Are you a "true" CD?

[~Joanne~]

I have a question for the community and I just want to say first, I am not trying to offend anyone, judge anyone, or anything along those lines by asking this. Please do not think that I am. We all live our lives as we see fit, we only get one short one, and nothing should make that a wrong choice.

What I would like to know is, How many of us are true, hetro, cross dressers here?

The word "true" meaning in this case, You embrace both your male and your female side as one. You want to go out, or stay in, and be a woman for a short time to then return to your drab state and continue in your male role.

I ask this because I have been reading a lot of different things here lately, mostly "I want all women's clothes in my closet and to throw away the last remaining male clothes" or "I want to get breast implants" and to me that is a sign that you may want to transition. That I think doesn't make you a cross dresser but a TS/TG but this is only my opinion.

I know, and I hate, all the different labels and such as the next person but isn't it sort of clear cut that if you alter your body , such as the implants, that your beyond just simply cross dressing at that point or is it just me?

This is just a question out of curiosity, there is no right or wrong answer, just opinions but I would like to hear a few either which way.

Have a great week everyone:)

[ReineD]

Joanne, the trouble with answering a question like this is, people here have different definitions of "crossdresser". We have quite a large membership and the spectrum is wide indeed, with just one word, "crossdresser" to describe it all.

Edited

I've snipped my very long and repetitive post. I've explained it better in post # 42 (http://www.crossdressers.com/forums/showthread.php?193685-Are-you-a-quot-true-quot-CD&p=3174381&viewfull=1#post3174381), further down in this thread.

[BlairP]

Joanne,

Great topic. I can honestly tell you that I am a true crossdresser. I love my male self just as much as my female self. If I were female all of the time I would get bored of it. That is what makes crossdressing so fun. Each time I do a total transformation (or even slip on my favorite stilleto ankle boots) it is exhilarating like nothing else. It is the contrast that makes it so special. Without the male side crossdressing would not exist. Its fun to be a boy and lust after and want to be like a particular girl simultaneously. I have fantasized about having breast implants and buttock implants and permanent makeup and collagen lips and a smaller nose but I know the difference between hot fantasy and reality. God I would so love to have very large implants for a few days or weeks but permanently would ruin the whole fun of crossdressing for me.

Interestingly enough there are many traits that coincide with both my male and female side. I wish I was hairless as a guy and a girl. I wish I could have french-tipped fingers and toes all of the time. I wish I had big pouty lips all of the time.

Sexually I am mostly a girl. Even when being sexual as a male I wish I were a female. Only occasionally do I completely identify with my male sexuality and only occasionally do I identify completely with my female gender. I do like to dress up or at least fantasize about it every single day of my life. No wonder so little is known about crossdressers. We are all secretive, varied and complicated.

[NathalieX66]

The primary logic in the transgender community is that gender expression and sexual orientation are not the same. The two are mutually exclusive.

Sure, there's lots of overlap, but hetero crossdressers are a dime a dozen.

[Lorileah]

Whenever anyone says "I don't want to offend anyone" they are usually going to offend most people. This whole label thing gets beaten to death here. Is you is or is you ain't? Are you half are are you whole. C'mon really?

The inference here is that to be "real" you have to be straight? Really? Personally, this is so worn I find it pretty much annoying now.

[Jenniferathome]

Well, I would think that anyone who cross dresses is a "true" cross dresser.

I think you are really asking, "Are there boring ole cross dressers like me?" Yup. There are.

[ossian]

The language of "true" crossdresser also implies that if you don't meet the definition then you are something else and should find another community. I have a hunch that there are many different journeys with different trajectories that would fit into the TG CD community without it being a problem. My own journey is an unfolding flower at the moment an I'm not entirely sure where it will end up.

