Do clothes make the woman?

[lightfoot]

I'm curious about the motivations of some cross dressers. Do you (A) dress to release that inner girl, or (B) dress because you are that inner girl?

If your answer is (A), then cross dressing would seem natural. As if you're using clothing and makeup as a tool to see your inner self.

If your answer is (B), I'm skeptical. My guess is those who answer (B) hate their inner male side and try to disassociate with men in general. I wonder if the (B) girls could strip down and walk around naked for a day. No clothing, no hair, no makeup or jewelry, no high heel pumps, no augmented breasts. Could you walk around naked, as yourself, and without looking in the mirror, feel like a woman? Being honest with yourself when you think of your answer, then think of the title of this thread and how it applies to society.

I would like to think that dressing and being female are disjoint. Are they really connected, or do people connect the two as a means to serve their purpose?

[suzy1]

I can walk around naked and I am still Suzy. It’s as simple as that.
Be sceptical if you like. It’s O.K. with me.

I think you need to learn a bit more about the subject Lightfoot before making statements like that.

SUZY

[STACY B]

I dress cuz I am one UGLY MAN ,, An when I dress I look just like my sisster who is Beautiful ,,, An I look somewhat like her an not as ugly as before, So to answer ? Hell ive never gave it much thought ,, Ive always done this to be honest ,, To some exstent , Matbe yall can tell me ? Anyway girlz have all the good clothes styles , Back in the 80s they were real close ,,, Boyz an girlz ,, Not now ,, An i love me some wedges to with jeans ,, Lookin so sexy an hot just cant stop !

[lightfoot]

I can walk around naked and I am still Suzy. It’s as simple as that.
Be sceptical if you like. It’s O.K. with me.

I think you need to learn a bit more about the subject Lightfoot before making statements like that.

SUZY

Bing! Thank you Suzy, you WIN! :)

There really was no right or wrong answer. The question was not meant to insult anyone. It's all about being honest with one self.

OK Suzy....you really didn't win, but you have the same answer as me. I was just curious how other people felt it all.

[lightfoot]

A)
I wear clothing on occasion which gives the illusion of me being female, for my own enjoyment. It's the illusion that's the thing. It's pretend. A role. A fantasy. But maybe that image in the mirror is also an expression of a part of my character. I just can't see it very clearly without the props.

Bing! You win too Scarlet!...we're all winners today. :)

This is the sort of answer that makes sense to me. I'm very much a regular guy, but just recently started shaping my eye brows. I've always trimmed them, but the other day I saw my sister and thought, wow, she's got really nice eyes. So I did a lot of tweazing....thinning them down just like hers. It was late at night, got frustrated and gave up. Then I woke up this morning and looked in the mirror. I smiled as I looked at those feminine eyes. OK, not cross dressing, but the illusion was powerful.

I mostly feel like Suzy...well...somewhat. I acknowledge my inner girl, but know I'm a man. I know I'm not the girl I want to be, nor am I that manly man. I float in the middle like oh so many lost in confusion, but I'm OK with it. I am who I am.

Anyway, thanks for playing...hugs and kisses for all the contestants!

[DonnaT]

(C) None of the above.

I dress because of an innate urge to do so, i.e., being trans at some some level, and that urge needs satisfying.

I reckon the unknown in that is whether or not being trans at some some level is an indication of having an inner girl that needs releasing?

I do know I don't feel like a girl when dressed, however.

[sissystephanie]

NO, clothes do not make the woman!! A man can dress enfemme as much as much as he wants, but he is still the man that he was born. Even with makeup and a wig he is still a man. I have been a CD more years than many of you on here have been alive, and I have never thought of myself as being a woman!! When my late wife was alive and did my makeup and fixed my wig I was very passable, but I was still a man! I have never wanted to be a woman, I just like to dress like one! Now that my wife is gone I still dress enfemme and go out in public, but wearing no makeup and no wig! I am just a man dressed enfemme!

[lightfoot]

NO, clothes do not make the woman!! A man can dress enfemme as much as much as he wants, but he is still the man that he was born. Even with makeup and a wig he is still a man. I have been a CD more years than many of you on here have been alive, and I have never thought of myself as being a woman!! When my late wife was alive and did my makeup and fixed my wig I was very passable, but I was still a man! I have never wanted to be a woman, I just like to dress like one! Now that my wife is gone I still dress enfemme and go out in public, but wearing no makeup and no wig! I am just a man dressed enfemme!

Say.....did she just call me skippy? I'm sooo picking up a young skippy vibe in the tone of stephanie's message. :)

Thanks for taking a stand steph. People should be able to dress and look the way they want.

[Kaz]

I guess inside I am Kaz and I am that gal whatever I wear - at least that is how it feels to me. The more I have established my own 'style' if you like, or 'look' the more this has strengthened my perception of that inner woman. I guess the outward dressing representation has become the tangible acknowledgement of who I am...?

[KimberlyJean]

When I get dressed up I feel like a woman. I get my courage to get out of the car by thinking "I am a woman and I belong here as much as the other girls". On the other hand I am very good at being a man and like being a man. Maybe I have multiple personalities and one of them is female. For me the immersion in being female is what makes me keep doing it, maybe it is to escape my male life because Kimberly's biggest worry is sweating through her make up.

