I came out when I was in my teens, and this was back in the seventies. I didn't wait for Al Gore to invent the internet in order to come out.
I came out when I was in my teens, and this was back in the seventies. I didn't wait for Al Gore to invent the internet in order to come out.
In solitude where we are least alone. Byron
I am 26. I feel that it is a lot easier today for many reasons.
The internet helps. CD's tend to be a secretive bunch, and unlike other out or fringe identity scenes we have never made any load sounds about the discrimination. Well, especially in the UK.
I am speaking as a young'un here. So I could be wrong
Last edited by Han; 06-15-2006 at 03:38 PM.
Zara
"Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new." Albert Einstein
It's much much easier now than in the 60s. You could be beat up or worse. They thought we were sick or had a medical proublem I'll talk about that later
Jannette
[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
I went to my first drag bar in 1980, joined ETVC support group in 1981. Long before anyone heard of the Net. SF/NYC have had such bars since WWII at least. It was a lot more trouble to find them. And needless to say they weren't in the best sections of town. (I remember my first trip to the Black Rose, I wasn't worried about being caught, I was worried about being killed, robbed, whatever.)
Like so many things, being black, being a woman with a job, being a Cubs fan, minorities are no longer on the outside looking in. Also, behavior deals like being gay, Rainbow Nation counterculture stuff, or voting Republican, marginal social behavior is tolerated in a much greater degree now than it was pre-WWII. The reasons for that are book length, so I will skip them. Just suffice it to say its been a gradual breaking of the damn over the past half century (At least in the industrial West).
From what I see a lot of the girls here don't go out, and this becomes their outlet, and no doubt the internet has allowed all sorts of people who thought they were alone to reach out and touch each other. (Google "FURRY" and see what I mean, yeesh, people think we are nuts.) This is a good thing. And by the time we hit these tender years its become obvious that its not going to go away, you didn't outgrow it, therapy didn't help, drugs didn't destroy it, you couldn't give it up for love - So... What the hell? Might as well sit back and enjoy it. These pages and posts are a way of doing that for a lot of people here.
I work with a lot of groups that have a lot of younger members, like LYRIC, and girls, these boys DON'T NEED the internet. They have grown up in a much different climate and are much more open - and out an about. Also - they are here (on the net) its just different sites where they are in touch with people who are more like them in a generational sense. I can quote the Rolling Stones in here and most of the girls know where it came from, but if I quoted Bright Eyes???? Besides do you really want to listen to crossdresser rap and hip-hop? Didn't think so.
As all the others have said we didn't have the internet when I was in my 20's and many of us had families and then we didn't dress in front of them.
When you reach 40 + you have in many cases less to lose and more confident to dress.
0.02
Mind of a Woman, Body of a Man, Life is a Bitch
I honestly had no freaking clue that this stuff went on. Ok this is gross but true. The first time I ever really knew that transgendered stuff went on is when I was in my late 20s and saw a ******* Porn magazine in the locker room at work believe it or not. That was the 80s and guys had porn around before sexual harrashment laws and stuff. I knew I had femmy urges but just thought I was bi or gay...and I surpressed all that. Was scared I was a gay guy. Did not realize I really should have been a chick and somehow my brain is wired up wrong for the plumbing I got!!!
I still kinda just thought it was like 1 in a million deal and then it was a sleazy porn thing. But the internet came along and 5 or 6 years ago I started seeing stuff on the net then took a big interest of course. I saw there were cool girls like Renee Reyes, Brenda Glass in Atl, Briania Bryant and yes Eva from this forum that were not perverts and were accomplished people with successful lives.
I first dated some Tgirls with me being the guy then last year said heck with it I am going to dress up. The rest is history. But out at the clubs in Atlanta I see lots of young Tgirls. They are exposed a lot earlier than I was and I envy that they are lining up their lives to be Tgirls a lot earlier than I am.
Not complaining however, the past year has been a very happy one for me. Right now due to needing to make a living I'm a guy during the day. But I'm a chick at night and on the weekends. Its a good balance and enough for now. Might go Fulltime when the kids go to college but who knows.
Sorry you hit my button with this thread and I went way too long on it.
Because those younger have the advantage of youth with no responsibilities or commitments, ie wife and family. Some of us have been holding this in for decades so this is our release especially if we have no support from the wife.
This is why it is called gender confusion. It takes a while to figure out what is going on!
It is a different world today. Then we did not have the info that is available now and views were not as enlightened as we think they are now.
If I were 20 today I might be more "open" about it and make my decisions in life differently. At this point with a family and other responsibilities I have to take little things and be content.
Enjoy the freedom that you have and keep in mind what you want in the future and make your choices accordingly.
Peace comes from within
In my case I grew up in a small redneck town. There was one guy there who was TS and didnt hide it in high school. He was ridiculed and so on, and even had to run for his life a few times, but held his/her ground. That being said, I wasnt about to be outed back then. Now that I am 39 and have had the internet the last 5 or so years to do the research, I have found out who and what I really am. And of course this website has helped me tremendously. I even met with a couple of "sisters" from the local tri-ess the other day thanks to this site. Now....If I was younger and new then what I know now.....things would most likely be a lot different for me.