[Lynn Marie]

So here's a non controversial answer for you. Yes, I fit your example pretty well. I love dressing and getting out dressed, but when I get home it's back to boy mode. Not because I have to, but because it's so much easier to take care of the business of life in comfortable shoes and without having to spend an hour painting my face. Because I'm free to dress whenever I like, I no longer feel the urgency and obsessive need to dress as much as possible. I'm normally out two evenings a week and maybe another evening at home. That's plenty for me. I'm also pretty relaxed about my shopping too. Just not all that obsessive about anything!

[Persephone]

I think you have hit upon the problem with labels, their failure to really mean anything.

Hugs,
Persephone.

[Joanne f]

I suppose that there is nothing wrong with labels as some people need them to be able to connect with others who are the same and not to be thought of as something else so it is only natural for some to try to find what label they come under, in a lot of things this might be quite easy to do but with this type of thing it can sometimes be quite difficult to know exactly where you are as feelings have a habit of changing towards why you are doing it , in fact you can get into a state where you just do it as it is just part of you so the label becomes unimportant but if it helps the ones that need to work out where/what they are then I will try to explain how I see myself if I had to put a label on me ( apart from MAD):D.
I dress androgynous most of the time as I get very little time to go all the way , I do not have a desire to go from male to female and back again so if I do dress up there is no " Now I am female" and then going back to " Now I am male " there is no definite two sides to me only one , I enjoy wearing a dress no doubt for the same reason that a GG does, now here is where it gets a bit tricky , I have a tendency to push the female in me but think that maybe because I am in a male body so you have to try to compensate for what you are lacking ( sorry I can not compensate for my lack of brains):heehee:,
so if you really want me to I would say that I am TG as I do not go from one to the other but if anyone wants to call me anything else so be it I do not mind .

[Edwina]

"The Truth? You can't handle the truth" Sorry, I am a little tired of this sort of question. You missed out on "under dressers" as well. There are so many interpretations I think it is impossible to try to categorize them.

[CD_blue]

I consider myself a true cross dresser (I think definition is much more broad than what your suggesting). I wear female clothes at home pretty much entire time I am home. Slowly outside of house I wear more and more female clothes. Example being I only wear female jeans and underwear.

I never go into “girl” mode, I don’t try to change my voice, and I don’t return to “male” mode as there is only one mode. Though I wear female clothing more often than not. I have no interest at all of a transitioning, and I am also straight.

When it comes to cross dressing in general I think it is just very broad and different people just see it different.

I have questioned though if I actually am a cross dresser. Perhaps I am just someone who finds things/clothing/shoes/make up pretty that society says I should not. While at same time having mind set that gender roles are just pretty outdated. I think “normal” society would for certain at very least call me a cross dresser.

[Lisa Gerrie]

hetero crossdressers are a dime a dozen.

Where? Is somebody having a sale?

[Frédérique]

Are you a "true" CD?

I can safely say that I truthfully “identify” as a crossdresser, MtF variety, with no pretensions towards trans- anything, nor do I feel my gender identity is in any way clouded or cloudy because of my penchant for wearing women’s clothing. Of course, many here will disagree with that statement. I believe that you, Joanne, are trying to speak for those individuals among us who just crossdress, and, even though we may be in the majority, our voices are not heard in this communal setting…

It can be very frustrating, to be sure, and when others INSIST that crossdressing must indicate problems with one’s gender identity, or that crossdressing must be a sexual expression of some sort, no matter what the pleasure-seeking crossdresser might say, that frustration becomes exponentially more and more pronounced…

In short, plain old ordinary MtF crossdressers should be able to voice their gender-unconfused opinions on a site dedicated to crossdressing, but, because they will have to stand in the “wind” of accepted (and expected) gender confusion, thread OP’s like the one referenced above will make an appearance now and then, only to be undermined and marginalized…


The inference here is that to be "real" you have to be straight? Really?

