Why do we crossdress?

[Julie-Su]

I was talking with my girlfriend, who has known almost a year about my crossdressing and is having trouble accepting it, and she asked me why I crossdress. I am not quite sure I know how to answer that question... I have been doing it for so long that it just seems normal to me. She basically believes that if I expect her to put forth the effort to accept it, that I should put forth equal effort to try and explain why. The best I can come up with is that I crossdress because I like it. But why do I like it? Do I like feeling like a girl or do I just like going against the norm? I'm not entirely sure... Anyways, I figure if some other people helped brainstorm some ideas that maybe we could at least shed a little light on the situation.

[charlie]

Welcome Julie Su to the forum!
I'm glad you found us here and hope that you get as much out of it as I do. In a society that hates what we do, it is always good to have a backboard of people that can tell you, you are not entirely crazy nor alone! As to why I crossdress....it is tough. It is sort of like a drug that makes me feel complete and tranquil. When I get dressed up and go out I feel like a calm me and enjoy the feeling. As you mentioned, I also get a certain high being out among others while dressed as a female. However, I feel like a female then as well! Tough to explain, definitely. My wife has huge problems with my dressing. It has almost cost me my marriage. She tells me that I'm not normal nor the man she thought she married. I would quit if I could. However, it seems a part of me that I must retain.

[claire2454]

Hi Julie-su

well hun with a question like that you are asking for the meanning of life it self.
now i crossdress because it is natual for me to do so, and i now feel no shame at all in dressing in womens clothes as so meny of the girls on this site, as it also is the reason why any one of the girls dress and more.
so hun it is one of thoese things which is hard to explain. sorry i can't be off any more help in your quest to find a reason to give to your girlfriend. maybe you should show her this site to help her to find the reason why and one wants to dress.


lol claire :love:

[Karren H]

Alien Abductions!!! Yeah... That's just as plausable and unprovable as any other excuse you can come up with...

[Josephine 1941]

Hi Julie-su, The question of why??????? I bet your girl friend wears pants men shirts ,no make up days, combat boot < the list goes on for the women with no problem. Now as for me I love the feel of all the different clothing of MINE that I wear. Do the women want to be men when they wear our type of clothing. My GG has no problem with me dressing causal or to the nines. we enjoy the person and the different personalty that it brings. I bet if u said to her , that if she dress's as women each an every day u will stop too. Love to hear that answer. But honey its more confertable in pants or shorts. I love wearing a skirt, I think that is more sane for a man. Good luck JO :daydreaming::doh::devil::devil:

[jenna_woods]

that's a very good question, I habe beend ressing for years and can't answer it, all I know is that I enjoy every minuite I am dressed.

[busker]

Many years ago, people in suits took away a baby monkey from its mother and it became sad and depressed. Monkies are social creatures the same as we are. As part of the experiment, they gave it a piece of cloth to cling to and this "cloth mother" seemed to help the baby monkey deal with its lonely and sad life.(a security blanket)
It is possible that crossdressing is the "cloth mother" that people need for whatever reason. Perhaps lack of motherly love early on, lack of touching (sensory deprivation) for babies, sibling rivalries and lack of attention-likely a psychological (body chemistry) need more than anything else. While a lot of people here indicated dressing while VERY young, many more seemed to have started in the puberty years where CHEMISTRY rules and parents may be too busy to be attentive. Society and family can be a very potent force and a force wlhich isn't always obvious. If crossdressing is NOT universal, then there must be some other reason. Do they crossdress in Outer Mongolia? do Eskimeaux parkas differ enough to give men the desire to crossdress? Do women obsess over work boots? This should not just be a male-preoccupation. Women should have this same drive to dress like a man and bake cookies!

[Stephenie S]

Dear Julie,

There are as many reasons for crossdressing as there are people who do. Why worry about it?

You want to explain yourself to your SO in a way that will make sense to her, but the fact is that this is not possible. She will either except your CDing or she won't, but this is very unlikely to hinge on your explanation.

You CD because you want to. Plain and simple. That's why. Clearly you don't HAVE to, although there are plenty on this forum who will tell you otherwise. A guy CDs because he want's to and will do so until the rewards of so doing outweigh the consequences.

