I think that when crossdressing becomes socially acceptable...

[Kris Vasquez]

that we're all going to lose something.

[superpike]

I don't think any group of minorities, being CD, gay, etc. will ever be completely accepted in society. I remember the first time I seen a boy dressed up; I was in high school and some girls took him in a back room...when he came out I just thought "what the heck?" But I didn't think badly of the boy, just figured those girls were having fun with him. It depends on people's personalities how acceptable they will be, society in general doesn't accept differences well.

[Sheila]

I think that when crossdressing becomes socially acceptable... that we're all going to lose something.

Care to expand on what you mean by that hun :)

[Vicky_Scot]

that we're all going to lose something.

You are spot on Christina. But I would have rephrased the title

'If crossdressing ever became socially acceptable' as I do not think that will ever happen.

Anyways you are spot on about if it did then we would loose something. And that something is the thrill. Part of what make crossdressing so exciting is the thrill factor wether you believe that or not. The fact that you are doing something which is taboo and not socially acceptable gives it that extra edge.

If you could dress any way you liked at any time and no one batted an eyelid would it be the same.......I think if everyone was honest then the answer would be a resounding no.

Xx Vicky xX

[CrossdressinGoth]

Personally for me I wouldn't lose anything if crossdressing became openly accepted. I dress as a woman 24/7, including at my place of work. For me, it maybe different then for others, to me, I don't crossdress, I simply wear what I feel looks good and feels great. My sense of style is very fem yes, even though I am a man, I do not see it as crossdressing because I am dressing to how my inner gender feels. If it became more socially acceptable I'd just not have to worry about whos gonna get their butt kicked in by a guy wearing high heels :heehee: There was a thrill for me yes, but that was long ago. The only "thrill" I may get out of anything is the idea of my family finding out, this is my only exception to my dressing 24/7, because of my families extremely intensive closed mindedness, I am not ready to come out to them and not have a blood family anymore.

[JoAnne Wheeler]

I would not hold my breathe - I just do not see this happening any time soon

JoAnne Wheeler

[MJ]

i don't think so. the freedom to be who you are in the real world would open doors that none of us would think possible i would welcome that day.

[Angie G]

I'll be loosing nothing I will be gaining a lot of dressing time. I dress because I like to not because I shouldn't.:hugs:
Angie

[beenherelongtime]

this brings up something i often think about. i have written(is this a word) about having a very hard time finding my size. i have often regretted spending so much on clothes that didn't properly fit me. i often thought i should have taken the money and had clothes tailored for me. One of the biggest problems is my height. i would buy nice camosiles or tank tops or shells and they would not reach my waist. sizes from the top would usually be 27" or 28", i could have used 31". when i underdressed i never felt right because i could feel or sense the shortness of the garment.

now if i had the garment tailor made for me, then would it still be considered a female item of clothing, or would it just be mine. same thought could be expanded to jacket, blouses, dresses, skirts, pants (even if zipper on wrong side) the only item that a male cannot wear because he has no reason to is a bra. and wouldn't that hurt a lot of us.

of course i realize that people would look at me if i wore a dress, but i could have jackets tailored, blouse made of silk or satin (love them) and could wear a sheer blouse/shirt with a chemise underneath and still appear masculine

[battybattybats]

Crossdressing has been socially acceptable for 10s of thousands of years!
So there is no way we can logicly consider that it could never again be acceptable without identifying a reason that this would be so! Just because we have mostly grown up in countries and cultures with a couple of centuries of nati-crossdressing (America Canada Australia) or at most a few thousand years (parts, and only parts, of the abrahamic theocratic world).

As for losing something, sure.
Losses of Pro: Excitement from indulging in a taboo. Feelling of being unique.

Thats all the losses of Pro.

Losses of Con: Fear, terror, oppression, suffering violent hate, being 2nd class citizens, being fired or thrown out of a rented appartments, loneliness, difficulty in finding accepting partners, loss of friends and family, needing to hide...

And thats a quick list.
And if only a few really appreciate that two Pro's and most suffer long-term risk of mental illness from the Cons then how can we consider the swap of loss of Pro's for loss of Cons in any way a poor one?

[Jilmac]

I hate to say this Christina, but I think you are wrong. I believe we will finally get the recognition as a unique breed of people who thoroughly enjoy what we love doing.

[Rachel Morley]

I think (maybe?) I understand you ... if a person gets a little bit of a thrill from CDing (traditional CDer not someone with TS overtones) then the idea that one day the wearing any clothing of any type would be socially acceptable kinda spoils the fun a little bit - get me?

