Has age impacted the frequency of dressing?

[Laura912]

For the more senior members (arbitrarily those over 60) and those probably in the closet longer, have you noticed an increasing desire for dressing as you have aged? It will be difficult to separate the increasing time for dressing as we reduce our work loads nearer retirement from the desire as we age. But I'm curious.
Laura

[Launa]

I'm not at the age of 60 yet, I'm middle age. I have found a great big increase in the desire to dress and dress all the way. Its probably going to keep getting stronger with time.

[Karren H]

Seems like I had more desire and opportunity in my 50's than now as I approach 60... My reawakening happened after being successfuly treated for one of my brain tumors. My hobby came back with a vengeance. Now I've slowed down. Maybe I burnt myself out? Lol.

[Phoebe]

At age 73 I have found that have more time to dress than when I was working. The desire to dress after work sometimes was low, was to tired and just wanted to have a beer or two ;) and relax after work.

[Alice B]

A tough one to answer since I did not start dressing until in my 60's and already retired. As I approach 70 I find my desire remains about the same. It grows and wans with my outside activity levels, but I still find myself buying make up, shoes, clothing and looking at new wigs and forms. I would say that my dressing is here to stay, but doubt it will go much beyond my current levels.

[donnatracey]

I can definitely say as I've gotten older (past 60) the urge to dress has increased. Being retired and realizing you only have so much time left, why not do the things that make you happy? Plus, it becomes easier as I think that no one seems to pay as much attention to the "elderly" and is not as likely to say anything....

[Piora]

For me, yes. I'm 60, and it definitely has increased. Not only that, how I dress and what I wear has changed. I never wore skirts and dresses, shoes etc. before, and now that is what I want to wear all the time. It also used to be a sexual thing for me, and now that is no longer the case (not a loss of libido). Quite possibly, age is the reason for all those things.

[Sarah Doepner]

I want to dress more now than when I was in my 40's and 50's, but it could be I have more opportunities and am more comfortable within this skin of mine.

[Cheryl T]

I don't think my desire to dress has increased. I think my concern over others finding out has decreased and that has led me to be more comfortable with myself and allowed me to venture out anywhere without fear of ridicule and reprisal.
I do dress more now, not due to age, but due to my accepting spouse, good friends at Tri-Ess and taking more time for myself than before.

[carhill2mn]

Definitely, yes! Of course circumstances played a roll also in that I had more opportunities and time to "dress" as I wanted to.

[Crissy Kay]

I appear to be the opposite, as I am getting older, find myself not wanting to dress as much as I did. It may sound silly, as I am just dressing for myself, but I like to look just as good as I can. It can take a lot of time to arrage my petticoats, etc until, I have the look I want. It can be a real pain in the neck at times!!!

[vikki2020]

Not quite there yet, but, I find my desire has increased. Part of it is making up for lost time, all the years I had tried to "fight" it. Part of it is that life is short, and you realize that better as you age. Whatever time we have left, should be enjoyed! And, as Sarah said, I am much more comfortable, and can actually enjoy who I am!

[Acastina]

I can definitely say as I've gotten older (past 60) the urge to dress has increased. Being retired and realizing you only have so much time left, why not do the things that make you happy? Plus, it becomes easier as I think that no one seems to pay as much attention to the "elderly" and is not as likely to say anything....

I think there's a lot of truth in this. On the one hand, we become aware that our lives are likely way more than half over, and that we should do what we like while we still can. On the other hand, it's nice to somehow not care nearly as much about the opinions of others as we did when we were younger. Aren't adolescents the most compulsively conformist cohort there is?

If I felt in my situation (community and family; age 63) that I could present as female full-time, I would in a heartbeat. But life is full of compromises...

[Allisa]

Wow over 60 is senior?With age the testostorone levels drop so the urge may be more but the styles are less optional for us old "guys".Age related that is,I'm just a pup at 57 to some others.Bye -Bye,Lisa.

[Nikki A.]

