How many people who dress up "as a joke" for Halloween really do it for that reason?

[Sophie_C]

Hey people, this thought has crossed my mind many times in the past but never moreso when I had the surprise of a friend do it yesterday (I am in the closet, btw, if that wasn't implied).

So, the question I have is: How many people do you think REALLY do it for a joke without something secret going on?

I can understand if someone is the type to do it things for shock value, but why else would someone do it? Thoughts???

[jjjjohanne]

If you go to youtube or flickr and search for womanless beauty pageant, you can see guys dressing for a joke. Sometimes, however, one guy stands out because he is wearing beautiful clothes, has reasonable breasts, shaved legs, etc. You know, one of us. You can tell because of little things. I would say pantyhose are the biggest tell (and probably shaved legs.) A guy might wear make up if his sister or someone geeked out and he let her do it. But what woman these days would dress a man in pantyhose? Anyhow, if you look at enough guys who are dressing against their interests, you will likely be able to see better who the real CD's are. Fortunately, I don't think that our friends and family are so studied up on this stuff to sniff us out!

[NathalieX66]

Hi Sophie,
I guess my question is 'do you need to make it seem like a joke to everyone in order to justify dressing up'? I don't know your family or peer situation.

As most people around me don't know this side of me, but if they suspect, I really don't care. I was out and about in public this halloween, both solo ,and with a bunch of other girls like myself at at restaurant, then went clubbing. All I can say is it feels very liberating. I finally get to let the Nathalie side of me loose.
Maybe I may be a bit farther along the path than you but I was you once. It's been two years since I came out to my self, and it's been a challenging but interesting ride, and I wouldn't give it up for anything.

[RADER]

Today is dress up and not go to jail for day LOL Rader

[Sophie_C]

Sure, I am aware of those "womanless" pageants, dances, etc - but how much would you bet the person putting the idea together might have liked it for an entirely different reason than the "joke?" I can get peer pressure for the rest of them, but this all makes me wonder...


Hi Sophie,
I guess my question is 'do you need to make it seem like a joke to everyone in order to justify dressing up'? I don't know your family or peer situation.

As most people around me don't know this side of me, but if they suspect, I really don't care. I was out and about in public this halloween, both solo ,and with a bunch of other girls like myself at at restaurant, then went clubbing. All I can say is it feels very liberating. I finally get to let the Nathalie side of me loose.
Maybe I may be a bit farther along the path than you but I was you once. It's been two years since I came out to my self, and it's been a challenging but interesting ride.

Sorry, to be clear "this friend of mine" is NOT ME. It's actually a person I know that I never suspected. How much I am in the closet has little to do with the overall question, since if I'm an 'all or nothing' sort of person and would be fully 'out' if I was out. Just so this makes a little more sense to everyone!! :P

[juno]

I suspect that people who do it just for fun have a feminine side, but it may be much smaller than the typical crossdresser. A non-crossdresser would think "that was fun, maybe I'll do it again next year", whereas a CDer would think "That was fun, I'm doing it again tomorrow." One way to tell is of their makeup looks really good, and they say "yes" when you ask if they did it themselves. If you consider that the male/female ratio is a continuum of states from male to female, with a peak at the typical male/female points, there should be more men with a mild feminine side than there are men with a strong feminine side. (Does that make sense, or should I post a plot?)

[NathalieX66]

Sorry, to be clear "this friend of mine" is NOT ME. It's actually a person I know that I never suspected. How much I am in the closet has little to do with the overall question, since if I'm an 'all or nothing' sort of person and would be fully 'out' if I was out. Just so this makes a little more sense to everyone!! :P

Thanks for the clarification, Sorry I misunderstood.

[Cindia]

I've thought about this too. I was thinking how nice it would be to get dressed up for Halloween, but unless I was going as a specific person, I'm afraid I'd do it to well to not raise the questions about me. I don't mean that I'd pass, but that all the clothes would fit right, I walk to easily in the heels, the shoes have been worn before and that kind of stuff. None of this would bother me if I wasn't going to be around people I knew. Unless I used it as an excuse to do some major shopping!

[Nikki A.]

If you over analyse anything you'll come up with an excuse not to do it. It's Halloween and its the only time of the year you can get away with it. Before I was ready to go out as Nikki in public, halloween was the one time I could express this side of me in the open.
This year I did a fem character, last year it was a male character. Next year I haven't decided yet but whatever or whomever it is I'll again do the best that I can.

[Starling]

I've thought about going out en femme on Halloween, but costumed as a famous male character. Sort of a Victor/Victoria move. Confuse everyone, including me.

:heehee: Lallie

[TGMarla]

I crossdressed for Halloween once, at my wife's suggestion. She told me that her sister had suggested that we try it. We got her a moustache and a fedora, and she wore one of my suits, which didn't fit her all that well. I purchased a wig (my first one!), some heels, and shaved my legs, and wore one of her dresses. The moment I came downstairs, she was amazed at how well I had done putting on makeup. Lots of practice, and it showed. I did it because it was her suggestion, but I also did it because I wanted to, and I jumped at the chance.

That said, to me, getting all dressed up is not a costume. It's a manifestation of how I wish it really was for me. I wear this stuff, and emulate women, because I like it, and it's a deep, deep part of me and who I am. I dress to look as close to an actual woman as I possibly can, and I don't much want people pointing at me saying, "Look, Ma...a guy in a dress!" I'm sure that I don't pass close inspection, but I try. So I don't dress en femme for Halloween. To me, that's a holiday meant for spooky scary stuff. And while some may say that me dressed up as a woman is plenty scary, I still prefer to reserve it for zombies, vampires, and the like.

[Karren H]

More likely they all lost a bet!! :)

[mklinden2010]

Thoughts?

None.

Easier that way.

[Stephanie Miller]

Good point Karen. Or as my dad would say "Cuz there all gay!"

[Kate Simmons]

Offhand my guess would be about two.:heehee::)

[Roxi Loh]

I think we should not dress as women for Halloween....every other day of the year...but of course.

[Violetgray]

I think we should not dress as women for Halloween....every other day of the year...but of course.

Being a girl for halloween is boring. Be a girl SOMETHING. (Stewardess, Dominatrix, Vampire) If I see ONE MORE french maid...

[Chiana]

Hey people, this thought has crossed my mind many times in the past but never moreso when I had the surprise of a friend do it yesterday (I am in the closet, btw, if that wasn't implied).

So, the question I have is: How many people do you think REALLY do it for a joke without something secret going on?

I can understand if someone is the type to do it things for shock value, but why else would someone do it? Thoughts???

Very few do it for a joke, IMHO. I think virtually all of the guys who dress in drag for halloween are really CD's/TV's who have finally found the excuse/courage to actually do what they have always wanted to do. After a couple of drinks, it worked for me.

[Diann]

All of them

[Engendered]

If I wasn't T, I wouldn't dress as a girl for halloween, even "as a joke". I'm inwardly sure of this, but now that I think about it, I'm not sure how I could be.
Is it possible to know how you'd feel if you weren't the way you are?

Anyway, based on this surety, I believe that most of those who "joke" dress have some underlying T feelings.

[Starling]

...Is it possible to know how you'd feel if you weren't the way you are?...

It might be possible to understand how a cis-gendered I would feel about many things, metaphorically, but the only visceral feeling I've ever managed was a deep longing to have been born either a cis-female or a cis-male. I can't even imagine taking my gender for granted!


...I believe that most of those who "joke" dress have some underlying T feelings.

With or without T feelings, there's still the social taboo to give it a frisson that some men might enjoy. Or maybe there is that one man who actually did lose a bet.

:) Lallie