Walking Advice?

[xdressed]

Does anyone have any good advice on how to walk and generally move like a lady? I want to eventually go to a CD convention but I need the movements down first of course ^_^

[2B Natasha]

So. Which lady are you thinking you would like to move like. Jane Mansfield, Annie Oakley, Tonya Harding? Asking to walk like a lady is bit like telling someone there is a medium sized hole in my house. Just step into a pair of shoes and walk. Models if that is what you are after cross step. Looks silly on the street IMHO.

I am sure you'll get useful Tips on how to work at dropping your hips. I personally think there are so many different walks it doesn't matter.

Plus. If your going to a cd convention. Who do you think you'll be trying to fool? The whole idea is so you can relax and be yourself. Absorb some advice. Pick up a tip or two. If your getting judged for the way you walk at a cd conference you need a new conference to go to.

[MarinaKirax]

I understand your question. A proper walk adds to the illusion, and an enhanced illusion adds to the enjoyment. there are some excellent tips online, and i've read a lot of them, but here are some of the things that I found useful
1. practice taking much smaller steps. listen to how fast women's feet hit the ground, next time you're out. Their leg speed is almost twice the average male gait. It takes practice and some effort to learn to move your legs that quickly. Don't be in such a hurry to get someplace. It takes constant concentration to keep your steps small and quick
2. Women's foot strike isn't on their heels. That would grind their stilettos down to pencil nubs fairly quickly. Instead, they tend to land on their midfoot, or in high heels, much more on their toes. this takes practice when you're walking, because you almost have to slightly point your toes before your foot lands. If you keep your foot at a right angle to your leg, like most men do, your heel will hit first, catch, and you will stumble. practice slightly extending and pointing your toe, very slowly, as you take small steps. Try to land with the heel and toe almost together on the floor
3. AS far as getting that sexy sway, you just have to feel it. some people will say that you should 'lead with your hip', others will emphasize a side to side motion, or planting your feet in a simple straight line as you walk, but WHat I've found useful is to always avoid hunching over. There's nothing more masculine than that. Think about keeping your head up and your shoulders back. There is a definite 'up and down' to a sexy walk, and that's part of dipping your hips, etc. It looks unnatural if you try to create this 'up and down' by simply dipping your hips. I read somewhere that this sense of sassy, 'up and down' runway type of walk is emphasized by raising your ankle a little higher with each step, and almost throwing it out front of your planted leg. Sort of like a horse cantering.

that's about already too much for me to think about, but trust me you will get a feel for it. the most important things, and the most difficult things to remember, are actually the simplest-don't hunch over, take small steps, and don't strike with your heels. Hope that helps. MK

[girltoy]

It's also really helpful to be able to see what you're doing. Most digital cameras have a video function, have someone record you walking while practicing, so that you can look and see what you're doing wrong. My SO recorded me and then gave me pointers, could point out exactly in the video where I was doing it right and wrong, and then I could see what I was doing.

[xdressed]

Like Marina said, it's not really about fooling anyone but more about the illusion and the enjoyment of it. Thanks for your tips I'll certainly keep them in mind when I practice.

[Diane Smith]

What Marina said -- take shorter but faster steps, and try to put your heel and toe down at close to the same time. Keep your knees close together -- the best advice I heard was to act like there is a short string between your knees. (Or I suppose you could wear a very tight pencil skirt -- but act like it even if you aren't!) Other features like the hip sway will evolve naturally if you practice these guidelines. Even walking in "male" mode, I often practice by putting my weight on the balls and toes of my feet, instead of the heels, and concentrating on keeping my knees together. I don't know how strange that looks to other people who pass me doing it on the street, though!

The "crossover" walk that models use looks silly enough on the runway, and downright crazy out on the street. Don't use that as your inspiration.

- Diane

[KimberlyJean]

Keep your elbows in and swing those arms. Women use their hands to talk and have alot of movement. I like to put my purse over my shoulder and keep it tight with one elbow and swing the other arm while keeping the wrist loose. For me my arm movement was the biggest part of selling my walk and overall movement.

[Kristyn Hill]

Definetly walk on your toes and soles.

[BLUE ORCHID]

Hi XD, Google ((walking in high heels)).

[Kittie]

Buy yourself a pair of heels, wear them around the house, on the concrete in your garden, practice walking in them on different surfaces. High heels change your posture, your gait, the size of your stride and they will give your hips a swaying/rolling motion that you might instinctively try to fight; don't fight it.

You could try a small heel first and then upgrade to higher heels.