We don't rob banks even though we COULD. Why? Because the consequences are too severe. We don't beat up little old ladies and steal their pocketbooks because the consequences are too severe.

Yet CDing is a relatively benign activity. You are hurting NO ONE. It's not illegal. It's not imoral. You are breaking NO laws, neither God's nor man's. So it's difficult to come up with a reason not to do it.

It's FUN (I hope), or you wouldn't be doing it. You LIKE it. It gives you a thrill. It's a bit of forbidden fruit that you KNOW is perfectly harmless. For many, there is a huge sexual component. There is a huge SENSUAL aspect also. The clothes FEEL nice.

Have I come up with enough reasons? I could keep going. Ask any one on this forum and you will get a slightly different answer. But answers you will get. There are THOUSANDS of crossdressers, and thousands of reasons why.

My advice? Stop worrying about WHY, and just enjoy it. If your wife is not on board, just keep her out of it. Figure out a way to do it without her. You have no right to demand that she paricipate, or even approve. Many men have activities that their wives don't approve of. Many men hunt, for instance. And many wives are apalled that every year their husbands grow a beard, buy some beer, and go into the woods to kill little defenceless animals. But the marriage survives anyway, because these men don't insist that their wives participate. Leave her OUT of it if you have to.

OK sweetie. I got a little long winded. Sorry. But you did not ask a simple question. Most CDers eventually give up searching for the reason WHY, and just enjoy it.

Lovies,
Stephenie

[AllieSF]

Because its there!! ????

[Danielle Gee]

I do it because I like it, It makes me feel comfortable, and its the way I was brought up:daydreaming:

[Karen7cd]

I am gaining an understanding of why I cd. I worked hard all my life. I have become a very honest, good person. I have aquired education and much training. None of it matters. If you are over 50 no one wants you, unless you can say "want fries with that".
CDing is an escape in to a new person, someone that has a large group of ciber firends,
that will give help and advice and never be critical. For the few moments each day when I dress. My problems, my unemployment, my bills, my turn off notices are gone.
I am pretty, I am industrious, I am creative, I am woman! Just a little physically stronger then most...

[KayC]

Hi Julie-su, The question of why??????? I bet your girl friend wears pants men shirts ,no make up days, combat boot < the list goes on for the women with no problem. Now as for me I love the feel of all the different clothing of MINE that I wear. Do the women want to be men when they wear our type of clothing. My GG has no problem with me dressing causal or to the nines. we enjoy the person and the different personalty that it brings. I bet if u said to her , that if she dress's as women each an every day u will stop too. Love to hear that answer. But honey its more confertable in pants or shorts. I love wearing a skirt, I think that is more sane for a man. Good luck JO :daydreaming::doh::devil::devil:

Give us a break on that one...we don't wear jeans and boots to dress like men, we wear them because they are practical. I'm not and never will try to emulate a man. However, I do support your right to dress however you want.

[StephHamilton]

i do it because it simply is who i am, im not ashamed and its natural

[AmberLynn]

Tough question,cause there is no solid 1 anwser. it's diffrent for everyone.

me,i have allways felt something was wrong with me. i did not feel like a jump on the horse and ride into a stamped,grab a hunk of steel and start welding guy. i wanted to cook and clean,and care for other's. i wanted to be a female for the longest time,then i got to thinking hard for a long time and relized i can be both a man that care's and help's out people when and where ever it presents it's self,and dress as a pretty pretty girl. you will find your anwser as well :hugs: just dont rush it

[Kate Simmons]

Alien Abductions!!! Yeah... That's just as plausable and unprovable as any other excuse you can come up with...Yep and I'm waiting to see if they show what kind of experiments the ET's perform on humans in the new movie "The Fourth Kind". It could answer a LOT of questions for us.:)

[PetiteTonya]

That the only questions I would focus on were When, Where and How.

Why,,,,was taking up too much time and precious psychological energy.

[Karren H]

Yep and I'm waiting to see if they show what kind of experiments the ET's perform on humans in the new movie "The Fourth Kind". It could answer a LOT of questions for us.:)

Yeah!!! I'd swear when they show the promo video.... And that guy is taken.. When he's returned he's wearing a skirt. And smiling!! You have to look real close! :D

[sherri52]

Hi Julie and welcome. Only you can answer this question. There are many members here and each one of us will give a different answer. Many will be similar to others but we are our own individuals and think accordingly.