I know this is a super sensitive issue but I going to stick my neck out here and say that I love the fact that women's and men's clothes are so radically different and I love the fact that as a guy I can experience "the other side" :)

I don't know if anyone gets what I'm talking about but if you do, tell me what you really think!

Hugs
Rachel

[Satrana]

Any loss from the "thrill" factor would be greatly outweighed by the limitless opportunities to express who you really are and the interactions with other people who would interact with your femininity.

[justmetoo]

Some may see it as a loss, but I agree with the others who see it as gaining much more. I would welcome the day! :)

[Karren H]

I'd have to change hobbys.... become a secret agent or an astronaut.... lol probably just sell my stuff... buy a new hockey stick and a new pair of skates and go play more hockey...

[miche_miche]

For me, there really wouldn't be a down side to CDing being socially acceptable. It would just give me the chance to be who I am, freely. I don't think it's the taboo that's the attraction for me. I think it's the freedom to be as beautiful as I can be. I know everyone's different - but that's just me!

[Carly D.]

What we lose?? fear... I think that would be lesser of the evils.. fear of..... well the list is large.. but mostly fear of the unknown.. I am afraid my family would disown me.. maybe not by saying such but by feeling the way that would feel.. being an outcast by everybody.. having to ask why they didn't include me in something.. but to have them come to me and say they know I have cross dressing tendencies and they are ok with that, as long as it is in it's place and time.. a time and a place for everything.. I wouldn't change the way I do things but I think I wouldn't feel like I have to be listening for the door opening and stuff to feel like I am secure...

[sometimes_miss]

Not all of us do it for a thrill. Some of us do it just to feel normal (not that it makes us normal, but it just feels that way). Example: All day long at work I wear comfortable but plain work shoes, and it makes me just a little sad whenever I look at them. Changing when I get home and putting on pretty heels just feels like a relief. Weird, I know, especially to women who can't wait to get home and put on a pair of ugly, comfortable sneakers.

[Nicole Erin]

Am I the only one who is troubled by what SOME people would wear if CD'ing became socially acceptable? I mean can you imagine the wanna-be gangsters with their jeans falling off their butt and seeing their frilly panties, or trying to pimp-step in heels? Or maybe seeing some old guy's hairly legs in black pantyhose and a short skirt?

The nice thing about it still being taboo on some level is that many CDs try to look at least presentable as to not draw as much attention.

[Nicki B]

Am I the only one who is troubled by what SOME people would wear if CD'ing became socially acceptable?

Well - it doesn't bother me... :)

What does, is the attitude of a few that they wouldn't want to be socially accepted. By all means live on the edge if that's how you measure your worth, but don't do anything to stop others ridding themselves of loneliness, guilt and fear?



And I'm with Katie B - I spend yesterday evening with two other M2Fs, an F2M and a genetic girl in a mainstream nightclub with about 500 other people ranging in age from teens to forties, after dinner in a fashionable city centre restaurant.

No one did anything other than treat us like everyone else there - in fact most people just didn't care, they got on with their night out, we got on with ours.. :strugglin

[Nigella]

No one did anything other than treat us like everyone else there - in fact most people just didn't care, they got on with their night out, we got on with ours.. :strugglin

And that Nicki is how I find my time out and about. :)

[Raya]

Forget us, I think public acceptance of crossdressing will benefit a lot of people. When it becomes acceptable to be a crossdresser, it'll become acceptable to openly market to crossdressers. Not only will we have a much easier time being feminine, large-framed women will too. They'll enjoy a much wider range of styles available to them. Women with large feet won't have to resort to (ugh!) men's shoes. And because crossdressers are more accepted, they'll still regard them as fem enough for them, even though they were "made for men".

The childhoods of little boys everywhere will be made so damn much easier. They've got enough to deal with without the gender gestapo breathing down their necks.

Like researchers have found about sexuality, I've always believed that we're near the top of the transgender iceberg; that there are a lot of "incidental" crossdressers out there. I think even the most cissexual man will benefit from the freedom to experiment.

Finally, I think the family and friends of crossdressers will benefit. They'll no longer have to overly worry about our safety. Our friends and family will no longer have the bear the burden of having to keep secrets from their friends and family.