I personally went with trial by fire and the first pair of heels I went out in public with had a 3 1/2" heel. I felt a little anxious about whether I was walking properly, but after receiving an attention seeking wolf-whistle from a guy with his brain in his penis, that went away. :heehee:

[noeleena]

Hi,

How many women or girls walk the same every one is different. i have my own style & way of walking i did not copy any one ever & im 64. im allso a woman & never walked like a male, did not like how they walked ,

we were taught in the Millitry chest out . in my case breasts, back straight & march with a mission i had to i was a side drummer. & in boots,okay that was a while ago.
I look at how women walk many dont they shuffle along some i see walk very smartly along , some of the strident walkers are going for it to keep fit,

& then theres us , we walk as though we are going some where yet enjoying our walk . so while doing that you look at others you look around you, & just be you , theres no one way fits all. as to heels no way not while im out walking im in ankle boots or plain flats or sandles weather permiting.

shorten your stride go a bit slower back straight & not swinging those arms as in the Millitry, arms closer in & be light on your feet dont do the clomp along like your a heavy weight ,
Your movements should be soft. as in flowing like a butterfly a bit if you like a fairy all your movements should flow & all together not like a disjointed new born deer.

Hey have fun & dont sweet it & stress out, its not a show on the catwalk, they dont even walk nicely let alone look nice thats just a poorly acted show,& its not how people walk.

...noeleena...

[Julia_in_Pa]

One foot in front of the other tends to work well.
You will find those at a gathering such as you mentioned walking everywhere.
Men walk and move like their primate brethren.
It makes me want to offer them a banana as a treat.

Read Noeleena's post and memorize it.



Julia

[Helen_Highwater]

They this link; it's been listed here many times before; it's good at demonstating the degrees of style that people adopt, use the sliders to change the options.
http://www.biomotionlab.ca/Demos/BMLwalker.html
What you do need to do is observe females going about the daily routine. The use of the arms, elbows and hands is as important as the walk itself as others have said.

[xdressed]

Buy yourself a pair of heels, wear them around the house, on the concrete in your garden, practice walking in them on different surfaces. High heels change your posture, your gait, the size of your stride and they will give your hips a swaying/rolling motion that you might instinctively try to fight; don't fight it.

You could try a small heel first and then upgrade to higher heels.

I personally went with trial by fire and the first pair of heels I went out in public with had a 3 1/2" heel. I felt a little anxious about whether I was walking properly, but after receiving an attention seeking wolf-whistle from a guy with his brain in his penis, that went away. :heehee:

I have the heels but don't have a garden lol. Living in the halls of accommodation at uni at the moment. Still I will take in everyone's advice you've all been very helpful thanks ^_^

[Heisthebride]

Burlesque is going through a huge revival and there are many cities where lessons are available. I took a class locally and have continued taking them. First off the people in the class are very accepting, I have even performed fully en femme with them but the classes are informal. I dress in boy mode and wear heels during class. Second, part of the class teaches how to walk in heels, make sexy poses, etc. while they are intended to be over the top feminine, they can easily be scaled back when not performing. Lastly, the instructors are there to provide constructive feedback.

I love taking the classes and have made several girlfriends who are totally cool with me being a crossdresser. I think you could benefit from this type of class.

[Lorileah]

When I mentioned this question (which comes up every 6 weeks here like clock work) to my GF a year or so ago she said "Most women put one foot ahead of the other and take a step".

Try something. Go to the mall, get a large drink and sit in the middle court and watch. There are as many ways of walking as there are women in the world. I will tell you something, if you try and walk like a woman you will be "clocked" as they say here within seconds.

What most CD's think of as walking is a cat walk walk. It is exaggerated and no one except the models walk like that. The other walk is a stripper walk...you know step-thrust step- thrust. When did you see a woman walk like that?

Just walk, don't try and do anything, it just makes it more noticeable.

[xdressed]

Burlesque is going through a huge revival and there are many cities where lessons are available. I took a class locally and have continued taking them. First off the people in the class are very accepting, I have even performed fully en femme with them but the classes are informal. I dress in boy mode and wear heels during class. Second, part of the class teaches how to walk in heels, make sexy poses, etc. while they are intended to be over the top feminine, they can easily be scaled back when not performing. Lastly, the instructors are there to provide constructive feedback.

I love taking the classes and have made several girlfriends who are totally cool with me being a crossdresser. I think you could benefit from this type of class.

That sounds really interesting, but I don't think I'm ready to do something like that just yet (and even if I was there's no way I can afford it right now either lol). I think I will basically just go with putting one step in front of the other and practicing. I filmed myself walking today and it didn't look too bad, just a little forced atm but I'm getting the hang of it.

[Sally24]

The best advise I read when first starting out was this, try to touch your thighs together while you walk. Just don't bang your knees together as they pass! While you can't alter your bone structure and joints you can try to align them more in line with a feminine look. I practiced that for 2 weeks in my hotel while on a trip and it definitely got rid of the male look to my walk. You are basically try to not walk like a man and not walk like a stripper. There is a nice middle ground that will not attract attention.