To be honest, I did not draw that inference from the OP. Some people just dress, period, and that, for some, may represent a form of truth TO THEM. Your personal take on truth may vary, but that doesn’t mean you should denounce someone else’s opinion, based on their own personal experience, out of hand…
:straightface:

[Kate Simmons]

The only honest answer to your question is "We are who we are." How we ourselves and others choose to label and define it will be according to perspective. The great "gender divide" originally came about for whatever reason. Being self aware reasoning beings, we realize there is a lot of wiggle room for self determination and expression. Basically, we are only limited by our own imagination when it comes to what we are able to accomplish, both as individuals and as a race. We only get into difficulty when we try to deceive ourselves for the most part and part of that is denying who we are. In the end, it's up to us to make ourselves happy, labels notwithstanding. :)

[BLUE ORCHID]

Hi Joanne, Now I'm really confused.

[Vickie_CDTV]

Under that definition, yes I am a "true hetero CD", I have no desire to permanently become a woman, or cease living a male life.

[Beverley Sims]

Joanne,
After reading your post I will have to take a closer look at myself before replying.
All the various intertwined questions that exclude me one way or another has me reading into all the posts I reply to now.

[Lynn Marie]

It sure would be nice if you folks could just answer the OPs question without attempting to show us all your intellectual superiority by trashing the very labels we all use every day. This nonsense is getting really old.

[suchacutie]

I thought it was a simple question. Let me rephrase it: Are there any of us who wish to express our feminine selves in some way but not transition to that feminine self full time, and also are hetero?

Answer: yes, and I'm one of them.

[NicoleScott]

Lynn Marie, I agree. And I give some credit to Joanne for trying to clarify the question by defining, for this purpose, what "true" crossdressing is.
To answer the question, I identify as a male who likes to dress up occasionally and return to male mode. No conflicting internal identities to deal with. Just a happy, normal, "true" hetero, CDer.

[Stevie]

By your definition I have to say yes I am.

[Kate Simmons]

When Joanne posted this thread she said there was no right or wrong answer. Fair enough but some folks are saying it's just a "yes" or "no" answer. Is it? Not for everyone obviously but it has a lot to do sometimes with who we are as a person and what works for us. I consider everyone for who they are not what they are. If feelings and explanations mean we are showing off intellectually, you just have to take it for who we are. Anything "defined" really depends on who is doing the "defining".

[Lorileah]

even though we may be in the majority, our voices are not heard in this communal setting… Really? The majority? If this was a majority there would be no discussion. What part of continuum or bell curve do you all not understand?




In short, plain old ordinary MtF crossdressers should be able to voice their gender-unconfused opinions on a site dedicated to crossdressing, but, because they will have to stand in the “wind” of accepted (and expected) gender confusion, thread OP’s like the one referenced above will make an appearance now and then, only to be undermined and marginalized No one is saying you cannot fly your flag. But don't slap the rest of us with it by saying things that try and marginalize us "True"? What is the opposite of true? False ? Fake, Faux, Bent, Wrong? Thus if one isn't "true" they would be????




The inference here is that to be "real" you have to be straight? To be honest, I did not draw that inference from the OP. Some people just dress, period, and that, for some, may represent a form of truth TO THEM. Your personal take on truth may vary, but that doesn’t mean you should denounce someone else’s opinion, based on their own personal experience, out of hand…
:straightface:
Hmmm...let me quote the OP



What I would like to know is, How many of us are true, hetro, cross dressers here? Gee, another word with a certain meaning. Hetero (actually a prefix not a word) that means....?

"Denounce" someone else's opinion...kettle meet pot. You just did the same to my opinion. The OP stated something that appeared to be fact to them. The posts that followed were disagreements (something that this forum has been built on). You say denounce, I say give a different perspective.

