Would you still do it?

[Kate Simmons]

If indeed crossdressing was re-classified as a mental illness as some have suggested with the potential of forced treatments to become "normal" and it would be strictly enforced by law enforcement agencies to get everyone to comply, I'm wondering how many would still crossdress and/or go out for self expression doing that. Some are painting a sort of apocalyptic "witch hunt" scenerio. If it did indeed become like that, just how important would it be for many of us to be "ourselves". While I consider it highly unlikely, simply for financial and logistical reasons, it's always good to have a back up plan in case a "what if" scenerio develops. So, how do you think you would proceed if something like this did indeed come to pass?

[Miranda09]

This scenario infringes upon civil rights and the freedom to choose. If history is any example, this will never happen. To cite an example, even tho most states legislate that gay/lesbian marriage to be illegal, this is changing, very slowly, but changing. If stating that CDing is a mental illness, you might as well say that being gay or lesbian is also a mental illness.

[CharlotteW]

Yeh I'd do it but I'm a bit of a renegade.

Just talking to my wife about this (just before lunch), I told her that if more women wore skirts and heels (maybe stockings/tights too) then I'd have less reason to dress.

[deja true]

Well...ya could always burn your male drivers license in protest, go to Canada and ask for political/gender asylum!

[Miranda09]

Well...ya could always burn your male drivers license in protest, go to Canada and ask for political/gender asylum!

:go:

[Karren H]

Like I have a choice? I think I'd go deep underground and try to sneak into Canada, too... Wait... That was my Vietnam War plan!!

[Dressing Jill]

I have what if plan for our country going to h in hand baskit (oh it is already there) but not one for that.

We learn to be sneaky at a very young age so I don't know if they could get us all. And If they did I would hope that they would put us all in the same place wouldn't that be a party. We would have the best food, cleanest restrooms, Every bed would be made in the mornings. Etc. Oh yea were do we go and sign up.LOL........

Hugs

Jill

[gretchen2]

Question authority, and fight the power.

[Toni_Lynn]

Some are painting a sort of apocalyptic "witch hunt" scenerio.

And indeed they are! It smacks of paranoia and tin-foil hat conspiratorial thinking.

But that said, I still would crossdress.

The situation described is very much like my teenage years. My mom's abuse didn't stop me. Her searches of my personal space, the late night raids, the attempts at de-programming -- none of it changed me. I still crossdressed and just got better and better at hiding my clothes.

As to ideas such as this -- relax -- enjoy today. The odds are in our favour.

Huggles

Toni-Lynn

[PaulaJaneThomas]

Fortunately for us in Europe, the European Convention on Human Rights would prevent much of your proposed scenario. I do sympathise with anyone who lives in country where it might come about though.

[sandrastackings]

I would feel even more obligated to go out. To express my freedom and to protest my right to dress as I feel.

[StaceyJane]

Since I live pretty much in the closet things wouldn't change so much. I guess I would have to watch myself more when I do peel out of the closet but I would still have to CD. It's in my blood.

[Amelia Moxon]

The problem is that cross dressing isn't a simple subject, they couldn't classify it as a mental illness. There are so many levels of Cross Dressing that it would be impossible to enforce such a law, there would certainly be allot of people locked up.

One thing I have noticed of late is the gender clothing divide is getting narrower. I noticed that a lot of skate trainers in particular are becoming gender neutral and you get the same stiles on both sides of the store. The a while ago I was in Schuh in the mens dept there was a pair of Pink Converse all stars on the shelf (yes I bought a pair). Plenty of other feminine styles too. Allot of the dress shoes are getting more pointy too, almost to the point of me thinking "geeze if I wanted to wear shoes that pointy I'd wear womens". A girl I know pretty well (work colleague so she doesn't know about me) has noticed the same thing in womens shoes, allot of boyish styles.

In my opinion it is too complex to create and enforce a law like that. If they do, they'd better get ready for a long drawn out and bloody fight because I won't back down easily.

Amelia xxx

[Samantha B L]

I would still crossdress. And I've decided I don't take this too seriously. Every year research guys announce preposterous new "cures" for this or that kind of Mental Illness and the cures never work. Besides, there are always plenty of Mental Health Professionals who DON'T look upon crossdressing as a sickness to be corrected. The first Transexual surgery was in 1952 and a great deal of the groundwork that went into that was done by psychologists and psychiatrists who were,in their own way,very understanding of LGBT and TG/TS/CD matters and that was way back in 1952.

[Nicole Erin]

People always worry about stuff. This or that will be illegal, the Anti-Chrysler is taking over, an asteroid will hit the earth, etc...

No one really cares if some people CD. They aren't goiing to start marshall law or do a witch hunt to find CD's.

