Crossdressing more mainstream?

[Paula_56]

It seems to me that transgendered people are becoming more accepted and understood out there these days. I listen to a talk radio show here in Boston in the morning, Eagan and Braudie. Over the last few weeks the subject of cross dressers came up and both times in a positive light.
The first time the subject was riding the train to work. I’m not sure how the topic came up she said.
“I ride the train every day, I see cross dressers all the time, it’s no big deal it (crossdressing) fills a need and makes them feel good about themselves.”
The other time Jim Braudie said, “ I had a teacher who was a crossdresser, of that’s before crossdressing be popular and common place”
There just seems to be a better awareness of transgender issues out there , I was wondering if any of you have heard similar comments or had any positive experiences?

[Kaz]

I know of isolated things here in the UK. I do work for two Universities here and the faculties I work with both have an 'open and out' crossdresser on Admin staff. They are well supported by staff (in general), but the student reaction is always interesting to observe! Yes, in the UK the public sector is accepting in principle, but my cynics hat says is this because they are ticking diversity boxes?

I do find younger women are more willing to accept it these days... less so the guys...

[Jill Devine]

I think TG fulltime dressers are more accepted these days and specially protected by labour laws. But I'm not not too sure about the recreational parttime CD. That still confuses lots of people.

[deebra]

Braudi's comment on the radio was "I see cd's all the time", well I'm one and I don't. We being cd's have a trained eye to spot one of our own but if they are out there they must be wearing invisible paint and I really, really don't believe they can be passing 100%.

[audreyinalbany]

I gotta agree with deebra. I'm always on the lookout and never ever spot a sister

[Cynthia Anne]

I think it is more common even say ten years ago! But it has a long long way to go before it will be accepted well enough to be commonplace!

[Tina B.]

It's very out and open here, but of course that's just one day a year at the pride parade, the rest of the year, I'm the only CD I ever see!

[TeresaL]

My neck of the woods is too rural and conservative to get much of a CD population exposure. That, and I don't get out much. My SO claims to have many CD sightings. I'm so non observant that I wouldn't know a TG if she hit me with her purse.

[Rogina B]

I am in the Boston area as well and go about everywhere. Other than the TG community common places[specialty stores,events,etc],I very rarely encounter anyone else. I go into Boston to the UU Church in hopes of meeting others and they aren't even there. I feel real acceptance mostly everywhere my travels take me on the East Coast. I kind of think the "novelty" of us has worn off a bit from TV,radio,movies,etc..However,many are thrilled to actually meet one of "us "in person. lol

[BRANDYJ]

The first time I ever saw crossdressers out in the mainstream was in a popular upscale restaurant. That was maybe 30 years ago. Not a common site back then for sure. Especially considering my town was very small at the time. Since then it has grown ten fold being one of the fastest growing cities in the US. This was back before Internet days. So it was unusual. No one batted an eye at them. There was three of them, all nicely dressed. Since then I have seen maybe a half a dozen TG people out and about. Especially where I worked the past 4 years. One was so convincing that a cashier that had already spoke to her had to convince me she was TG. And I thought I could spot one of us a mile away.

[Debra Russell]

The most outstanding cd siting I have seen was about 8 yrs ago at a coffee shop some high school girls were sitting at a counter, one was a bigger girl and all were dresses very much there age as trendy girls will do. I noticed the bigger girl (was cute) acted a little more reserved - as they left it dawned on me - a young cd right before my very eyes! All in all first hand cd sitings are rare - usually just to proficient to be seen ............................Debra

[Katie83]

As others have said, i'm always on the look out for fellow cders, and i always try and look for give away signs, eyebrows etc, but i've never ever seen one. But i'm all for an increase in acceptance.
Katie

[BLUE ORCHID]

Hi Paula, Over the years I've seen two that I can be 98.9% sure of
and just this one guy in a dress and a bad wig that one was aweful.

[Tara D. Rose]

I have seen several CD's here in my home town as well. Once was about 20 years ago, but, yes I was in an adult video store. She walked in, I glanced, I thought she looked great. I didn't want to stare, I thought she was a gg. So I looked again, and yes she was a CD. A few months ago, I smiled at a CD that was walking out of our local library. I passed her I stepped inside and turned and watched her walk to her car to determine that my initial assumption was true. Then I saw another one of us at the gas pump. She pulled in front of me just as I put my car in park. I was putting some stuff away for a minute, but she wouldn't get out to pump her gas. I didn't stare at her though. I got out to pump my gas, she got out to pump her gas. I then took a few respectful glances, and noticed how nervous she was, like constantly looking all around her.
My wife and I saw a sister at our local K-mart parking lot as well. I very respectivly pointed her out to my wife, my wife looked and said, wow, she is a guy. But this was before I told my wife of what I once "USED' to do. I don't really go out much. I think if I went out everyday to the mall, I think I may see one of us about once a week.
I just think it's really awsome that more cd's are getting out in the public.
L&R..............Tara

[reb.femme]

As others have said, i'm always on the look out for fellow cders, and i always try and look for give away signs, eyebrows etc, but i've never ever seen one. But i'm all for an increase in acceptance.
Katie

Well if they all look like you Katie, it's no wonder you miss them.
I'm always looking but have not spotted a CD and I travel all over south England and Wales.

