What does crossdressing mean to you?

[Kate Simmons]

I'm wondering just how important crossdressing is to folks here and what does it mean in connection with your life and who you are? For myself it was originally a form of expressing part of my feelings traditionally seen as feminine. Now I've intergrated those feelings and the meaning of crossdressing for myself has changed to mostly being a form of art as I really don't need it to express that part of myself any more as I'm always the same person. What does it mean for you?:)

[minalost]

In order of importance:
1 Air
2 Water
3 Food
4 Shelter
5 Family (may trump the above, but hard to do if dead...)
6 Income
7 Crossdressing
8 Everything else

What does it mean? I don't know if it MEANS anything. I do it because I'm compeled to, I enjoy it, it feels good, it's relaxing, and it's a form of escapism.
:hugs:

[Karren H]

My order is the same as Mina's except everything else comes first!

[DonnaT]

Well, it's a good thing that I don't have any qualms about my crossdressing, because I'd rather not have this gift for all the trouble it's caused, and the extra cost of a fem wardrobe.

But since I am trans, and CDing seems to be the only way to satisfy the need to express that part of who I am, I'm glad to have the chance to wear what I need to.

[Kathi Lake]

I used to think that crossdressing was "this thing I did." You know, it was fun - I didn't really give it much thought. To me, it was/is a way to express something in me that is normally hidden.

Then, one day, someone here asked me the question, "What would you do if Kathi was locked away forever - if you could never dress again?" That question stopped me in my tracks and made me think - really think - about just why I was doing this, and thinking about never being able to do it again. I found myself experiencing almost panic attack-like symptoms - shortness of breath, heart racing, etc. I also just exploded into tears. To not be able to do this; to never dress again, to never let the world see my feminine side, to keep all that I am hidden - I couldn't do that. As I said then, a life lived halfway wouldn't be life at all.

So, how important is it to me? It's life - pure and simple.

Kathi

[Ruth]

Always the tough questions Denise. I find it hard to put into words, but in some way my time spent in women's clothes feeds a part of me that needs that special food. I've lived without it for periods in the past, and that part of me that is starved has adverse effects on the rest of me. I can live like that but it's not so much fun either for me or for those around me.
So, it's not essential, like air, food and water, but it certainly helps.

[Joanne f]

It seams to be far more important to me than even i realise but the problem is that i do not know why , after all it is just clothes.
Well maybe i have an idea but i like to bury my head in the sand and maybe it will go away.:heehee:

[Billijo49504]

To me, it means getting dressed in the morning. Sorry Karen, I'm a denim gurl, LB, Ave and Dot's jeans every day. Too cold for skirts. unless I'm staying in....BJ

[MonicaJean]

It means...
--a release from stress.
--entering a welcoming community of others who do the same.
--a chance to explore different parts of life that otherwise wouldn't be
--enjoying wearing clothes that are brighter and far more comfortable
--fun. It's just plain fun. Sure society hasn't a clue how to handle us, but it's fun. FUN. did I mention fun? :)

[Rianna Humble]

If I had answered this post 6 months ago, I would have said that cross-dressing was something I did occasionally to be comfortable.

Now, cross-dressing is what I do when I have to be "him", dressing en-femme is what I do when I am simply being myself.

I don't see it so much in terms of expressing part of me, rather it is me being normal. I accidentally "came out" to a bloke at work today who was surprised to see me dressed en femme, so I explained that I was born in the wrong body, but that until I do something officially about that, I have to change into men's clothes to go into the office between Monday and Thursday because of the dress code.

[thechic]

Its my life,cant live without it, same as eating and drinking water.

Geneva

[StaceyJane]

Crossdressing is a way to express an important part of myself.

[wanda jackson]

Sometimes I enjoy really dumb, corny humor. This is one of those times...


Whether I'm right or whether I'm wrong
Whether I find a place in this world or never belong
I gotta be me, I've gotta be me
What else can I be but what I am

I want to live, not merely survive
And I won't give up this dream
Of life that keeps me alive
I gotta be me, I gotta be me
The dream that I see makes me what I am

That far-away prize, a world of success
Is waiting for me if I heed the call
I won't settle down, won't settle for less
As long as there's a chance that I can have it all

I'll go it alone, that's how it must be
I can't be right for somebody else
If I'm not right for me
I gotta be free, I've gotta be free
Daring to try, to do it or die
I've gotta be me

I'll go it alone, that's how it must be
I can't be right for somebody else
If I'm not right for me
I gotta be free, I just gotta be free
Daring to try, to do it or die
I gotta be me

:devil:

[BWOemerger]

I have given this alot of thought over the years and have come to the reality that this is who I am and it has shaped almost every part of who I am from the begining. When I was little I was so afraid that someone would find out that I wouldn't wear anything that might be considered girly when I was in boy mode. I did sports because that is what I thought a boy was supposed to do. These things became a part of me as much as my desire to dress, but I don't know if I would have been as into sports if I wasn't trying to hide the femine part of me as a little boy. I think back on how I wanted to dance and go with my sister but "boys don't do that". So long story short. Dressing has made me and with my religion are the two most life shaping things in my life.

I hope I got this out the way I want. I struggle with expressing in writing that dressing is who I am and it seems the rest is what I do.

BWOemerger

[Lucy_Bella]

I really can't tell you what it means. I can tell you how it makes me feel tho.

