ‘It feels normal to dress as the woman I am’
The same holds true of the full transsexual that feels she is in the wrong body but usually without the sexual element.

[Christen]

Oh, Good. I'll tell my wife ... then again, maybe not.

[Sarasometimes]

Mary Something, I want you on my debating team, you are really good! Did you have to make arguments for your mom to pick you up and hold you? That is the new theory on why some people are really good debaters.

Did I miss the reply that mentions where all this research was done and by whom? I also think the real Confusius may be turning over about now.

[sissy2_amberlee]

I have no idea what this "theory" is, but do know that at the age of 12 or so, saw my mother taking off or putting on her bra, standing at her door mirror, unaware that I was watching. I noticed her lovely breasts, and her nipples, not sexually, beause I was not yet well into puberty, but the fact is, in a short time I was trying on the same bra at the same mirror, and in a short time thereafter, had my first orgasm, not even realizing the emission that took place. so, I t appears to me that in at least one person's experience, my cross dressing started that day. However, it was not until many years later, at the age of 22, that I suddenly had the urge, nay, the need, to buy a pair of pantyhose, and the rest as they say, is history. Why, you may ask?
Why is the sky blue? All I know that even my deep religious expression in no way compares to the peace I find in slipping into my panties or smoothing on a pair of stockings. I adore being amberlee, would not have it any other way.

amberlee