Just wondering how y'all classify this common pastime of ours?
In my case I would call it a "compulsive hobby" .
Also, just curious, CDing is my adsolute favorite thing to do. I literally can't wait to dress when ever I can. I have other interests but they are all distant seconds. Is it just me or do others kinda of feel the same?
Thanks...take care
All three
Have many other interests but dressing is #1
Sally, I would also add necessity as we don't do well not dong it.
Part Time Girl
Sally,
No it's more than a hobby for me, if it were just the clothes I wouldn't be doing it !
Secondly through circumstances of my CDing I nearly ended my life twenty years ago, hobbies certainly don't have that outcome !
I do now realise it's a hobby to some members , I wouldn't want the mental anguish over a hobby !
Definitely all three at various times. Excluding family, one other thing in my life will often come ahead of cross dressing and that is my body surfing/boarding. Alas time and tide wait for no cross-dresser.Important point here is that I get plenty of time to cross-dress these days. I do think that normalizes things a little and allows other thing a bit more of a look in. 40 years ago cross dressing was a total obsession and having very little time to cross dress made it all the more so.
Last edited by Jane G; 11-30-2015 at 03:41 PM.
Its sometimes all 3 with me too but it's more of a hobby than anything else
Ellie May 😘
It's a necessity.
I'm generally obsessed with crossdressing. But, my priorities are in healthy logical order. Crossdressing gets a lot of mental mind play during the course of normal activities. I so love women and it's a constant study of their makeup, dress and mannerisms. And, there's the constant evaluation of scheduling to see where the next opportunity will be.
I've waited so long for this time. Makeup is so frustrating. Shaking hands and I look so old. This was a mistake.
My new maid's outfit is cute. Sure fits tight.
And then I step into the bedroom and in the mirror, I see a beautiful woman looking back at me.
Smile, Honey! You look fabulous!
I think it's a stress relief! I just feel better
Sally I would have to agree, it seems the more it gets into my blood the more I enjoy it.
Unfortunately it can have bad consequences for some like me and my marriage.
So not all a bed of roses
I would agree with that.Originally Posted by gokatiegirl
A compulsive hobby for me. There are twelve step programs to help with addictions, but I have never heard of anything like that for crossdressing. An addiction controls you; not the other way around. I have no problem setting crossdressing aside for lengthy periods of time when necessary, so I feel I have an element of control over it.
Veronica
Definitely all three for me.
The hobby part is rare occasions when the house is empty for a few hours and I get to dress up as I please.
The compulsion aspect is planning things in order to get that time alone, then literally running into the bedroom and digging through my stash deciding what to wear for those precious couple of hours.
And the addiction, well, I don't really need to explain that part, now do I? LOL
My wife can always tell when it's been a while, as she thinks she notices an increase in my irritability. Even though we're primarily DA/DT, she'll even tell me that I need some 'alone' time, knowing that spending an hour or so dressed does wonders for making my demeanor much calmer.
Last edited by SandraInHose; 11-30-2015 at 05:08 PM.
"Masquerading as a man with a reason, my charade is the event of the season" ('Carry On Wayward Son' by Kansas)
Its part of who I am. I am Suzy as much as I am John.
Definitely all three for me. It's a hobby in that I don't have a lot of time to do it amid life's responsibilities (plus I'm closeted), but I definitely feel compelled to do it and I think about it often.
The one constant is that it's different for each of us. It can depend more on why we do it, yet, most haven't a clue. All they know, is that it's something they either feel the need to do, or something they like to do and don't see why they shouldn't do it. The difficult thing is, crossdressing doesn't usually respond to the treatments for compulsions, addictions, or anything else, for that matter. I believe that there was record of some success with electroconvulsive therapy, but that seems to work by destroying memories and stored thoughts in the brain, leaving the patient less than fully functional. I'd rather be a crossdresser than a vegetable.
Some causes of crossdressing you've probably never even considered: My TG biography at:http://www.crossdressers.com/forums/...=1#post1490560
There's an addendum at post # 82 on that thread, too. It's about a ten minute read.
Why don't we understand our desire to dress, behave and feel like a girl? Because from childhood, boys are told that the worst possible thing we can be, is a sissy. This feeling is so ingrained into our psyche, that we will suppress any thoughts that connect us to being or wanting to be feminine, even to the point of creating separate personalities to assign those female feelings into.
The only way to stop it from being a compulsion is to make it a total choice. That's what I did and for myself anyway I look at it as an art form and have pure fun with it.
Second star to the right and straight on till morning
I've seen this post before, or at least some incarnation of it. Honestly, I'd say none of the above. It's not a hobby, because I don't do it for fun. It's not a compulsion because I can choose not to do it. It's not an addiction because I can handle prolonged time without it. So what does that leave?
When I put on women's clothes, I don't consider myself a crossdresser, because I'm dressing to match my current internal gender. I don't have to do it. I don't need to do it. I don't get any particular enjoyment from doing it. I just do it, simple as that.
That said, if I feel feminine and can't dress the part, I get irritable and I feel stressed out. One might point to addiction there, but that feeling comes and goes with my gender identity. An addiction stays with you all the time. I guess that means for me, "its a choice."
SSC:
I cannot classify the dressing that I do as a hobby. A hobby has an entirely different feel to it.
I am a motorsports fan. Since the early 60's I've been to all sorts of events, all around the country. I collect books on cars and motorsports and many have been signed by famous people. I am a member of the Society of Automotive Historians, motorsports history branch, although I'm not an historian. In short, this is a hobby to me.
For me, dressing is much too personal to consider it as a hobby. It touches something on more of a subconscious level. I like doing it. It feels good when I do it. I don't associate shame or guilt with dressing. So, to me, it would seem that anything that resonates on such a fundamental level is beyond the idea of a hobby.
Anyway, I do find it fascinating that there are MANY different ways of looking at this activity. It's almost like each one of us brings something unique to the party. It may be more interesting or less interesting at any given time, but it is NEVER dull.
DeeAnn
It's none of the above. It's my life,who I am
none of the above. it was never a hobby, and maybe in the beginning a compulsion and addiction
but now, it is a part of me.
paula
I"m gonna go with the "compulsive hobby"
None of the above. I dress every day. Usually for several hours at a stretch. On weekends and holidays I dress en femme all day. I've reached the point where these are just my clothes. I still feel a lot less stressed when dressed en femme, but that's because I am female (despite appearances). It's so much easier just to be myself and not have to pretend to be male.
It had started as a hobby but now I don't know what to think. I know for a fact its an addiction right now and it's scaring the living snot out of me. It fun and exhilarating, feels so natural, buy scared to see where it's leading.
The pictures and content in my posts are owned by me(aka Brooke B, aka BABS) and shall not be copied or reproduced without my authority, and not be used for any purpose or agenda that would be discriminating to my self statue.
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