[Jeanna]

Julie-Su, It would be best to do your own soul searching. I do it without ever thinking that it is wrong. But you could tell her something like this: "It feels good and it feels right. I've been doing it so long now that it doesn't excite me but rather, it calms me. I have a feminine side,she is gentle and kind.She can also be sexy and sultry, "Do you want to meet her"
She may say, "you still haven't explained why"
You can reply, "I was abducted by aliens and they did this to me and I think it's permanent!"

[Taylor186]

To paraphrase a CD friend, "If you know why you crossdress, then you're not one."

[AmandaM]

I just like to think it's because my brain is part-female.

[tamarav]

Because we can and we love it!!

[stefanie]

i am sure we have all also asked that queston ourselves in our own journey...

obviously the worlds greatest scientists have not figured it out either....heck ,they are still figuring out if eggs are good or bad lol

anyways, my thought is that we are simply born with the interest as it often shows up in our early age. So while seemingly we have a choice as some discouver themselves later in life, most of us really did not. It was just built in. No different than passions for sports, arts, etc. I have found one major difference is the way my personality also changes....so something is chemically happenning as well i suspect in my brain. But then again, is that any difference that a andrenaline rush when mtn biking, being in awe by music, or taking off suring a wave

its built in....its now why, its why not.

[LisaM]

Julie,

I have always wanted to dress as a girl. It seemed right because I always wanted to be a girl. That is as deep as I can get.

[chloe_cross]

So, this is something I have given a lot thought and I have been in the very same situation with my SO.

What I told her was this... The ability to dress and transform into another persona was always a form of escapism for me. It was very similar to a drug or alcohol. It took me away from my male self and transported me to another place. Once I had realized that, I also realized that i had become addicted to it. I know this sounds very negative, but for me it was the truth. Of course I loved and still love being dressed, but it was a way for me to get away from me.

But that was just the starting point. From there it grew into a side of me that at times I cannot ignore. I told her that I didn't need to dress often, but there are going to be times that I will need her help and acceptance. And that is what she has given me. And I am grateful.

[Natalie de Valley]

Many years ago, people in suits took away a baby monkey from its mother and it became sad and depressed. Monkies are social creatures the same as we are. As part of the experiment, they gave it a piece of cloth to cling to and this "cloth mother" seemed to help the baby monkey deal with its lonely and sad life.(a security blanket)
It is possible that crossdressing is the "cloth mother" that people need for whatever reason. Perhaps lack of motherly love early on, lack of touching (sensory deprivation) for babies, sibling rivalries and lack of attention-likely a psychological (body chemistry) need more than anything else. While a lot of people here indicated dressing while VERY young, many more seemed to have started in the puberty years where CHEMISTRY rules and parents may be too busy to be attentive. Society and family can be a very potent force and a force wlhich isn't always obvious. If crossdressing is NOT universal, then there must be some other reason. Do they crossdress in Outer Mongolia? do Eskimeaux parkas differ enough to give men the desire to crossdress? Do women obsess over work boots? This should not just be a male-preoccupation. Women should have this same drive to dress like a man and bake cookies!

This is an excellent point!:thumbsup: I can relate to some of this and you pose good questions. Worth looking into.

[Samantha Girl]

For me I kinda don't want to know why, ya know? I know that doesn't help you. It's just as an artistic person I don't want to delve to deeply and sorta ruin the mystery of it.

I think for most of us the easy answer is very simple and straight forward... we dress up like women because it makes us feel good. I personally have never felt more sexy than as a girl. But that may just be my thing. My girl is going to school for psychology/social work and she believes I dress up because my Mom has severe boundary issues and I grew up with a lot of sisters and femme clothing around. I am the curious type, I'll try almost anything once ;)

I looooved what Josephine was talking about. Most of the time men benefit greatly from society's double standards ya know? But in this case not so much. Women can wear pants, can dress very drab, don't HAVE TO put on makeup, etc. But men are expected to be more manly, like every time we step outside we're representing manhood. That's bullshit! Why is it there can only be one type of woman and one type of man? I've always been the shy, sensitive, artistic type. Should I have been born a woman? I still wouldn't have been acceptable to society, cause I'd be a lesbian.