[Cheryl T]

As my wife told me ... don't walk fast, women Saunter...
Generally a good idea is to walk one foot in front of the other (sorta Indian style). This helps create the hip movement without exaggerating it. Keeping your thighs together is important too. Guys walk with their feet apart like they need a broad base or they will fall over.
Take some time to watch women walking and you'll see what makes it work.

Don't forget standing too....men spread their feet apart. Women usually stand on one foot with the other at an angle in front of the straight leg, with the knee bent and the foot angled outward.
Observation and practice are your best friends.

[Sindee50]

2. Women's foot strike isn't on their heels. That would grind their stilettos down to pencil nubs fairly quickly. Instead, they tend to land on their midfoot, or in high heels, much more on their toes. this takes practice when you're walking, because you almost have to slightly point your toes before your foot lands. If you keep your foot at a right angle to your leg, like most men do, your heel will hit first, catch, and you will stumble. practice slightly extending and pointing your toe, very slowly, as you take small steps. Try to land with the heel and toe almost together on the floor
MK

This is so wrong!! Please forgive me, I am not picking on anyone and I wish absolutely no offence. I Am a GG with a CD'ing SO.
This description of walking appears to be "catwalk" type of stride ---- and that looks soooo un-natural.
As a GG, I do totally agree with the 'smaller/shorter' strides, taking time walking, and heels or no heels, walk as naturally as possible, and that means heels down first. Yes, this is going to do a little damage to the heels, but that is going to take quite some time to happen ------ there are still shoe repairers to be found about the place and it does not cost the earth to have heels mended. (believe me, the repairer is Not going to ask if they are your shoes or not)...
Practice, practice, practice. In time it will all come together.

[Bree-asaurus]

All I know is that when I was pretending to be a guy, I would notice that men would walk with their shoulders... putting the emphasis of their stride there... I guess to make them look big and hulking.

I've heard that women walk with their hips. When I stopped TRYING to walk like a guy I just walked the way that felt natural... which I guess is with the hips guiding the stride, not the shoulders. I dunno.

I've heard that women have wider hips, so that's where the difference comes. But I've seen natal women with hips smaller than mine that walk with their hips... and guys with hips larger than mine that walk like they're a chimp demonstrating towards another alpha. Maybe it's a mental thing... which would explain why I had to try to walk like a guy even though I had been living as one for years.

[DanaR]

Here is a Google search on "learning how to walk in heels":

https://www.google.com/search?hl=en&as_q=&as_epq=learning+how+to+talk+in+heels&as_oq=&as_eq=&as_nlo=&as_nhi=&lr=&cr=&as_qdr=all&as_sitesearch=&as_occt=any&safe=images&tbs=&as_filetype=&as_rights=

[Lorileah]

OK I got it now. Toes out , thighs together, Knees apart, saunter, mince, small steps one foot directly in front of the other, don't spread your legs, throw your hips hold your shoulders steady, heel first then toe, but don't walk on your heels, lean forward, lean back, walk slow, don't shuffle,roll your hips, don't sway, elbows in, wrists out and limp, put your right hip in and your left foot out...

It amazes me women get anywhere when they walk. If you spend this much effort trust me people will notice you...and wonder what the heck you are doing. Has anyone ever watched how real women walk? I mean really? Or maybe I am watching something you all don't. Women all walk differently...no one walks the same. Way too much effort for little return

[Jacqueline Winona]

Just run a seach on google or youtube about how to walk a catwalk- it's basically one foot in front of the other, sway the hips, hand on the hip that you're moving, and be the girl, don't just try to look like her- yes, it's an act for most of us, but get into the role like you were acting.

[Janelle_C]

As my wife told me ... don't walk fast, women Saunter...
Generally a good idea is to walk one foot in front of the other (sorta Indian style). This helps create the hip movement without exaggerating it. Keeping your thighs together is important too. Guys walk with their feet apart like they need a broad base or they will fall over.
Take some time to watch women walking and you'll see what makes it work.

Don't forget standing too....men spread their feet apart. Women usually stand on one foot with the other at an angle in front of the straight leg, with the knee bent and the foot angled outward.
Observation and practice are your best friends.
Cheryl is right on the mark. Go down to a mall or some place were you can people watch and spend some time watching.

[Babeba]

2. Women's foot strike isn't on their heels. That would grind their stilettos down to pencil nubs fairly quickly. Instead, they tend to land on their midfoot, or in high heels, much more on their toes.

This. Is. INSANE. High heels with a stiletto heel were invented (by a man) in the 1950's or thereabouts. I can GUARANTEE you that women walked femininely before that.

Good golly. Please tell me the above quote was a joke and my humor is just broke. Today...

I tend to step with my heel first, the rest of my foot hits down pretty well right away. It's not a right angle foot but it is not a toe first either.