Not yet 60 but getting real close. I do dress more frequently, go out more and have opened up to more people than I ever thought I would have. It a matter of being more comfortable with my decision, having less responsibility and more freedom in regards to my family and finally accepting that this is a part of who I am.

[SusanMarie]

Unwritten crossdresser rule #1...free time = dressing :w00t:

[Bizarre Suzanne]

Yes, but the mind is still willing though the body sometimes protests...while I dress up less these days (no partner) it also takes me over two hours to completely get "all fetished up"...sighs...

[Jilmac]

My desire to dress has always been strong and I don't think my age and being retired has had as much impact on it as the fact that now I'm a widower and can dress at any opportunity.

[ArleneRaquel]

As I age my desire to dress enfemme has increased to the point where it seems that I need to dress 24/7. I dont see my urge lessening as time goes by.

[docrobbysherry]

I began dressing in my 50's. In my 60's now. So, as a dresser, I'm only in my young teens!

I'll get back to u when I'm OLD!

[suchacutie]

Since I never dressed before the age of 55, I guess has had a major impact on me. As far as I knew I wasn't transgendered, and within a couple of days it was clear to me and my wife that I was! So, from zero to as much as I can!

tina

[Joanna Maguire]

Yes More time to dress and live as a woman.

[Shari]

Yes, I've found that I do dress more often.
The main reason is an accepting spouse. I don't have to hide my things anymore or deal with the anxiety of being caught or cutting a session short because "the wife is coming home."
Beyond that, it's a form of personal intimacy for me. Let's face it, no matter how much you and your spouse are in love, the physical side of the relationship diminishes with age.
Shari helps to fill that void.

[Cathy J]

A score of years past 60 and the urge is stronger than ever. I can and do dress almost every day and in a more completely feminine way. Always skirts!! No pants of any kind!! No male-like garments allowed, ever! I'm with Karren on that.

Hugs,

[Carol Elizabeth]

When I was in my 40's and 50's, I was lucky to be able to dress even one hour a day and that was limited to wearing a skirt. I am now in my 60's and retired, and there are times when I dress all day as a girl - head to toe - full make-up. If society didn't frown on it, I would ditch my guy clothes altogether and go female 24/7. So yes, the desire has increased and since opportunity has increased, so has my dressing.

[Raychel]

I am not 60 yet, but as I get older I find that I am dressing more. The fact that my wife now knows helps alot. but the other side of it, I find that as I get older I look for more time to just be myself, and care less what people think or say if they do find out about my other side.

[Patsy]

When I'm 60 I'll be dressing full time. That's because I have a pension and won't have to worry about making a living. Until then "Give To Caesar What is Caesar's". The reason most of us didn't dress at a younger age is that the career options were "prostitution" and "prostitution". We admire these heroines but few of us had the courage to adopt such a drastic course, we had families that depended on us, our economic position in society depended upon portraying a certain image. Times are a changing I think. Being Gay is not really a problem anymore, being transsexual is. In fact we'll probably get a spate of fake transsexuals as youngsters adopt the latest "now what can I do that will really upset my parents" position. Transsexualism is the new black - think Lady Gaga. As for me, well I'll just keep ignoring all the fads and foibles and work towards what I want to be

[jillleanne]

It's not directly related to age but rather life style that is reached at a later age. For many, becoming empty nesters provides opportunity for more gender expression without the fear of being caught for those that never came out of the closet. I was mentally forced to come out at an earlier age and that allowed me to express me gender enhancements without fear of being caught. I just didn't give a damn who knew and it has worked out remarkably well for me overall.

[Ressie]

More opportunity. The desire was always there, but I never felt free to dress in front of family, wife, etc. Too bad I couldn't be more like Jilleanne ^, but I'm still in the closet as I approach 60.

[ArleneRaquel]

Being retired and a widower has certainly been a huge factor in the amount of time that I dress each day, but even before I retired the urge increased and I did dress more frequently.

[Paula T]

I do dress more now that I am older but I am sure some of it is due to circumstances. As I am now mostly alone and am more comfortable with myself.

