What's the difference

[lucy two]

What's the difference between a CD and TV I always thought a CD if someone wanted to dress part-time and TV most of the time and I have now been told that we are all TVs. If that is the case why do we call ourselves cross-dressers.

[Laura912]

Lucy, there currently are several threads dealing with the "name" or "label." Most of the old timers, being one myself, will tell you it just doesn't matter. If you can be comfortable with no label, you may find things a lot more fun. And welcome to the forum. :)

[melissakozak]

I just addressed this issue partially in a separate post title Labels. One is short for crossdresser and the other is short for transvestite. I can't stand the term transvestite because frankly, it sounds like we might be some horrible monsters from a 'B' rated movie shot in the 1950's, but hey, it is a label that has been around for awhile. Only recently has the term TG come into vogue. None of us are TVs because we lack the necessary wiring, HDMI attachments, remote controls and either HD or LCD displays found so commonly on your typical TV. Nor am I a small round, shiny disc with music....;)

By the way, I AM an old timer like Laura912 said!!!!

[BRANDYJ]

There is no difference CD is short for crossdressing, or cross dressing, however you want to spell it in one or two words. TV stands for transvestite. Both simply mean dressing in the clothes of the opposite sex. TV, or transvestite are going by the way side since they sound clinical and are dated back to an era when psychological experts considered it a mental problem. The term cross dresser has not been around that many years. Maybe 30 or so years at best.

[Cheryl T]

Technically they are the same. The definition of both are equal.
Where it differs is the Connotation that people assign to the two terms.

I prefer to call myself ... Cheryl !!!

[lucy two]

Thank you I was only wondering what the difference was between a (crossdress ) and a (transvestite) as some people call me a cross dresser and others are transvestite so I was wondering what am I. Well I know who I am I'm Lucy and very happy indeed.

[Elena Ornamental]

Something I believe happened is that when more of the public became aware of the term "transvestite" as a stigma, the transvestite community came up with the "cross dresser" term that didn't have negative implications. Of course "cross dresser is a literal translation of "transvestite".

[Sheann]

I agree == there appears to be little difference. Simply my opinion, but i like crossdersser better

[heatherdress]

Spelling is the difference. One word uses a C and a D. The other word uses a T and a V.

I wuz nevr gud at spellin and i dont care - I use spellcheck.

What you like to wear is your business and you don't need to call yourself anything. You are you. Don't worry about a label.

[STACY B]

The word your looking for is,,,,,,,,,>>>>>> SUPA STAR >>>>>>>>>>>>> AKA>>--------WILD --CAT--->>>>>>>>>>>>>

[lucy two]

I agree Stacey Lucy is a superstar expensive one but still a superstar and I love it when she's out

[NicoleScott]

There is no difference. Use the word you prefer.

[Barbara Ella]

to paraphrase an old adage. Call me anything, just dont call me late for the shoe sale.

Barbara

[LilSissyStevie]

It's a perfect example of a distinction without a difference. But what about people like me. I'm a 'whoopsie' no matter what I'm wearing.

[Jane-C]

Hi


Why not let’s throw a new term "label" into mix? I'm a GITWMFS pronounced Gitwomfs, Guy In Touch With My Feminine Side. Let’s confuse the public at large even more :)

Jane

PS: Do believe labels are for soup cans

[Lynn Marie]

In the third post after the starter, Brandy J perfectly and succinctly explained the difference and today's preferences. The rest of this stuff is superflous.

Labels are a necessary evil to explain that we are not gay nor drag queens. Damn, just keep it simple and avoid the ethereal balony.

[Brittany CD]

Transvestite is an older term for crossdresser. It's probably also the more academic term, so if a scholar is writing about a study regarding crossdressing, he/she may refer to it as transvestism

[Rachel Morley]

They are the same. "TV" is short for transvestite and "CD" is short for crossdresser.
Latin trans- + vestite, form of vestiō (“I clothe, I dress”) (as in English vestment, vest). Literally, a "cross-dresser".

[BLUE ORCHID]

Hi Lucy, Just tell us what you want to be and we will be ok
with what ever it is that you want to be.

We are very easy to get along with.

[Sarah27]

I think it all has to do with if society was fully accepting and embracing of any man becoming a woman, there was sufficient technology for a man to become a woman, and the person in question was still willing to become female permanently, then they are TV, if not then CD.

[Missy]

A cross-dresser wear cloths of the other sex while a transvestite wears the clothing for sexual pleasure
I looked it up in dictionary a few times

[NathalieX66]

America says crossdresser.
UK folks say transvestite.
I say who gives a s***

Tomato/tomahto.


I'm a dude that prefers to dress as female.....you got a problem with that?

[lucy two]

Thank you Missy that is exactly what was looking for.

[KlaireLarnia]

America says crossdresser.
UK folks say transvestite.


Ermmm no we don't. You will find that a lot of people in the UK use the term Cross Dresser as it sounds a lot nicer and more acceptable than Transvestite which has quite a large negative feeling over here.

