Kissing!

[RachelPortugal]

Living in Portugal, in common with much of mainland Europe, it is usual for women (and gay men) to kiss their friends (male or female) on the cheek, two or three times depending on nationality, when they meet, whereas hetero men tend to shake hands with men and kiss women. This behaviour is gradually becoming more accepted in the UK too, I have noticed.

So how should crossdressers behave when meeting friends? I have found myself greeting fellow crossdressers with a kiss on each cheek, even though if I met those same people in drab I would only shake their hands.

[reflections-of]

Which ever one you feel most comfortable with and whichever one they feel most comfortable with. People just act differently depending on the type of clothes they wear and in different social situations. I act differently when I am dressed in business attire and am at work. As opposed to when I am wearing a t-shirt and shorts drinking a beer with my friends.

When you’re dressed and in a different social setting you’ll interact with them differently because a different side of your personality is being displayed.

I’ll sit on my girlfriends lap when I am dressed, when I am not dressed I don’t. What we are wearing and are social setting does help to dictate how we interact with others.

[kimdl93]

Interesting observation. I come from Scandinavian stock and we aren't known for being particularly expressive. But living in Texas, I've found that many of my friends are far more so, often meeting with hugs and kisses on the cheek.

[qewrill]

When you are meeting your friends and mates....It more of a hug or kiss on the cheek. Kissing is more for that special someone.

[Marleena]

If I met a Cder I know with either one (or both) of us dressed it would be a quick kiss on the cheek. It's usually the same custom that GG's use. If we were both in guy mode it would just be a hello.

[EllieOPKS]

I was born in the US and raised in the mid-south. It was always customary with my family to embrace both sexes and kiss the females either on the lips or cheek. It is second nature to me until I hug a friend and he pushes back. He thinks I am weird and I think he's weird for pushing back. With that being said, if I met another cross dresser that was a friend, I would not hesitate to embrace.

[MsJanessa]

I suppose it depends on how well you know them and what your relationship with them is

[PretzelGirl]

I suppose it depends on how well you know them and what your relationship with them is

And I think where you live and your generation come into play. I have never seen so much hugging as I do when my daughter says goodbye to friends. She used to work where about 30-40 of them got off work at the same time. I would pick her up and sit there for 5 minutes or so while she hugged everyone.

After 20 years in the military, 10 years in Georgia, and another 7 here in Utah, I haven't seen any kissing between friends and hugging only between the closest friends (although hugging is completely common with CD/TGs and recovery groups). I am sure that is part generational but since I had friends that were a generation behind me, I am sure locale came into play too.

[Sarah Doepner]

I give hugs to male family members and kisses on the cheek to the ladies (except the short ones, they get it on the forehead - I have a stiff back). I'll give my male buddies and their wives a brief hug when we meet or part company, but no kisses. And it seems I'm exchanging hugs with more and more of my CD friends these days, but no one is kissing yet.

[Chickhe]

My inlaws are french and play the kissing game. My mother inlaw always kisses once on each cheek and I was always shy to return the favor. One time I decided to do it and she jumped back with a laugh and said...you're not supposed to kiss my cheek, just make a kissing sound. So...don't kiss anyone...its the gesture that counts....just go through the motion of moving your head and and saying 'muaah'.

[Phoebe]

When I went to Morocco for a electronic equipment install the Moroccan engineer I met back in the USA a few months before kissed me on both cheeks at the airport in Rabat after passing though customs. First and last time I have ever been kissed by another male. :straightface:

[AllieSF]

I lived in South America for several years, including Brazil. Hugging a woman and giving a kiss on the cheek or an air kiss next to the cheek is the norm. In Brazil it was a kiss on both cheeks. Men would hug if they already knew each other. However, even that is changing as more men give other men cheek kisses. The problem doing that with another CD is that our excessive makeup rubs off so easily, so my normal warm hugs are now rather formal cold ones. I am tired of sending my $5.00 thrift store jackets and coats to get cleaned for $8.00!

[Shari]

I take it tongues are out?

[MsJanessa]

I take it tongues are out?

LOL--See my answer above