As a group (a group that I know you want no part of Freddy...the whole continuum of Transgenderism...which you won't even accept as a definition),we will get a lot farther working together rather than looking for reasons to separate us. This is not a "Us" vs "Them" thing. It is not "there are more of us than there are of you" thing. It is a we are marginalized and discriminated against for no good reason. It has been a long time since I referred to Rev. Martin Niemoller's poem but I will direct you to that again. If you want to be separate, then you will find that you will be alone quickly

[Dora]

Yes I am a true CD and the reason is because I want to express the feminine side that I have but no desire to transition over totally to a woman, what really complicates things though is all my life I have been harassed by people, in person I have a female voice, plus also when I wear black pants I can really see how much I look feminine in the rear because of all these feminine characteristics at work its required that everyone wear black pants because alot shows through at work and is out of my control I am constantly called into the supervisors office all the time for small mistakes, also I have gone through this same thing any other job I have worked and even at one time lost a job and almost wound up homeless, something that I have found out that really works well and has carried me though so much is I am a very positive person, I am always positive at work and think despite the things I deal with a positive attitude can go a very long ways, also the other part of my expression of being feminine is I love to dance, I have all kinds of dancing games for my PS3 plus very soon will have a huge Just Dance 4 poster that I am hanging in my apartment.

[NicoleScott]

Lorileah, I think you INFERRED something the OP didn't IMPLY - that a "real" crossdresser is straight. It was a poor choice to use that word, but Joanne tried to define what she meant by "true" in the following paragraph (did you miss that?). I don't believe it was INTENDED to be offensive. Joanne just wanted to know about straight crossdressers who embraced both their male side and feminine-while-crossdressed side.
I wish more of us would not just throw out questions with terms...sorry, make that LABELS.....that we have never agreed on their meaning, without defining, for the purpose of the discussion, the term. Transgender, for example. Do you consider yourself "transgendered?", that is, for the purpose of this discussion, having a strong internal identity, something beyond crossdressing but short of desiring to become a woman or believe that you are a woman born in the wrong body? This definition, as opposed to the umbrella term. Example only - please don't respond.
Discussions that degrade into label agruments unfairly steal the thread.

[Jaymees22]

I'm true to myself, I enjoy dressing as a woman and love the relief it provides me...K.I.S.S. Jaymee

[Vickie_CDTV]

I agree with Nicole, I don't believe the OP was in any way trying to be offensive. The terms we use in the trans world are poorly defined at best, and any attempt to clarify terms is seen as some sort of hostile act to tear people apart.

Maybe the OP would have been better off saying "Is anyone else a Type I or II on the Harry Benjamin Gender Scale?" or such (but I am sure some would get their knickers in a twist using that terminology as well.)

[Wildaboutheels]

I'm simply a guy with multiple hobbies. Wearing clothing items from the "wrong department" sometimes, is one of them.

And [IMO], you need to just completely start over and repost your Q. [a new one] Way too confusing and ambiguous as originally posted. And few people check back into threads when the OP attempts to clarify.

I THINK what you are really asking is "are there any other CDers [besides myself?] who KNOW themselves"? Who have no WORRIES or FEARS about what the future holds. Who don't worry or wonder if perhaps they might want ever more as time goes on.

The answer [IF that is your Q] is yes.

[Cheryl Ann Owens]

I think the whole idea of labels is something that compartmentalizes to take away the real fluidity of gender behaviors and traits. What purpose do labels really serve except on a jar of mustard? For me I can be all over the spectrum of gender. I'm wearing guy clothes right now yet I'm wearing a beautiful pair of stretchy floral panties. I also have a nice wardrobe, get my brows waxed while my stylist sees me wearing earrings in my pierced ears. Last Friday she gave me a big bag of makeup to play with. The salon owner wants me to come back dressed. My wife ocasionally surprises me with a new piece of clothing. I've done DIY HRT. I once made love with a man as a woman and it was great. I love frilly girl things and housekeeping. I love trying on new clothes. I enjoy lunches with guy friends who don't really know me. I have gynocomastia and the Climara patches really helped that along! I am just short of a B-cup. (Yippee!) Sure I'd love to have breast implants and am exploring the options and would probably fall short of full SRS and FFS because I could empty the bank accont. The implants would be no problem and easily explained away while in guy mode, if needed. Meanwhile I could feel good about my body being what I'd like it to be. Check the site peopleofwalmart.com and see guys with breasts.