The Good,

Comfortable , at ease , peace of mind, natural, secretive and being sexy, energetic, happy and alive.

The Bad,

Quilty, betrayed, ugly, sick, rejection, not normal , tired, depressed, unwanted and alone,

[Kate Simmons]

I've been asked if this question is open to everyone. It is.:)

[Kendra (Tx)]

For the lack of a better term...It made me "whole" as a person..For the majority of my life, there was a part of "me" missing...I knew it...I just couldn't put my finger on it..The only "hint" I had of it was when I put on articles of female clothes...When I was about 5 or 6, I'd find some of my mom's full slips or a bra or a skirt and blouse, and i'd put thm on....It started to feel more "me" when I wore those articles..I didn't understand why...I was too young to understand...As I grew..I still knew that part of me was missing...The only time that the pieces finally came together was when I was on my first "femme" vacation with the person who became my "partner in crime", Emmy...:heehee:...When she saw Kendra that first time...She commented that I looked "content" ....And as the day went on she felt that I was ( her words ) a whole person for the first time since she had met me...She couldn't explain it...Just the way I was acting and how my general personna had become...That's what crossdressing has done for me...It's allowed me to find "ME''..All of me...:o

http://kendra954.com

[suchacutie]

For 55 years I was this guy. In a completely unplanned set of circumstances I was standing in front of my wife in stockings and heels and she's exclaiming that we HAD to buy me a dress, and then we needed a name for her...

Hang on...her.

We suddenly realized that there was a "her" buried under cover of this "guy". What I'm doing is finding out who "she", Tina, is. The clothes and makeup and bodily motion set the stage, but the rest is emotional, thought process, and her own opinions. Tina is soooo very out of character of this "guy" I'd been as to be totally unbelievable!

So, when I slip out of the guy mode I've been in all my life I slip into Tina's world, is that crossdressing? Is it temporarily transexual? I dunno. It's Tina and I have to know who she is else I can't possibly know who the whole "I" is. Self-exploration? Self-discovery? Call it what we will, being in Tina's world is to learn who I've been all this time.

Seems pretty worthwhile!

[Miranda09]

What does crossdressing mean to me? It means that I'm finally beginning to understand a side of my personality that I never really understood until this past year. It's allowed me to express my fem side openly (well at least at home!!) and have some fun with it. Tho sometimes keeping it under control can be....difficult. :)

[*Andrea*]

It means...
--a release from stress.
--entering a welcoming community of others who do the same.
--a chance to explore different parts of life that otherwise wouldn't be
--enjoying wearing clothes that are brighter and far more comfortable
--fun. It's just plain fun. Sure society hasn't a clue how to handle us, but it's fun. FUN. did I mention fun? :)


What Michelle said is exactly what it means to me.
A relief from stress is very true for me, and also wearing nicer clothes and specially much more nicer shoes!
I love it!!!

[*Andrea*]

What Michelle said is exactly what it means to me.
A relief from stress is very true for me, and also wearing nicer clothes and specially much more nicer shoes!
I love it!!!


I have to add, that it also means for me entering to a different world than reality. This is what I think does for relieving stress. It's the chance to be a totally different person. And of course, when choosing which person to be, what better than a beautiful woman?!

[jenifer m.]

for me its a chance to escape and be who i love being.i also buy and wear feminine things that pass as mens so i can have the feeling every day.its about the feeling one has when dressed even if im not dressed up to pass as female i will still be out and about in full female clothes and shoes.i guess for me its also about getting by with something thats thought of as taboo right under peoples noses......its all about how you feel dressed up.

[Daintre]

To me it isn't cross dressing, it is dressing in the clothes I should be wearing. To explain I can offer this, inside I am a woman and I try and dress to enhance what I am feeling inside.

[Sheila]

I've been asked if this question is open to everyone. It is.:)

Thanks hun :hugs:

from my viewpoint, it allows my partner to be who they are 24/7 :) which in turn allows us to have a more honest loving relationship :)

[Deborah Jane]

It's a part of who I am....Part of the whole. It completes who I am as a person.

[Raychel]

Crossdressing to me is when I get to wear the clothes that I am most comfortable in. It is time to relax and get away from the everyday stresses of life. and Just enjoy being me,

[Janet K.]

Crossdressing is me being me. The urge to crossdress is so strong within me that I find reasons to do it. Without it, I would be lost.

[Debbie37]

For me at first it was something terrible embarrassing sick gross...All the things I was taught to feel. I did it on the sly but hid from everyone. Never touched an article through my Navy years...Oddly the desire receded and didn't trouble me. Honorable discharge, marriage, two kids and 4 years later it came back...This time I didn't feel the same way, it just felt right...I call it balance...Now I've accepted and appreciate it all the more. There so many more options...Now I've balanced the inner but the outer life is in turmoil, hm can't win for loosing. Oh well, balance me first and then work on the rest of the stuff in due coarse. Sorry, wordy...

[diannecourtney]

Yes as I have said elsewhere, I do love the shape I have when CDing.In fact it is such a thrill that when I can I go 24/7 in forms and a nighty it is outstanding.:o:o:o

[diannecourtney]

As I have said elsewhere the life of cding is enjoyable, especially when i can see the femine shape I have developed. Keeps up the good works ladies.:o:o

[karen68]

It means happiness and being the real me. I just love to dress it makes me feel whole