These issues are complicated. You might want to tell her that her question is a bit unfair on the face of it. Most people have no idea why we do the things we do. Completely oblivious of our own motivations. Why should you have to prove to her that whatever motivates you to dress up is valid? I'm sorry I'm probably not helping you. I just don't understand why some SOs seem to think we have this magical answer as to why we do what we do. Why does she live her life the way she does? Because society tells her too?

I do what makes me happy, I try to be true to who I am, that's why! If I couldn't dress up like a girl I'd probably start to lose my mind a bit. I need to express myself, it's who I am. Your answer might be different, if you can figure it out. But I still don't see why you have to PROVE to her you have a good reason for doing what we do.

I'm sorry, I don't think I helped much. Good luck! :p

[CherylFlint]

I like to think that's the "other half" of me. Actually, the Cheryl half sure does have a good time! I think it's really fun getting dressed and going out. Just the way things are, I suppose. Enjoy your outings as much as I enjoy mine.

[Stephanie Stephens]

If someone asked you why do you dress like a man, would you say "because I am a man"?

I think we dress like women because we are women. IMHO

[Patricia Jane]

Creative, enjoyable and pleasurable! What other reasons do you need?:heehee:

[Michelle123]

Well, when I first started dressing in my youth, (at around the time I reached puberty) it was very much a sexuall thing. It just made me so excited being in these "forbidden" things. I would feel so much guilt back then, after acheiving my desired goal. (if you know what I mean). I would want to get out of those feminine things immedietly.
But as I grew older I found that it was more than just a sexuall need to dress. My desire to wear feminine things grew stronger with age. I felt so calm and content when I was dressed. It began to "feel so right" to be in these things. Even if I were just wearing my things under my male clothes, I felt so much more confident and happy, just knowing I had them on. (Even though I couldnt even see them.
Now, in my 50's, My desire to dress is stronger than ever. I stopped asking "why" many yrs. ago. I just accept it, and to be honest, I would not change it even if I could. I can truely say that I am very happy to be a crossdresser.

[joann426]

i agree with machelle123 thats the way i feel also i am happy the way i am now:o

[JenniferR771]

Good question, Julie!
No one knows why, but we are probably born this way. It never goes away--that has been known since 1910, when it was first described scientifically by the German psychiatrist, Magnus Hirschfield.

So why are gay men gay, and gay women gay? Not a preference. It happens early or maybe in the womb--and it does not change. TS likewise.

Let her ask a lesbian, "Why?"

No logic can explain it--not so far.

[docrobbysherry]

I CD because it gives me a bigger rush than JUMPING OUT OF AN AIRPLANE!:eek:
Yet, it's safer, cheaper(?), and can be done in my home!:D
Never mind the erotic turn on!:o

The question should be:
Why does putting on ladies things make me feel that way?:brolleyes:

[Jaclyn NM]

Well I crossdress because I just love the feel and the look of female clothing. It is so much nicer than drab male clothing.

[Danielle76]

I do it totally for the sexual satisfaction. I've done it off and on for years, 16 to be exact, sometimes going as long as a year or two without even having the urge, but always come back to it. Right now I've been doing it again for the last year and a half. My wife doesn't know, or suspect. I never was popular with the ladies growing up, so all I knew of them was just admiring them from afar. I suppose I started because I was so obsessed with wanting to be close to a feminine girl that dressing up as one was the closest I could get. I remember watching playboy and porn videos as a teenager and absolutely loving when they wore lingerie, stockings, garters....now I absolutely love wearing all that myself. I've gone out in public a few times, and to feel the tug of bustier garters on my thigh high stockings while wearing stilettos.....I'm sure I don't have to tell all of you here how amazing it feels. I love feeling that sexy, and it really makes me wish I had a vagina!

[Mandy60]

I crossdress because it brings out the feminine side of me.
I even wear undergarments to work such as sports bra and panties under my work clothes every day so the feminine side of me is always with me.