Rebecca x

[Sallee]

I live in an urban area and seldom see CD's and I am on the lookout for them. They must pass reallly well for me to miss them if they are out there and I think they are.

[sissystephanie]

For the past 7 years, since my dear wife passed away, I have been going out in public dressed enfemme. The difference now is that while I am dressed totally enfemme, I look exactly like the guy that I am! I wear no makeup and no wig (I am almost bald!)! My late wife always did my makeup and fixed my wig!

The point I am making is that even though I definitely am a girlish looking man, hardly anybody oays any attention to me. Although once in awhile I do get asked where I bought the skirt, top, or dress that I am wearing!! But even then the person asking the question doesn't seem to care that I am a man! So yes, I do think CD's are more accepted now!

[Eryn]

Braudi's comment on the radio was "I see cd's all the time", well I'm one and I don't. We being cd's have a trained eye to spot one of our own but if they are out there they must be wearing invisible paint and I really, really don't believe they can be passing 100%.


I gotta agree with deebra. I'm always on the lookout and never ever spot a sister

It depends upon your criteria for "identification." I've never seen anyone that I was 100% sure was a CDer. I might have been 90% sure, but there is always the chance that it was a GG with masculine features.

OTOH, if you're taking anything greater than "50% probability" as constituting a "sighting" then I've seen quite a few. That is probably the definition that the guy on the radio is using.

[Lainie]

There are two British CD celebrities--stand-up comedian Eddie Izzard & ceramic artist Grayson Perry. The street photography section in the Sunday New York Times often shows a cross-dressing artist (don't recall the name) and occasionally highlights obviously male dandies who are pushing the envelope. Fashion designer Rick Owens wears skirts & includes them in his mens wear lines. Jean Paul Gaultier has also.

I have spotted a couple of CDs on the street in The Hague, one probably TG. Pretty sure I saw a CD/TG at LAX last week. And my wife mentioned that the tall slender big-boned woman we had just passed on the street in Santa Monica was transgendered. I didn't notice anything special about her until she spoke to the man she was with in a sonorous baritone. We were close enough to hold hands, and I gave her a comprehensive (discreet) visual inspection afterward. Moved like a woman, narrow shoulders for a guy, I typed her as female, although I didn't get a good look at the separation between the eyes, which is the number 2 giveaway after shoulders. Probably my wife was right--big hands & robust skeleton.

Still, it's very rare to see CDs. We're special!

[Sophia Claire]

Since I accepted myself as a CD, I have been looking and I do see them here and there, but I know that I wouldn't want to be recognized as a CDer, even by other CDers. So I just let them go on their way. That said, I think there's a possibility that I'm actually looking at a woman with extremely masculine features, but I guess I'll never know for sure because asking is very rude either way it goes.

[Lainie]

... And by the way, I went to Sam's today en femme--woman's slacks, polo shirt; wallet & keys in a tote bag. Then sat at Starbucks for a couple of hours dressed the same, except with a real purse holding more gear, & my laptop.

Also wearing a mustache. No one said anything, & I guess no one noticed the girl-side buttons on my shirt.
But I knew I was en femme.

[Sophia Claire]

BTW, I'm surprised people aren't really afraid of us. Some of the most feared people in history have been like us. Caligula was notably effeminate. Achilles' mother (the demigoddess Thetis) made him crossdress to avoid being drafted into the Trojan War, which she knew that he would not survive (Odysseus called the bluff). Boy George stood accused of imprisoning a prostitute in his dungeon (yeah, hands up those of you who are surprised that Boy George has a dungeon... No one? Me neither). J Edgar Hoover has some notorious photos circulating. Hermann Goering, commander of the Luftwaffe and Hitler's number two man in Nazi Germany, was also rumored to be a crossdresser. Without getting into their politics or personal lives, all of these men inspired a large volume of soiled trousers (or togas or whatever) in their days. It's odd that with such fearful reputations behind us that we're relegated to approximately the same place in society as non-sparkly movie vampires. With a reputation like ours, you'd think the president would be required by law to attend meetings of the joint chiefs of staff in a damn ballgown.

[Kate Simmons]

I don't think most "mainstream" people have a problem with it. It's the bigots who live in their own little universe that have the biggest problem with it. Those who don't kow tow to them, they consider freaks.:)

[Miriam-J]

I don't think most "mainstream" people have a problem with it. It's the bigots who live in their own little universe that have the biggest problem with it. Those who don't kow tow to them, they consider freaks.:)
There are far too many who spend much of their lives looking for groups to exclude, or even to hate. We are far from alone in being an object of derision and exclusion. We can rarely change those who act this way, but we can help others to look beyond them.

Miriam