Bottom line, I believe we are all very fluid in our gender expression and no one size fits all. And it doesn't matter what kind of plumbing we have. I am what I am. I'm just not sure what.

Cheryl Ann

[Lorileah]

OK I give up. I am not a "true" cross dresser. I am an artificial, faux, wanna be. But thanks for asking

Oh and not hetero

[ThisIsBob]

My personal labels:

Sexuality: about a 1 on the Kinsey scale (not quite straight as an arrow but close) I can aesthetically appreciate a "good looking man", but I have no romantic or sexual desire for that man.
Gender: This one's tougher. A year ago, I'd have said cis-male with no hesitation because I had (and still have) zero desire to make any physical transition or to live as a woman in any day-to-day fashion. Now I'll leave it at "gender queer". I've always had some feminine mannerisms that occasionally got me bullied. I'm also starting to run into an issue often faced by "method actors". When I dress, I try my darnedest to BE a woman... not an over-exaggerated drag queen, but a woman. The more you try to act and especially think in a certain manner, the more that manner becomes habitual or "second nature", sometimes to the point where it might even become "first nature". So far, "Jamie" is just a character that I derive great satisfaction from playing on occasion. In the future, who can say?

[~Joanne~]

First I want to apologize, I am not an English major. Wish I was so I could be making more money then I do currently but that's just not the case. Also it would have came in handy to actually word this post correctly and not cause all of this confusion, labels, definitions, and the like as I wasn't trying to define anyone person or their life or even to begin to compare myself to anyone else. We all walk our own paths in this life and though they are similar in a lot of ways, they also branch onto new paths depending on the sister and her needs.

We all know that there really is no one right answer to who or what we are. We don't know why we do it, or the impulses that drive us to continue to do so. We just do. All of the research into this, as far as I can tell, is nothing more than a bunch of guess work. I am probably wrong here also but my intent is not to really dive that deep into it. I have accepted who I am and I know how far this train goes for me.

I have read all of the responses in the thread and my ever growing PM's and I can clearly say, not one person here is right, nor is one person here wrong. I agree and disagree with a little of each post.

Had I been even more careful of my words, cut it to the barest form of the question, left "true" and "hetro" out, which I put "true" in brackets to indicate that I was unsure of the use of the word here....I probably would have came up with the question that Jenniferathome came to after reading my post: "I think you are really asking, "Are there boring ole cross dressers like me?" which is almost exactly what i was asking. Like I said if I was an english major......

I know you do not have to be straight, gay, Bi or any of those other labels to be a CD. This wasn't even my intent to bring it in but when I used "hetro" I guess that word was misused for the intent of the question and I threw it in right before I hit post.

why? I don't know, I guess I have always believed wrongly that a "cross dresser" was just that. A simple plain ole boring hetro cross dresser such as myself. We wear the clothes part time, we relax in them, we clean in them, we like to try to pass as a woman best we can, we like to go out dressed, we like to stay in dressed and so forth and so on without once thinking we want to be with men sexually, we want to have our breast be as real as possible, we want live 24/7 as a woman or any of the other things that plague a TG/TS as they truly believe with all of their being that they were born wrong and are taking the means to be who they feel deep down they are.

I guess the question could have been: When do you stop being simply a CD and become a TS/TG?. Because when you begin your transitioning, when you have the surgery and such, your wearing YOUR clothes at that point and not the clothes of the opposite gender.

I hope this clears up a little of what I was truly trying to get at. Again I apologize for making a simple question complicated but at the time I really believed that I wrote it not to offend anyone or getting into the whole labeling thing other than to make the distinction between when you stop being a CD and become TS/TG.