[vjaducd]

I was talking with my girlfriend, who has known almost a year about my crossdressing and is having trouble accepting it, and she asked me why I crossdress. I am not quite sure I know how to answer that question... I have been doing it for so long that it just seems normal to me. She basically believes that if I expect her to put forth the effort to accept it, that I should put forth equal effort to try and explain why. The best I can come up with is that I crossdress because I like it. But why do I like it? Do I like feeling like a girl or do I just like going against the norm? I'm not entirely sure... Anyways, I figure if some other people helped brainstorm some ideas that maybe we could at least shed a little light on the situation.

We all know as a male body is formed with "XY" cromosons while a total female body consist with only " XX" cromoson in our body. In a c.d. Out of XY cromoson the proportion of "X" increasas opposite to "Y " so genetically our urge becomes more of female side then that of male side as by "XY" cromosons in the body which leads to cross dresslike a female. If such urge is suppressed then it becomes dengerous mentally so one should not feel any abnormality but believe it & take it as We can live both gender feelings to gether which can be called a unique gift given by the universe/almighty/god the Generator,The Organisor & The Distructor of & on the earth
Pl.have your comments on my belief
vjaducd/kiran from India,Gujrat:thumbsup:

[JoAnne Wheeler]

I want to. I have to.

JoAnne Wheeler

[drushin703]

when I was going thru puberty around 13 or so mom and dad were at
work and one day I found a drawer in their room that was full of girdles.
a girdle is a benign object, harmless when left alone.they cannot inspire,
arouse or conjur.but when I saw them they represented a fantasy that
I cannot discribe.It wasnt long befor I had one pulled over my hips and
from then on all of life began.I dont know what exactly the compulsion was
that made me do it but whatever this thing is, regardless of risk or alianation,
or embarassment or redicule or crazy stares or silly questions or being called
names, I willnot stop.dana

[skirtsuit]

I've been out about 10 times in the last two weeks. Now I know why, because it's really, really fun. I don't think anyone other than my mother has complimented me on my guy self, but I go out en femme and people keep telling me has beautiful I am!!!!!

That's enough of a reason for me - attention and adoration!

All the Best,
Ann / SS

[xd-tigger]

That is such a hard question to answer. All I know is I crossdress because I prefer the feel and fit of womens clothing. Saying that, I guess you have to figure out why you like it.

[Jenniferpl]

Becasue it is so much fun, and what good would it do to buy the clothes if you never get to wear them.

[Rianna Humble]

Becasue it is so much fun, and what good would it do to buy the clothes if you never get to wear them.

:laughing::lol:

Well said sis!

[Sully]

I CD because it is such a turn on for me AND my wife! ( :hugs: = better sex! )

[Jillt]

Have always been attracted to bright colorful clothing. Male drab is boring.

[Jeanine]

I do it because I like it, It makes me feel comfortable, and its the way I was brought up:daydreaming:

I agree with Danielle Gee ... I do it because I like it and it makes me feel good.I lived with my Mom and my three older sisters ... I started crossdressing at 13 by "trying on my Mom's or my sister's bras because I had developed 36B "Boy Tits" from a condition called Gynecomastia and I was made fun of and told that I needed a bra by other kids, my sisters, and quite a few adults
.
After Mom and my sisters all caught me wearing their bras, underwear and their clothes Mom took me see a "gender councilor" and after a few concealing sessions, the councilor (a woman) told Mom and all three of my sisters that crossdressing WAS NOT abnormal, that I wasn't gay, and that I should be allowed to dress in female garb whenever I wanted to.

So Mom bought me some bras and panties of my own and gave me a
few skirts, tops, and dresses that she and my three sisters didn't wear anymore ... And I was allowed to wear my feminine garb AT HOME
whenever I wanted to ... So from then on, I changed into my feminine clothes as soon as I got home from school and when only Mom or my
sisters were there.
Hugs-N-Kisses
Jeanine

[suchacutie]

A few years ago my wife and I found this part of me that seems to be remarkably feminine. We quickly found that I knew very little of this feminine side of me, or at least did not recognize her as such. We also learned quickly that this is not something you can assess theoretically, but must live it to understand it.

So, I dress because a part of me seems to have been hidden from me, and I need to know who she is. How can I possibly go through life and not know who I am? For all I know, I might eventually find out all there is to know about her and that will be it. At the moment, however, she seems to be much more deeply entwined in my being and is much to complicated to be assessed simply. I see no end in sight, and have no idea just how much of my space she really occupies. The only way to find out is to live that part of me.