[Holly]

While it is healthy to be aware of what is going on around us, it is dangerous to focus on just one faction. Yes, there are some within the mental health community who seem to think those of us who are TG are mentally ill. There are a whole lot more who want (and do) help us come to terms with being TG and get rid of the guilt that so often accompanies it. Life is meant to live, not to cower in fear. So, to answer the OP's original question, yes, I would continue to live my life as I do now.

[stephaniedoes]

ahh throw out a daisy duke leg and say wont you just look the other way!!!

[Daintre]

Short answer, yes, because it is who I am, Life in general goes through many phases, in one era, a facet of life is condoned, that may change in another era. I use prohibition as an example, drinking was legal, then it was immoral, now it is legal once more. There will always be people who will try and impose their values on the general public. If being a CD was declared a mental deficiency all it wouldl do is force being a CD further into the closet.

[Kate Simmons]

Thanks, all good responses. The simple fact is that no classification or law can "change" who we or anyone else is inside regardless of how much they may try to "fix" us. The whole thing is generated by fear of difference. To seek making everyone the "same" is really seeking complacency. Real progress cannot be stopped, only slowed and we are the real forerunners of diversity and tolerance.:)

[docrobbysherry]

So, I guess I'd move to Thailand. Get sex reassignment and, a WHOLE LOT of cosmetic, surgeries. :eek:

Buy a big house on the water, and rent out rooms to other Ladyboys!:D

[Carly D.]

If it were reclassified as a mental illness then I would be as well.. I just can't turn it off.. I am having more trouble controlling it all the time...

[Lorileah]

I would be your martyr. I am old, I don't care much anymore. I have considered my mortality and I am at ease with it. I have just enough Native American in me to know that Beardache are people too and "today is a good day to die." When people start to decide what I wear and what I think I no longer will have the faith in what our forefathers intended for us. Nor for what I served for 35 years ago. Psychology is an ever changing field. Most people in that field think for themselves. But once in awhile someone comes along who has their own agenda and has to rock the boat. If we have an illness there should be some sort of measurable standard, chemical imbalance or some hing scientific that can be proven (not disproven because you cannot prove a negative) that they can treat.

It scares me when people like Stanley Kubrick could predict the future so easily. What exactly is the treatment? Do they force us to wear dresses until get get bored with them? Is it like Clockwork Orange where we are bombarded with bad style choices over and over again? Do they force us to be naked unless we comply with their ideals? (sorry folks but n that case get ready to see this pasty ugly body daily)


It won't happen (I hope) because I have great faith in logic and common sense. However I am sure that there were voices like ours in the late 30's too.

[Stormgirl]

First, that would make my blood boil classifying CD'ing as a mental illness. I'd abo****ely still do it regardless of what some head doctors said though. Call me insane then :|

[Christinedreamer]

There was a time not too long ago when women were scandalized for wearing slacks /trousers. Marlena Dietrickwas derided all over the world. She never listened to them or kowtowed. She did what she wanted. the character of Laura Petrie on the Dick Van Dyke show was also scandalous in the 60's for her capri pants.

I have decided that when and ONLY when the media, religions, self appointed social police etc., openly condemn, and ridicule all GGs for wearing anything resembling trousers, "male" shirts, "male" inspired boxer shorts (always was amused at that one) then and ONLY then might I feel a twinge of concern for wearing a dress. This condemnation must be with the same ferocity and false inuendo to which we are subjected.

For anyone wanting a lighthearted but still moving explanation about CDing I strongly suggest renting "Bruno" created by ShirleyMcLaine. The 8 yr old star of the movie has a wonderful soliloquy berating a nun for her condemnation of his crossdressing. And can someone explain to me the reason priests wear such elaborate a frilly, lacy layered gowns? Either lacey clothes are for women alone or they are not. You cannot have it both ways.

BTW, clothing has evolved over the centuries from items indistinguishable between the sexes to what we have today. We as humans made these progressions and choices. There was no influence from G*d, He made us naked.

So a shirt buttoning right-to-left as opposed to left-to-right that is major issue for some. If "stockings" are sheer and "socks" from the same material are woven heavier, then the weaving machine must assign an appropriate end user.

Shouldn't we also follow the practice of never clipping eyebrows, nose hair, facial hair etc, if we are genetic males as removing any hair must automatically make us "crossdressers" in the most basic way. Anyone who removes any distinguishing physical characteristic that nature uses to distinguish male from female MUST by definition be trying to "crossdress."

That sounds pretty silly to me. In my world, if you suffer no physical damage from me dressing in anything I want as long as socially accepted levels of modesty are followed, what gives anyone the "right" to condemn us?