Now I pray any of this makes sense as i don't want to pour gasoline on a fire lol

[boink]

I guess the question could have been: When do you stop being simply a CD and become a TS/TG?. Because when you begin your transitioning, when you have the surgery and such, your wearing YOUR clothes at that point and not the clothes of the opposite gender.
I think the answer is pretty clearly "when you decide you are no longer simply a CD."

I don't think your question is at all unreasonable, but I think it just speaks to the degree of variance and self-identification that goes on with this stuff.

[Courtneigh]

Hi All.
I could care less about labels or about feeling offended.
If I understand the question right, then my answer must be, No I am not True !

I would like to transition to becoming a full-on Female or to as far as to keeping my male genitalia, that
is as far as my "confusion" goes.
I am either straight or lesbian...whatever you'd like to call it.

Just be who YOU want to be and enjoy it !!!!

[Nyla F]

Heterosexual, check. Dress part time? not really because I underdress almost all of the time. "Be a woman for a short time"? Even when fully dressed I'm not pretending to be a woman nor do I think I feel like one, but you also said "embrace both your male side and your female side as one" so I'm confused about this part of your definition.

Overall I'd have to say I'm not a "true" crossdresser. Boy, is that a relief. I'd better go tell my wife, I'll bet she'll be relieved.

[Eryn]

[Moderator Note]

Folks, let's stick to the topic and avoid discussing each other. The subject matter is controversial, but we are adults and should have the ability to discuss controversial things without taking personal offense at someone else's choice of words.

If the thread becomes unproductive I will have to lock it.

Eryn

[kimdl93]

I concur with Reine. If each of us comes up with our own definition of what CD, TG and TS means, well end up with an infinite variety of answers. Cross dressing is a behavior...it's motivations may derive from a wide array of feelings, needs and desires. None of these variations is any more valid or 'true' than another.

[Taylor186]

How many of us are true, hetro, cross dressers here? The word "true" meaning in this case, You embrace both your male and your female side as one. You want to go out, or stay in, and be a woman for a short time to then return to your drab state and continue in your male role.

This definition works for me. I present in male mode 95% of the time wearing 100% male clothing. When I crossdress I try to present fully as a woman wearing forms and corset and what ever required to contort my male shape into a more feminine one. But I never float between genders whether visible or not. Reine has used the term "dual gendered" before and I find that fits me well. I try to present as one gender or the other. I would not want to be either full time.

[MissTee]

I am a male that likes girls and to wear girl clothes. Not looking to redefine, remap, or alter mentally or physically beyond that. A plain vanilla CD, that's me.

[linda allen]

I identify as a heterosexual male crossdresser.

While people often complain about labels, labels are necessary for day to day life. Humans use labels to differentiate between different things. Apples and oranges, for instance. Men and women. Tall and short. White and black.

So we really need labels so we know who we are talking to and talking about, like it or not.

[ReineD]

Humans use labels to differentiate between different things. Apples and oranges, for instance. ...

Totally agree with you. We need to use words that describes who we are and what we do, obviously, if we want to communicate this information to someone else.

The issue is that when it comes to describing sexuality and to some degree, gender, some of the words describe what we do instead of accurately describing who we are, and vice versa, or the word attempts to describe both at the same time. It's a very poor system of identification.

Take for example, the word "lesbian". This describes a woman who is sexually attracted to other women and not men at all. So, some CDers like to say they are lesbian, which is so misleading because they are men and not women. A better word to use for both genders who like women is gynephile (gyne = woman, phile = to like). Likewise, both men and women who like men exclusively (gay men and straight women), might better describe themselves as androphiles (andro = man).

"Heterosexual" is equally confusing, if for example it is used by a MtF TS who is in the process of transitioning, yet who still has not yet had FFS and so looks like a man, who is androphile (attracted to men). When this person says "heterosexual", others who see this person in front of them but who have not been told that she identifies as a woman, would take it that she is attracted to women (since she is presenting as a man .... or, if she is dressed as a woman, people would take it that she is a crossdresser who is attracted to women). Very confusing. Better to say, "I am an MtF transsexual and I am attracted to men".