The word also originates from a German - Magnus Hirschfeld back in the 1860's

[Kaz]

Ermmm no we don't. You will find that a lot of people in the UK use the term Cross Dresser as it sounds a lot nicer and more acceptable than Transvestite which has quite a large negative feeling over here.

The word also originates from a German - Magnus Hirschfeld back in the 1860's

I'm with Klaire on this... CD has become the preferred term in UK for many years... it is more modern and a bit more user friendly. TV became a bit stigmatised in the 60s and early 70s.

Missy (aka Carla), dictionary definitions are tricky as well as it depends on the dictionary, what date it is and who updated the definition... indeed if it was updated. It could be that CD was added rather than interrogated.

If we want to really understand what words mean we need to understand how they were derived. Now I am on my hobby horse I am afraid! The bigger issue is how words are used and shaped by society...

Lucy, this issue with labels never goes away!

I am Kaz... it isn't just about the clothes... it is about who I am!

[RachelPortugal]

A cross-dresser wear cloths of the other sex while a transvestite wears the clothing for sexual pleasure
I looked it up in dictionary a few times

Did you look it up several times in different dictionaries to obtain a more balanced definition? Or as your post seems to imply, you looked in the same dictionary several times just to be sure you read it right?

Dictionary definitions are just the compilers' understanding of a word.

[lucy two]

Okay now I'm even more confused all wanted to know was was the difference between a cross dresser and a transvestite I seem to have caused a bit of an argument which was not what I was after doing as for me I call myself a cross dresser as I wear male and female clothing. I do not mean to cause offence with my next comment but being in the second half of my 50s I was on understanding that transvestites were probably gay as well as wearing women's clothing it is obviously ( NOT ) the case this is why I tried to find out what the differences as I am quite clearly not gay. So please except my apologies if this has offended anyone as I did not mean to do so. Owing to my dyslexia I have had problems posting anywhere the new program allows me to talk while the computer does the work so I would like to keep posting on here. Once again my apologies if I upset anyone.

[KlaireLarnia]

I don't think you caused offence. It is just a point of major contention as to what we call ourselves. There as many different views and opinions as there are reasons for doing what we do. So there is no simple answer or any right/wrong answer either.

Stereotypes play a part in what we think and feel and perhaps that is why it raised such a heated discussion.


You aren't the first person to ask this and raise the topic and trust me, you won't be the last either.

[Beverley Sims]

"I" am a CDer. I look nothing like a Television Set.:)

[Contessa]

You should take this up with a professional. GG's are professional girls they know more about and looking like a girl than I do. I am really just an amature girl. I take all my pointers from the professionals. Although some times when I try my hand I can look fairly good. Crossdressing really doesn't do good explaining us, cause we have to dress in something. Clothes have been found to be the best things to put on. Since I am trying to look like and be like a girl, I take my cues from them. Trans vestite and cross dresser are just terms to explain doing this going to the other side of the street. But that is called jaywalking if you do it right in the middle. GG's are good at this, it will take awhile for me to get like them they have a lot of advantages over me. Hips and rear, although some do have fake boobs most do not but still. Well you get the picture.

Tess

[Barbara Jo]

Iv'e always said that a CD is simply someone who does not want to be called a TV because they are convinced that being called CD has more class. :D

Just remember what shakespeare said about that rose.:)

[Bootsiegalore]

TV is what you watch the CD on after you stick it ino a CD player

[Tracii G]

Cd seems to be the term of the day so go with it.

[Billie Jean]

Trans=cross. Vestite=dress or clothing. Same difference as patella=knee cap. Billie Jean

[Samantha Jane]

Not really into 'labels' I am who I am, but IF for what ever reason I had to make a choice, then TG works for me..............

[Vanessa Storrs]

A Transvestite is a person who wears clothing usually associated with the other gender.
A Crossdresser is a person who wears clothing usually associated with the other gender.

I hope this helps to end the confusion.

[Diane Smith]

Linguistically, the words "crossdresser" and "transvestite" literally mean the same thing. The first comes from Germanic and Anglo-Saxon roots, and the second from Latin.

However, there are several such pairs of words in our language which come from different linguistic traditions and objectively, superficially, mean the same thing, but have very different connotations when used in ordinary speech.

Consider, for example, the following: "Exotic" versus "Outlandish."

Which would you rather be called?

- Diane

[monique01]

I always thought a c.d. was a person that liked to dress in clothes of opposite sex. A tv is a thing that you plug into the wall by the electrical cord and watch movies and programs. Smile...

[Frédérique]

What's the difference between a CD and TV I always thought a CD if someone wanted to dress part-time and TV most of the time and I have now been told that we are all TVs. If that is the case why do we call ourselves cross-dressers.

IMHO, a TV (transvestite) is a serious MtF CD (crossdresser). Don’t let anyone tell you antiquated ideas about the word transvestite – many crossdressers are transvestites, but they won’t admit it. I am happy to be a transvestite...
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