The same holds true for gay marriage. The only way a "straight"marriage can be damaged is one half of the "straight" couple really is gay and wants out of the "straight" marriage.

[TrekGirl1701]

In today's world I think it would be impossible to classify crossdressing as a mental illness. Where would the line be drawn? If a guy chooses to wear women's jeans, which except for a few small differences are the same as men's jeans, then he is technically crossdressing. Does having long hair qualify? Wearing earrings? Wearing a kilt? This isn't 100 years ago. More and more people are expressing themselves in different ways, especially in how they present themselves. I just think classifying crossdressing as a mental illness is such an archaic idea that not many people would take it seriously.

I would definitely still do it. This isn't some radical idea I had as a teenager to rebel against society. I've had these feelings for as long as I can remember. Nothing will ever change that.

[Joanne f]

I would like to think and say that i would just carry on as normal but in reality i expect i would be courses in how far i went.
The problem that they would have would be to find a distinct difference between what was Male and female clothes , so if they said that trousers are male what would happen to all the females that wear them ( i know dumb question).

[Annemarie]

Well if cding was classified as a mental illness, it could not be a crime, and therefore be illegal !

[SherriePall]

I was crossdressing when it was listed as a mental illness. Girls, it hasn't been that long since it was taken off the list. So, if I did before, why not now?

[GaleWarning]

Like Lorileah, I am aging and care less and less what others may think of me.

Also, such idiocy really would get my goat, and I would probably deliberately crossdress in public to see what transpired.

Remember "Alice's Restaurant"?

If everyone joined the movement, the mental health system would be swamped and the authorities would be forced to re-think.

(Come to think of it ... where would they draw the line? ... Surely almost all women already crossdress?)

Clayfish! Don't go there! :brolleyes:

[Lorileah]

Remember "Alice's Restaurant"?




You just sent 100 people here to :google: to find out what you mean :) I love us old hippies. twenty-seven 8 x 10 colored glossy photographs with circles and arrows and a paragraph on the back of each one explainin' what each one was,

I already have more than that number posted on the "net" and I got no explainin to do :) Jimmy Buffett said we need more Fruitcakes and less bakers I agree

[GaleWarning]

I see you also know the words off by heart ... :)

[NathalieX66]

I am not aware of any connection to CDing with mental illness , other than the broad category of philias & phobias. It doesn't even seem possibe to be called an "illness" let alone a "disorder". John Hopkins University Hospital in Baltimore dropped this stuff years ago. Maybe, in some instances there's the element of 'obsessive/compulsive' disorder but that's beside the point. Society creates the rules, abeit unwritten ones. It's just human nature to test the line of taboo, and sooner or later the line is going to get crossed.
One, how can you define a mental illness if you are dealing with something that is purely subjective? Two, why should anybody be given a clinical diagnosis of thinking certain thoughts and being penalized somehow if it doesn't harm yourself or anyone else , or break laws? Dr. Phil, may preach against it, but that's only because he is afraid to lose ratings and alienate his core audience, which , IMO, is a bunch of dimwit housewives in middle America.
Lastly, speaking pf philias & phobias, no one in public or even in the medical field has ever addressed the issue of phobia towards CDing...transphobia, whatever you want to call it.

[Sarah...]

Isn't GID already listed in the DSM as a psychological condition? I suspect that, by extrapolation, many practitioners would include CDing in that broad category. So it's here now as a treatable condition in the minds of many. Doesn't seem to be impacting on the activities of many folk hereabouts :)

Sarah...

[Deborah Jane]

I'd just add it to the list of things i already do that the authorities don't agree with!!

Laws are made to be broken, usually because if it's fun they try and illegalise it!!

[Gabrielle Hermosa]

...So, how do you think you would proceed if something like this did indeed come to pass?

Yeah - I'd still be me. I used to cd long ago when even I thought it was an illness and wasn't sure of the legalities (even though I never left my house). They can call it what they want, but it's not an illness. Regardless, I'd still dress up in the privacy of my own home and enjoy what I could with a heightened sense of paranoia. If I get caught, well then I'll just have to deal with it.

Do idiotic laws prevent people from doing other illegal things? Anyone smoke skinny, hand-rolled cigarettes, by chance? :heehee: There are dozens of totally harmless, yet still illegal things one can get arrested for. People will find ways to do what they enjoy doing. Maybe not in public, but in the privacy of their own homes, I'm sure.

[trannie T]

It would make the answer to the question, "Why do you wear womens' clothing?" so much easier. "I dress this way because I'm insane."

And they would all move away from me on the group W bench.

[Paula TV]

All logic goies out the window when i crossdress so no.

[Kate Simmons]

It would make the answer to the question, "Why do you wear womens' clothing?" so much easier. "I dress this way because I'm insane."