[vivianann]

I did not want to wait for crossdressing to become acceptable, so I go out enfemme all the time now, and most peaple are too busy to notice, and the ones that do notice have been nice about it. If it became acceptable to crossdress it would not have an impact on me because I am out all the time anyway, I think if more of us came out to society that it will become the norm for us to be enfemme. I think society would be more accepting but we are too busy hiding behind our fears, I am glad I am not afraid to dress how I want anymore.:D

[Emma England]

First of all, crossdressing is acceptable.

Besides, everyone will still be able to wear clothing that suits their own particular style.

Choice of clothing would be so huge that no 2 people will look the same (this is a great fear of a lot of women attending parties not wanting to wear the same dress as someone else).

I dress in femme clothes more for comfort than thrill.

Thrills are usually in place because you have some sort of fear.

I have no fear myself because I believe that I am not doing anything wrong.

[kristinacd55]

that we're all going to lose something.

The only thing I'll lose will be my head stuck in a closet :heehee:

[Kieroney]

Well you always heard we woundn't have a black president, and we do, so maybe dressing might be in the future of being accepted in the next 100 years.

[Carin]

I know labels and categorization is a bit taboo, but here is a great example of the differences in 'flavor' of crossdressing. There are those for whom it is a hobby - a thrill to be savored on occasion, and those for whom it is a lifestyle - a state of being that feels more right.

There was a time when I got the personal thrill, in a private setting. Going out dressed was straught with much more fear than thrill, until I got over the fear that is. Now when I go out and about my sense of self is that of just another ordinary everyday average transgendered person. Of course I don't see too many other ordinary everyday average transgendered people about, but that is ok. It doesn't seem to make a difference to most people. Occasionally I get complements. I can't recall an insult yet. Stares and looks don't bother me. I rarely see them any more, and when I do notice, I find it humorous.

My family worries about my safety sometimes. It would be nice if they didn't have to. I would be happy to loose that.

I see a state of social indifference which is different that acceptance, but getting there.

[Tasha McIntyre]

I might finally get my head out of the closet and venture past the front door :daydreaming:

Would need a lot of convincing though, and being admittedly pretty gutless in this area, would need lots of others to pave the way......Yeah i know, if people like me showed more courage, acceptance might happen a bit quicker!

Give me a drink please :drink:

Tash :)

[battybattybats]

I might finally get my head out of the closet and venture past the front door :daydreaming:

Would need a lot of convincing though, and being admittedly pretty gutless in this area, would need lots of others to pave the way......Yeah i know, if people like me showed more courage, acceptance might happen a bit quicker!


What if you could find someone else in your area not more out than you but willing to go out with you?

Safety in numbers sort of thing?

[sissystephanie]

You are spot on Christina. But I would have rephrased the title

'If crossdressing ever became socially acceptable' as I do not think that will ever happen.

Anyways you are spot on about if it did then we would loose something. And that something is the thrill. Part of what make crossdressing so exciting is the thrill factor wether you believe that or not. The fact that you are doing something which is taboo and not socially acceptable gives it that extra edge.

If you could dress any way you liked at any time and no one batted an eyelid would it be the same.......I think if everyone was honest then the answer would be a resounding no.

Xx Vicky xX

Funny, I rarely ever get a "thrill" out of dressing! I wear feminine clothing most of the time because I like the fit, feel and look of that style of clothing. Not because it is "Taboo," or not socially acceptable. I wear what I like to wear solely because I like to. What other people think about that is their problem!

As far as CD's having mental problems because of the so-called prohibitions agains crossdressing, if their heads are screwed on straight to start with they will have no problems. Most mental problems of that sort are caused by a lack of self confidence and not knowing yourself like you should!! I don't worry about what people who see me wearing a skirt think! I cannot control their thought processes! (Maybe some day if I can get this machine perfected!!) What I cannot control, I refuse to worry about! Makes life a whole lot easier!!

In plain english, I wouldn't lose a thing!!!

[Kris Vasquez]

I didn't mean to suggest that there is any secret thrill to what we do but rather that it's a very special thing that we have.

[notquitegirl]

that we're all going to lose something.

I know I'll lose something: my pants. Can't wait for that day.

[emmicd]

I think that crossdressing is part of a person's makeup and it makes the person feel complete. Most crossdressers live in fear of being discovered and are very secretive. If crossdressing was socially accepted and I believe to some degree it is tolerated but I feel most crossdressers would be slow to opening up about it. I believe I would feel somewhat free to explore and dress in public if it was more acceptable but those days are not anytime soon. I do believe however there are some crossdressers that do share this part of themselves and are accepted to some degree.

emmi