Erika Leigh
After reading many bios on the net over the last few years I find that the typical CD describes how their interest in female clothes began at an age between 5 and 10. I am no different and remember playing a game where I swapped underwear with my female cousin. What I find is that for me, this "thing" has become stronger over the years. For many years I was content with the occasional opportunity to wear an item of clothing but when I turned 40 I realized that there was more to this and that part of me is a girl. It its then that I gave birth to Kattie, my female self. Soon after I told my wife with bad consequences but that is another story. In any case, I suppose something similar happens to other CDs and at some point the urge becomes so strong that one feels the need to stop keeping it secret. Maybe 40-50 is the typical age when this threshold is reached. CDs who come out in their 20s maybe have a lower threshold or the girl inside them 'grows' much faster. This is just my theory. But I agree, the Internet must surely have an impact on this.
xxx
Kathryn
Waiting for my upgrade to Female
im 21 just had a hard life lol no realy i was thinking i was the only one like this when i was young i am so glad im not and now my wife knows we do things together moor and even meet people too there are a lot of nice people out there and i think now life is good
It's alot easier if you start early. Years ago, with little info and not much help it was very difficult to even decide what the problem was. Now there is so much more medical help (hormones, plastic surgury, and of course SRS) and even just retail help (just google crossdressing and see how many devices, pads, clothes, etc.. that you can buy) that you're not alone.
If you talked to most older CDs here I think you'd find that the majority had not talked to another person about this until a few years ago (maybe an exception for their SO). These message boards are making a very big difference for all of us, but especially I suspect for the closeted CD. Just knowing that there are many others out there makes a big difference on your outlook.
Good luck. Most of us would love to be able to have started in our 20's with CDing. If you think you might be TS, this is the time to explore that, not after you have established a male life and family. You might want to read "She's Not There" by Jennifer Boylan.
http://www.colby.edu/personal/j/jfboylan/
I'm 52 and just recently started dressing. I always had urges, but it wasn't until this year that I decided to give in totally. Sally24 is right in that this site in particular was a big reason for my deciding to dress. I really thought I was alone in my desires, and when I met all these wonderful ladies and read about the fun they had, I felt so good. And make no mistake, I do feel VERY good about myself and my desires to be a crossdresser. But I do wish I had started much earlier. It is so much fun!
If you can't wear heels, what's the sense of dressing?......
kathy id love to have a girlfriend who would get into this with me, my search has been in vain as well, i am 29 btw ,this issue tends to scare most girls off
Hello mz. jenny,
I'm 36 so I think i'm still under the 40 mark but getting closer , although i'm having a blast doing my thing especially in a new city. So not all of us are not 40 and over. I like to think we paved the way for the younger people out there. hugs and kisses,
Kelli
Actually, before my wife and I were married in our 20's she suggested it, after catching my landlords teen aged daughter, whose boyfriend was dressed in her bra and panties having sex. My wife thought that was quite kinky and wanted to try it.
I had worn my mothers and grandmothers things before, but felt uncomfortable wearing my girlfriends things in front of her. Until now.
Hey girls,
I'd just like to know what other members think their most femmine feature is?. My most femmine feature would probably be my hips, especially when wearing tight clothes. I'm fortunate to have a slim waist and look very slimming.
Jenny
Nothing wrong with being over 40 and just coming out,or admitting to what you are.Many of us here in the states had to put several years or more on hold while we did the military thing.Uncle Sam just didnt like it very much.so we had to put our urges on hold as much as we could.I also agree with the others over fort that the internet has opened up a whole new wolrd to us.We now know that we are not freaks or alone in the world .The only thing that kept me closely sane before retiring was that my ex did understand about my problem as she refered to it.I look at it as those of us that are older just laid the ground work for the younger ones coming along now.
[SIZE="3"]ELIZABETH NICOLE[/SIZE] eat drink and be Mary cause its better than being Gary.
My little toe's are hot.
That would have to be my mind, girls. The rest of the package suffers by comparison. But my mind can soar.
Lovies,
Stephenie
My wife says I have very feminine legs and I would have to agree. I just wish I had to butt and hips to compliment them......oh well.
The key to my heart is a sexy pair of heels.
"She is everything to me
The unrequited dream
A song that no one sings
The unattainable
Shes a myth that I have to believe in
All I need to make it real is one more reason"...SlipKnot
It seems like most everyone is in agreement......the internet has done wonders for the cd. I am 57 years young, and all I can say is thank God and the people that had the guts to come out and say "This is who I am....If you don't like it, its your problem, not mine" I try to be as beautiful a woman as I can when I am dressed,because thats how I feel inside, like the woman that I have been for so many years. May God bless all cd's for just being who they are. Stef4955
When I was in my 20s and 30s, it was still illegal for a man to dress as a woman, in a lot of places. It was also considered queer, or gay.
My most feminine feature is probably my shaped eyebrows. I must say though - I also have terrific man-boobs!
(. Y .)
I am only a cross dresser when I don't crossdress!
About Me: http://www.crossdressers.com/forums/...595#post306595
"I don't want the world to see me, cause I don't think that they'd understand. When everything's made to be broken, I just want you to know who I am" - Goo Goo Dolls
[SIZE="3"]www.HappyDressers.com[/SIZE] - Where cross dressers go to be happy!