[Frédérique]

I'm curious about the motivations of some cross dressers. Do you (A) dress to release that inner girl, or (B) dress because you are that inner girl? If your answer is (A), then cross dressing would seem natural. As if you're using clothing and makeup as a tool to see your inner self. If your answer is (B), I'm skeptical. My guess is those who answer (B) hate their inner male side and try to disassociate with men in general. I wonder if the (B) girls could strip down and walk around naked for a day. No clothing, no hair, no makeup or jewelry, no high heel pumps, no augmented breasts. Could you walk around naked, as yourself, and without looking in the mirror, feel like a woman? Being honest with yourself when you think of your answer, then think of the title of this thread and how it applies to society. I would like to think that dressing and being female are disjoint. Are they really connected, or do people connect the two as a means to serve their purpose?

Worthy of a response, I think...:thinking:

First of all, there is no “inner girl.” Never has been, never will be – I don’t subscribe to this theory that keeps the genders (sexes) apart, as if they inhabit different floors in the same apartment complex. The idea is to integrate, or incorporate the genders, and dressing in a different manner (to what you may have been accustomed to) helps to accomplish this cherished goal. I don’t “let Freddy out to play,” rather I exist as a blended entity, and I express myself accordingly...

As for walking around naked, for an entire day, and feeling like a woman (although shorn of her gender-specific adornments), well, I shall refer you to the previous paragraph. Try to see this less as a black-and-white issue, my dear. I can easily walk around naked (I prefer nude) and feel like the gender-incorporated being I am – I really have no wish to ditch my birth gender entirely, and “see” myself as purely female. In my case, when I feel my naked body (you’re preventing me from looking in the mirror, remember?), I’ll know I still have something to hang on to...

Since you’re a fan of disjointed concepts, try to join together male and female within AND without – it’s not easy, but it’s certainly worth the effort...:battingeyelashes:

PS – Just because I entertain female (or effeminate) proclivities, doesn’t mean I “hate” my innate male-ness. It’s a lot more complicated, and beautiful, than what you propose...

[Georgina]

I do not have an inner girl or any other part girl. I wear the clothes because I like how they look and feel, and how they make me feel. I wear the clothes of both sexes and believe that all should be free to do so.

[Kate Simmons]

To answer your question in kind of a roundabout way, it's the woman who makes the clothes.:)

[Pinky188]

Its the person that makes the woman! It depends on my mindset at the time. I have been in the mindset of girlmode and felt very girly in the nude. On the same token, I also have felt very boyish in the nude. For me, its all in my attidude at the time. I do however prefer girl mode!

[BLUE ORCHID]

I dress to try to impress that lady in the mirror she's my idle.

[Katrina Black]

womens clothing definatly makes me feel more like a women . If i had to go out naked i would have to at least paint my toenails

[sometimes_miss]

B. No, I don't hate my 'male side'. I don't have a 'side'. I'm me all the time. I don't feel 'like a woman', because I'm not one. But I have to live with the constant feeling that I was supposed to be one, that never goes away....which is why I'm more comfortable dressed as a girl; it just feels like what I'm supposed to do. If you want to know why, read my bio, link below.
And oh, yeah, I walk around naked plenty. I live alone, when it's hot, less clothes. But then again, I don't go out of the way to stare in mirrors when I'm naked....I'm not that conceited.

[Cheryl T]

I'm curious about the motivations of some cross dressers. Do you (A) dress to release that inner girl, or (B) dress because you are that inner girl?


Seems the same to me....
If I am that inner girl (B) then dressing would release her (A) would it not?
At least it would release her to the rest of the world that can't see her otherwise.

Therefore, A + B making the answer....something else.

[ashlee chiffon]

I dress daily, usually wearing panties and bra underneath male clothing at the least *unless hot weather, where I can't hide bra*, and at home dress sans makeup and wig at the least most of the time. I dress because it feels more normal and natural and stress when I am unable to use my breast inserts...I sleep with them in...so in effect, most of my time is spent dressed in some form...It is how I like myself to be and who I am...

[TGMarla]

No, clothes definitely don't make the woman. Women, like all people, are usually much deeper than simply what they wear. Clothing, however, and make a woman much more enjoyable to look at.

As for me, since I'm not actually a woman, clothes definitely DO make THIS woman!

Wait.....scratch that. Fake boobs and a wig help as well. So does a bunch of makeup. Do those count as clothing?

[Valerie1973]

A wolf in sheep's clothing is still a wolf. For me the illusion of seeing a woman. Neither A or B , the clothes make the woman for me. I like being a guy as much as becoming the girl. I don't know, I've never felt like a woman trapped inside a mans body, or the need to stop being a man, it just feels damn good to feel like a woman in the cloths.

[Stephanie47]

I have absolutely no idea why I started wearing women's clothing. I do love the feel of wearing a slip, panties, hosiery and a dress. My wife cannot understand why I want to wear a bra, when I have nothing to pack into it. I just figure it is part of finishing the illusion. The wig? Well, women who lose their hair also wear wigs.

When I am en femme, I really do not feel like there is an inner woman trapped inside me wanting to break out. When en femme I truly forget I am 'presenting' as a woman. I feel I have a dual personality without being schizophrenic. If I wasn't a man, I would have no issues being a woman.

Well, the timer just went off- got to take the cake out of the oven.