Are you anything like me?

[ronna]

There are obviously a lot of reasons to cross-dress.
You don't even need a reason, or maybe you haven't thought of one.
I have some.

I love frilly things

I don't know anybody else who loves them as much as I do

I wish I could share my enjoyment with someone else

I guess I'll have to enjoy them by myself

If I were a woman I would wear them for fun

Girls' things are way more fun than guys' things

I can be more ladylike than a lot of women

I could be pretty if I tried hard enough

[Sharon]

I'm nothing like you, Ronna, but I'm almost a twin to Ronni!:D

[Carlacd]

Ronna,
I am a close second to you or maybe ahead of you. Love the frillies. If i had to choose just a few items to wear, it would always be frilly items.
Lingerie rules:D :D

[Marlena Dahlstrom]

There may be some dumb answers, there's no dumb questions Tassie.

Being pretty is definitely one of the big reasons many people crossdress. Women's clothing usually is more decorative, sexy and sensual than men's. So in a sense it's playing "dress up." But obviously there's a big difference between being able to look pretty and feeling that you have to. I'm sure if we had to do our make-up every morning, the thrill of it would fade fairly quickly. But since we don't, it's usually the equivalent of getting glammed up for a special occasion for most of us. Which is why you'll also see much more "girly girl" attire than the sorts of things GGs normally wear.

It is usually pleasureable, which is a reinforcer, but it's probably not enough to cause someone to get "addicted." Despite much pondering, no one's really sure why we do it, but it seems to be a very deep-seated urge, which may have some combination of biological, psychological and sociological roots, depending on the person.

FYI, two of the other major reasons people crossdress are:

- A chance to escape the pressures of being a man and/or be someone else for awhile. I won't get into the whole "which gender has it harder" debate, but suffice to say that while men (unfortunately) still have a priviledged gesocial position, there's parts to the masculine gender role that aren't necessarily of a lot fun.

- They feel they've got a "feminine" side to them, i.e. aspects of their personality that they feel they can't easily express as a man. For example, you mentioned your boyfriend hides his "softer" side around other men. Putting on the dress allows them to express/explore those feelings.

There's a variety of other reasons, and they're not mutually exclusive, and most people probably have a mix of several reasons.

While it doesn't really address the "why" question, one of the more sympathetic articles (http://www.masquerade.ca/index2.html?swerve.html) on crossdressing I've seen (written by a reporter for a gay newspaper who goes en femme with a local CD group) can help you get a sense of what you're boyfriend may feel when dressed. In particular take a look at the "lessons learned" at the end.

[Julie York]

There are obviously a lot of reasons to cross-dress.
You don't even need a reason, or maybe you haven't thought of one.
I have some.

I love frilly things

Yep

I don't know anybody else who loves them as much as I do

Erm..nope. There's someone called Ronna who likes them even more.

I wish I could share my enjoyment with someone else

Yep

I guess I'll have to enjoy them by myself

Yep

If I were a woman I would wear them for fun

Yep

Girls' things are way more fun than guys' things

Yep

I can be more ladylike than a lot of women

Har har har.....erm Nooo!

I could be pretty if I tried hard enough

Erm.................erm.......yep!:D

Nice list!

[ronna]

I have to say, Tassie, it is the most fun I could possibly have.
Marlena, you have a lovely explanation.
Carla, you're after my own heart.
Sharon, have you been talking to my sister?
Julie, I know you're fun!

Cheers, babes