[Cassy]

I find myself dressing more as time goes by. You find out that life is actually quite short, so since i am 55 now i want to take advantage of all the time that is available to me.

[DeniseNJ]

Some one said the reason we dress more as we get older is that we are not as affraid of getting caught as we were whern we were younger , that is somewhat true, I also think our bodies changes and as we loose (T) and gain more (H) our desire to feel female grows. I am 53, at times I think what if when I was in my 20's I was at the level of desire or level of dressing all the way that I am now, where would I be NOW ??? That is a Question that haunts me , I believe that I might be dressing and living 24/7 or had alterations to my body to feel more female. I still am scared that I feel this way..

[Laura912]

Denise,
My fears are exactly the same which is the reason for the original question. A theory is that there were higher levels of T and that the drive to dress could be sublimated with working hard and joy with my spouse. There are others here that are far ahead of us and I admire and respect that, also. There is an old war song that in part says "the long and the short and the tall...bless them all."
Laura

[Richelle423]

can't wait till I retire so I can dress 24/7 365!

[kimdl93]

I'm also an empty nester With the girls gone, it was possible for me to dress full time at home (excluding boomerang child's presence for until October). And more than 2 years ago, I started working from home full time. So, certainly opportunity has played a role in the frequency of my dressing.

But I also suspect something else is at work. When I first started dressing full time at home, it was without a wig or make up. And my wardrobe was pretty basic stuff...little of it suitable for wearing outside the home. But, substantially influenced by the examples of my peers on this site, I decided I wanted to present more convincinly as female, something that until last year, I never imagined I might be able to do. Now, with practice and clothes that accentuate the positive and minimize the negative, I feel reasonably confident in my appearance. I'm not beautiful, I don't pass per se, but I believe I blend in fairly well, until subjected to closer scrutiny. That confidence, it seems, allows me to dare to imagine more - like living full time as a woman.

Did someone say that the difference between a CD and a transsexual is 2 years? My god, I'm right on track!

[Aloha Jayne]

I've wanted to dress as long as I can remember. I told a girl on the playground in first grade that I liked her dress and wished I had one like it. But it wasn't until 14 that I began raiding my sisters closet. Her panty drawer was in my room, so I could try them on at night when everyone was asleep. But for 50 years, it was all about sexual gratification. Now that I'm getting closer to 60, I'm trying to discover who I really am, and have begun to realize that it's so much more than just a fetish. I just want to be who I realy am. I'm married, and the wife doesn't like it one bit, so I can only dress when she's visiting the grandkids. But I'm finding that I now want to accessorize and go out in public. Before, just a nice pair a panties and a cute dress were enough. I'm still not big on wigs and make-up, but that might be coming. I guess, my feeling is: I want to be out in public and not try to fool anyone into thinking that I'm a female, but just not be noticed for being who I am. It's not going to happen in my lifetime. I can remember 40 years ago the day that girls were allowed to wear something other than dresses to school. It seems crazy that there was a time when women weren't allowed to wear pants. Now a woman can wear mens clothes, and it can actually be kind of cute. But let a guy wear a dress or pretty blouse in public and he's a sick, wierdo freak. Maybe 40 years from now, when I'm almost 100, I can be me in public.

[shawnsheila]

I have noticed that as I have gotten older (I started at 14) I have wanted to do it more at the age of 34 (so in 20 years it has greatly increased from an occasional thing when I was younger)

[ArleneRaquel]

I started dressing at the age of 7-8, until I married at age 21 my dressing increases, during my marraihe I rarely dressed 2-4 times a month. After my wife died, in 2002 my dressing increased againincreases again. In 2003 I went 24/7, for a few months, urged, then a month or two later I again went 24/7, after over 7 years I'm still 24/7. :)

[sterling12]

Another possibility, at least for me. When I was in my 20s, 30s, and 40s, as an entity; A Transgendered Community was almost non-existent. A few in Big Cities, but almost impossible to communicate, and sometimes being "dressed" in public might mean arrest and public humiliation.