And they would all move away from me on the group W bench.I'll drink to that my friend.:drink::)

[GaleWarning]

And they would all move away from me on the group W bench.

Let's just wait for it to come around again on the guitar ...

Ready now? ... With feeling!

"You can get anything you want at Alice's Restaurant
(excepting Alice)
You can get anything you want at Alice's Restaurant,
Walk right in, it's around the back
Just a half a mile from the railroad track.
You can get anything you want at Alice's Restaurant."

That was horrible ...
You want to end prejudice and stuff, you gotta sing loud!
So once more, this time with five part harmony and feeling!

"You can get anything you want at Alice's Restaurant
(excepting Alice)
You can get anything you want at Alice's Restaurant,
Walk right in, it's around the back
Just a half a mile from the railroad track.
You can get anything you want at Alice's Restaurant."

Four of us so far ...
Only another 46 and ...
We've got ourselves a movement!
Well done!

[curse within]

If indeed crossdressing was re-classified as a mental illness as some have suggested with the potential of forced treatments to become "normal" and it would be strictly enforced by law enforcement agencies to get everyone to comply, I'm wondering how many would still crossdress and/or go out for self expression doing that. Some are painting a sort of apocalyptic "witch hunt" scenerio. If it did indeed become like that, just how important would it be for many of us to be "ourselves". While I consider it highly unlikely, simply for financial and logistical reasons, it's always good to have a back up plan in case a "what if" scenerio develops. So, how do you think you would proceed if something like this did indeed come to pass?


I have to hike up my little skirt and tell the S.O.B.s to k.m.a. I'm not lab rat get a real cure..

[shesadvl]

Like Lorileah, I am aging and care less and less what others may think of me.

Also, such idiocy really would get my goat, and I would probably deliberately crossdress in public to see what transpired.

Remember "Alice's Restaurant"?

If everyone joined the movement, the mental health system would be swamped and the authorities would be forced to re-think.

(Come to think of it ... where would they draw the line? ... Surely almost all women already crossdress?)

Clayfish! Don't go there! :brolleyes:


dont go there yer already did... :doh::brolleyes:

Women dress how they feel they need to dress, whether or not YOU men think its cross dresssing........
because you would rather see us in what percieves to feed your male fetishes or what.
Whats more we support you guyz in the fact that YOU CD in Clothing meant for women and you take a line like this. Now we dont think,.... im sure theres anything mental in that...
but the line is never drawn when you as Cd'ers do what you do when you want to....and go further then we do.....

I think Alice's resturant wasnt meant to be used in this way...
so is this also like living next door to ALICE laffing...:tongueout

[Joanne f]

[QUOTE=trannie T;1707036]It would make the answer to the question, "Why do you wear womens' clothing?" so much easier. "I dress this way because I'm insane."

I knew i had a good reason for doing it, :bs::GD::Pullhair:

[Ballerina]

Bring it on coppers!

i'd just plain tell them that a mental illness is classified as one because it negatively affects yourself, or others; with, or without the persons' knowledge. So, wouldn't this classify their arrogance, bigotry, and prejudice as a mental illness?

[Deb The Brunette]

Already got my padded cell booked lol



.

[bobbiegrrl]

This is something most of us first experienced as children. For whatever reason, we suddenly found ways to dress in our mothers clothes. In my case I wouldn't have been more than 8 years old.

I can still recall the feelings of exhilaration as I ran, fully dressed, up and down my back yard in the middle of the night.

I had no idea why this began, I was far too young for it to be anything I was driven too, it just occurred and I kept doing it. It seemed to go away just as unexplainably.

Then, following puberty, any opportunity I got, I'd do it again.

How is anybody going to stop us doing something which is so freeing and totally enjoyable and came upon us so very naturally.

I'll just go underground, but I'll never stop.

I've enjoyed it for way too long.

Take a look at the lists of thing which are supposed to be illegal, yet so many still do them.

What I do in the privacy of my own home is no one's business but mine, and what I get away with in public will remain the same, lol.

[Jonianne]

Of course I would continue to be who I am. I get angry at the thought of someone going around trying to change everyone else to suit their own belief. I hope the things Batty is reporting does not come true and that the APA gets their act together and ignors the psychologists in question, but if this were to come to pass, there are so many things that it could affect, such as custody cases, security clearances, 2nd amendment right of self defence, CPS cases, background information for even more type jobs such as healthcare and public safety and transportation (there ARE some here on the forum that have already been forced out of their jobs because of supervisors finding out).

Too many people already have issues with cd'ing (my ex swore she would fight against cd'ing tooth and nail), this would just give them more ammunition.

I hope this turns out to be only a tempest in a tea pot.