[xdressed]

Blimey a lot more to take in than yesterday lol, maybe I'll just sit down from now on 0_0

[noeleena]

Hi,

Two details , when we did the slow march our band millitry , we put the front of our feet down first, the heel did not hit the ground till after,

When standing ready to play at a standing not at ease or at a ready to march we had our left foot heel close to the middle of our right foot with our body weight on our right foot. i do the same, some times when standing waiting .

Now a tall women does not take short steps or stride while walking unless her dress or skirt is close fitting or the hem is so narrow she would fall over.

Because so many of our women are taller & some a bit heavyer in propotion to height of cause they will carry thier weight differently thats a difference between shorter & taller women & even men are much the same just a different style of walk.

Tho many men are heaver they walk differently as well. as said look about your self when out then come back & tell us what you saw,

...noeleena...

[Tina B.]

Seems to me just like guy's women do not all walk alike, some move very graceful and some lumber along. But if you are looking for a real sexy walk, in some like it hot, Marilyn Monroe, shaved a fraction off the bottom of one heel, and that gave her the cutest little wiggle when she walked. For me i just shorten my stride, and keep my elbows close to my side, and feet that land very close to the same line I'm on, seems to look decent, and I don't stumble.
Tina B.

[HannahF6]

This is a frequently-asked question and one common recommendation is to play with the following:-
http://www.biomotionlab.ca/Demos/BMLwalker.html

It works very well and clearly highlights the differences between a male and a female walk.

Hannah

[Kate Simmons]

It's kind of a combination of the physical and mindset. In the physical, you need to remember that women tend to walk from the hips and one foot in front of another is the ideal way but not always possible. In the mindset, you tell yourself to walk like a woman. Watch how genetic women walk and try to do that. The point is if you believe you can do it, you can. One thing that helped me immensely was learning to shake my booty on the dance floor. It pretty much becomes automatic then and when I'm in femme mode nowadays, I don't even have to think about it any more, it's automatic.:)

[Bree-asaurus]

This. Is. INSANE. High heels with a stiletto heel were invented (by a man) in the 1950's or thereabouts. I can GUARANTEE you that women walked femininely before that.

Good golly. Please tell me the above quote was a joke and my humor is just broke. Today...

I tend to step with my heel first, the rest of my foot hits down pretty well right away. It's not a right angle foot but it is not a toe first either.

Maybe the question they are asking isn't how WOMEN walk, but how BARBIE walks ;)

Me thinks some people's view of women comes from America's Next Top Model and not the other 99% of the female population.

[Stephanie47]

Without checking to see if anyone else has posted, I recommend hitting YouTube/Internet. There are many fine instructional videos for appearing feminine. There are several for walking in heels; proper sitting (eg., hands folded in lap, legs crossed at the knees), general deportment. I think we all remember the classical scene where a boy trying to catch a ball when sitting draws his legs together, while a girl would spread her thighs to catch the ball in the skirt of her dress (Tom Sawyer). There's much more to appearing feminine than just the walk.

I have a full length mirror placed so I can watch myself moving through the kitchen and dining room of my home. When out walking in the evening darkness I have to remember to NOT strut like a guy in a hurry. That looks totally awkward.

[debbeelee1]

I don't know if this was mentioned earlier, but when you stand up to walk somewhere, pause for a moment to think about your walking before you go traipsing off in guy mode! I know this helps me!

[Cheryl T]

All I know is that when I was pretending to be a guy, I would notice that men would walk with their shoulders... putting the emphasis of their stride there... I guess to make them look big and hulking.

This is so true and if you want the perfect example of this then watch an episode of Star Trek - The Next Generation and watch Commander Riker walk.
If that's not the epitome of leading with your shoulders and trying to accent your stride then I don't know what is. Personally I prefer to walk like Dr. Beverly Crusher (and I love her hair)....

[suchacutie]

LOL...we all just LOVE this topic! Every time it comes up we have a go at it because our own experiences are linked to movement so closely.

My best description is that it's almost like dancing, leading with the thigh. That biomation site is a good one! By leading with the thigh, one has to take smaller steps, has to place one foot in front of the other, and the whole body gets involved with every step. The look and feel are incredibly feminine.

Heels have been around for a while (with the fashion being for men every century or so), but their history is not important. The important point is that heels help train your body to walk in a feminine way. The higher the heel the harder it is to walk as a guy!

Have fun!

tina

[PretzelGirl]

I always love this one because it shows that no two people view a women's walk the same way. Why? Because women walk a variety of ways. My favorite hint (for chuckles) that I have heard is to walk like you have a quarter between your butt cheeks and can't drop it.

I subscribe to letting your body do its thing and take out the man parts. So I slow down and take everything in and that works for me as I am naturally a fast walker. After that, just relax and you will be fine.