Now, there is a whole, big, wonderful TG World out there...if, you just take advantage of it! Obviously, I find myself dressing more, going out more, and certainly interacting more with my Sisters. So perhaps it's not an outcome of being senior in any way. Just a lot more opportunities today, than when I was younger.

I wouldn't disagree with any of the others on their reasoning. But One Central Fact seems obvious, to answer your original question: "For whatever reason, the great majority of your responders are increasing their transgendered activities, as they get older."

So, probably you have that outcome to look forward to. We will see you enfemme down at The Social Security Office!

Peace and Love, Joanie

[il.dso]

I'm still under 60 but my desire to crossdress has increased dramatically over the last few years.
My desire to underdress has also increased dramatically.
Why?
Not sure, at all, and not really expecting it, but REALLY enjoying it!

[Molly Wells]

I would say for me the frequency chart has trended upwards since I was about 40. I am now 60 and dress much more frequently now than I ever have. One difference is that now I am happy to spend some time with my bra, forms and panties on under my "grubbies" around the house for a couple of hours before I have to leave and tend to other work needs (in drab). Before when I dressed I always wanted to dress to the nines. Today I can be happy just to enjoy the sensation of breasts for a while several times a week. I do look forward to the opportunities to fully dress and blend, usually with casual attire and go out in public.

Molly

[Ann-Marie]

I have only started dressing over the last couple of years, kids have long since left home and SO is very supportive so do not have to hide. Find I dress more when on holidays and do not have to get up in the morning for work

[NathalieX66]

Age has impacted me to be truer to myself...soemthing I wasn't when in was younger.
In nthe past, I tried too hard to please others.

[Bluesman]

I'm 60, very soon to be 61, and I'm definitely dressing much more that I ever have before. It's not that I have more time on my hands, but just finally deciding that there's nothing wrong with it, I enjoy it, life is short, and also, I can afford it more now. The same holds true of other interests in my life: I've ridden a bicycle regularly since I was a kid, but only in the last three years have I bought cycling clothes, shaved my legs (in combination with CDing, that), and started riding 40-50 mile trips instead of 7 mile hops; I've played guitar since I was a teenager, always had only one or two cheap guitars, now I have 6, several of which are quite expensive (I can afford them now, couldn't before), and I'm playing much more than I ever have before. In general, I'm at a point in my life where I want to do the things I enjoy as much as I can, and avoid doing things I don't. CDing is no different in that respect

[Rachel05]

I am not in the 60's age group yet but am into the 50's and yes I have noticed the need to dress increase significantly with age and can only see it getting better and better

[ReineD]

The barriers to the CDing are removed as people age. Kids grow up and move out, the career slows down a bit during the years before retirement, then retirement, divorce (for 50% of marriages whether it is due to the CDing or not) or becoming widowed, increased financial security compared to the younger years, less concern about what others think, in short, more free time.

I was once told by a seasoned CDer (I'm paraphrasing), that most CDers will take it as far as they can and they will never crossdress as much as they dream.

I'm not surprised that it increases for many people.

[RachelDenise]

I'm not at the appointed age as yet. However, there have been phases. As I got older, there was an urgency to dress and make changes that confirmed my femme side. As I got a little older after this stage, I began to realize the full impact of what I do. I can't pass and never will. Won't transition and cannot even do some minor femme things (pierced ears, longer hair, girlish clothes) because of my SO and work. So overall I have gotten to a "what's the point?" attitude. Lack of time to dress, no support and nobody to share Rachel with makes for a lonely life. I wish it were different.

[Elana]

I'm 29, been dressing since 5, i need to dress is still pretty strong for me, dressing almost everyday, and going out a few times a week.

[juliew]

Things are a little different in my life. I am pushing 70 and am self-employed. The pressures of my business result in me having less free time then I have ever had in my life. The bottom line is that I certainly have less time for dressing then a few years ago and my wife and I both miss it very much.