Tina!

[Ineta]

We dress as women because we want to be women. Some want just to be blondes, some want to be mated, some think that women are better than men, and so on.

[audreyinalbany]

There's no one reason that I crossdress. It's naughty; it's alluring; my Dad always wanted a daughter; my mom was the parent I was closest to, the one who paid attention to me; I like the feel of women's clothing, I find people are more open when I present as a woman; dressing sometimes gives me a sexual thrill (not like it used to in the old days, but, hey, that's what bein' in your mid fifties will do for ya), it's cool; it's fun. Bottom line is I've given up trying to figure out why I'm attracted to wearing women's clothes. I spent so many years feeling guilty about it and trying to analyze it that I've finally come to the conclusion that it isn't going away so I might just as well enjoy it. Life is short.

[Joanne f]

I never cross dress , i always happy dress.:lol::roflmao:

[skirtsuit]

I dress so I can have 'girl'friends lunch with the Manager of the Sephora store on Chestnut.



We dress as women because we want to be women

I think you mean


I dress as a women because I want to be a woman

The pronouns are important, such generalizations are false. I do not want to be a woman, I want to look like a well dressed one.

All the Best,

Ann/ SS

[Kimberly Marie Kelly]

But now I can. After 5 decades of crossdressing and leading a life that everyone else expected of me, I finally realized and accepted that I'm Transsexual. Now I'm in transition and have been the happiest in many years.
Kimberly :battingeyelashes:

[gemsay32]

Simple enough for me. I crossdress for sexual reasons in a very sloppy kind of way. I don't try to look like a woman, it's not elegeant, I just want to feel it on my skin and see it shine. Something bout how it feels and how it shines is tremendously arousing. I don't do it for art reasons. I'm not a Michelangelo. It's a fetish.

You sound like a lot of CDer's here. Still a mystery to me why they do it, if it's not for the same reason I do it?

[gemsay32]

I CD because it gives me a bigger rush than JUMPING OUT OF AN AIRPLANE!:eek:
Yet, it's safer, cheaper(?), and can be done in my home!:D
Never mind the erotic turn on!:o

The question should be:
Why does putting on ladies things make me feel that way?:brolleyes:

Not JUST lady things. For me it's only particular types. Specifically, using descriptive terms, they're: shiny, smooth, wrinkly and last of all, flexible. Those are the characteristics I look for. It's highly visual and tactile in nature. Something about the smoothness and how light and shadow play on its surface. Anyway, I felt further explanation was needed to clarify the point that for some people it's not lady things alone. That's too general. It's more specific for some of us! And I know from elsewhere that many people share the same proclivity as I do - both lesbians and CDer's, though not all of them.

I'm being descriptive for documentation purposes. (lol) As if...

I do think though that our kind is not -as- welcome as most others because we're more blunt about it. Truth is, we're the bratty one's with bad manners. I for one do not understand why so many CDer's dress as woman just because. They like how it makes them feel inside in a way that is unfamiliar to me. Is interesting.

[gemsay32]

I do it totally for the sexual satisfaction. I've done it off and on for years, 16 to be exact, sometimes going as long as a year or two without even having the urge, but always come back to it. Right now I've been doing it again for the last year and a half. My wife doesn't know, or suspect. I never was popular with the ladies growing up, so all I knew of them was just admiring them from afar. I suppose I started because I was so obsessed with wanting to be close to a feminine girl that dressing up as one was the closest I could get. I remember watching playboy and porn videos as a teenager and absolutely loving when they wore lingerie, stockings, garters....now I absolutely love wearing all that myself. I've gone out in public a few times, and to feel the tug of bustier garters on my thigh high stockings while wearing stilettos.....I'm sure I don't have to tell all of you here how amazing it feels. I love feeling that sexy, and it really makes me wish I had a vagina!

And I think you're weird! But live and let live. Like you, I never fit in well in school. I had problems. I don't look particular bad or anything, but I never could fit in anywhere. I don't know why I have this interest, and I'm not sure where it came from, but I do know that I'm not yer average john smith, and john smith is not happy about it.

[Jonianne]

The reason why crossdressing has always been an important part of my life is because, even though I am a male, I have always felt more comfortable pattering my life after females far more than males. I don't identify "as" a female, but I do identify "with" females. I want to express my personality in a way that I have seen in the women role models that I follow after. I want others to watch me and be able to say, "He is very much like his mother and grandmother in so many ways". The wearing of women's cloths, when I do on occasion, adds to the feeling of closeness to my femme side which I perfer.

[Jill]

Years ago, when I first joined an online crossdressing forum (not this one.) This was the first question I asked other crossdressers. Even though I was absolutely paranoid about being on there, believing somehow it would all get out and people in my life would ostracize me, I got on there anyway and risked it. It was good to talk to others about it and not feel alone anymore.

What I learned back then, was basically nothing, the information provided as to why we do this was extremely insufficient as I think many of the answers are here.

I believe for most, asking the question why we do this would be the same as asking someone why they enjoy using drugs. Because it feels good. Why do you enjoy sex? Because it feels good. Why do you enjoy eating ice cream? Because it's delicious. Why do you go on roller coasters? Because it's fun. These aren't 'real' answers but I really believe this is why we cross dress, because it creates a chemical response in the brain that makes it feel fun and pleasurable.

For some the answer is more then that, they want to escape, it's an expression of their female personality. But I know for me, and likely many others who can't really give a nuts and bolts answer, it's because their brain associates it with pleasure and fun. And even sometimes because it creates a bit of an adrenaline rush, the kind that many get from pushing limits and facing their fears. For some that may be sky diving but for us, it is often going into public dressed as a woman or something like that.

Is that an acceptable answer for your GF? Probably not, but it should be.

[bridget jones]

I liked the way it felt on my body at first,then as I got older it made me orgasm(teen/early twenties).Now I'm back to the feel,love to shave....whole body.

[Carly D.]

I was talking with my girlfriend, who has known almost a year about my crossdressing and is having trouble accepting it, and she asked me why I crossdress. I am not quite sure I know how to answer that question... I have been doing it for so long that it just seems normal to me. She basically believes that if I expect her to put forth the effort to accept it, that I should put forth equal effort to try and explain why. The best I can come up with is that I crossdress because I like it. But why do I like it? Do I like feeling like a girl or do I just like going against the norm? I'm not entirely sure... Anyways, I figure if some other people helped brainstorm some ideas that maybe we could at least shed a little light on the situation.

My answer is as simple as yours, I just like the way the clothing feels.. more than anything else I just like the way it feels.. some of it is going against the normal traditional clothing.. and I have been wearing this clothing for the better part of my entire life.. the past twenty years heavier than any time before that.. it's me.. that's all I can say..

[victoriamwilliams1]

For me I have been dressing since age 5 and basically grew up as a person who presented both male to family and friends and believe it or not as a girl to a few then close friends.

I do not have a general answer for why we dress and for some it was environment and I know of some who dressed for Halloween and thats where it began for them.

For me I have been dressing for almost 35 years and I still do not have th answer of why!

[Megan70]

For me I have been dressing since age 5 ......I do not have a general answer for why we dress .......
For me I have been dressing for almost 35 years and I still do not have th answer of why!

I to have been dressing for since 5, and have now dressed for over 50 years. I was walking the streets in drag as a 13 year old teenage boy, I can just imagine what i must have looked like.
We dress because it feels good, sexually, emotionally or physically.
It just feels good and right.

Megan

[Presh GG]

As a young wife 34 years ago,I asked that question. Tea's response was " because it is necessary for my mental health and wellbeing" .

Ok good enough. It was the best answer I've ever heard.

springtime gg

[Stephanie Stephens]

That's a dam good answer. :iagree:

[Julie-Su]

thanks for all the feedback! I know theres no concrete answer as to why we do what we do. Whatever it is, its extremely hard to put in to words... I figured if we all tried to explain it maybe it would help us to understand ourselves at least a little more. As for me, I think the reason I dress is as many of you said, because it makes me feel good. I feel much more comfortable in all aspects of my life while presenting as a woman. Whenever I'm not dressed, I tend to think about dressing nonstop. I know I could never give this up even if my girlfriend wanted me to. I could try at least, but I know I would just end up doing it behind her back and I don't want that. I am going to talk to her again soon, hopefully it goes okay...