The word "crossdresser" is equally confusing since it is used by people who identify as men and who crossdress, AND by people who identify somewhere in between male and female and who also crossdress, AND it gives absolutely no hint as to the crossdresser's sexual attraction.

So in the case of a lesbian, it is more accurate to say "I am a genetic woman and I am attracted to other women".

And for a crossdresser, "I am a genetic male who identifies as a male, I enjoy presenting as a woman occasionally and I am attracted to women".

And for a transgender who does not seek to modify their body in any way, "I am a genetic male who identifies as gender non-conforming, I dress as a woman as much as I can, and I am attracted to women".

And for a transsexual who is in the process of transition, "I am a genetic male who identifirs as a woman, I am in the process of transitioning to live full time female, and I am attracted to women".

Granted, this takes a few sentences instead of one word, but until we have come up with dedicated words for each combination of gender ID + sexual attraction, it is infinitely more accurate to leave nothing to guess work, and describing it fully only takes an extra few seconds. :p


Honestly, I think the reason that people here don't like to use the "labels" is because the very few labels that we have don't accurately describe anyone. They are way too general, and a lot of people feel that they do not exactly fit them. Or, people such as the OP will appropriate a label for themselves only and ignore the fact that other people who use the same label describe entirely different gender IDs and sexual attractions.

[steftoday]

Once again, Reine hits it out of the park. Thank you!

[Valerie Nova]

Reine - that's really close to what I try and tell people. Really, all these in-between sexual identities come from the haphazard way that hormones differentiate our brains into male and female, during early development. Most people's brains are pretty closely aligned with their genitals, but when a significant chunk of your brain is wired in a way more typical of the opposite sex, that's when you start to find yourself somewhere in the LGBTQ spectrum.

[Nyla F]

Joanne, I apologize for being sarcastic, I missed your follow up post. The cool thing about the forum, as varied as we are, you can probably count on finding someone in a similar situation to your own. And boring crossdresser is a description I can identify with.

[Megan Thomas]

When it comes to labels I only use two - Transvestite(aka cross-dresser) or transsexual. Trying to label us beyond those involves so many possible variations it's just too complex.

As to the original question, I am not a cross-dresser, true or otherwise because I'm a transsexual and motivated by a different set of factors. That doesn't prevent me from relating to others falling under our generic and big umbrella.

[MysticLady]

What I would like to know is, How many of us are true, hetro, cross dressers here?


No,I just like to dress once in a while:heehee:

[Marcella Camira]

Somedays yes and somedays no. When I started here. the answer would be yes. Not so sure anymore. I like the girl side much better. hate shaving-luv shaving. Depends on the day I guess. Sometimes like being able to be just guy. No shaving. Be lazy. It a lot work to be pretty. We all know that. So the answer to your question is YES and NO. LOL.

[Stephanie47]

First, in defense of Joanne raising a question in the manner it was raised, I expected a lot of participants on this site to "jump in her shit!" I really get tired of all the nit-picking in society over a term a person may use rather than exploring the issue. I read the question, and, I had absolutely no problem understanding her question. I see some of the reaction to this post happening all the time in society. It makes discourse almost impossible. I see it constantly on the political spectrum at all levels. I see it in relation to social issues. Militants throw barbs at people all the time in order to limit discourse and control thoughts on the issue. It's the reason nothing gets done anymore in society. Does it mean the person who yells the loudest wins the argument?

Anyway, so much for getting that off my chest.

I am a cross dresser who really enjoys being a male. I love doing male things. I love interacting as a male with others in society. I am heterosexual. I have been married forty plus years. I raised two very successful children. I did all the manly things society expected me to do. I also engage in a personal activity society in general has not accepted as manly. On occasion for reasons I have absolutely no understanding I like to wear women's attire.

[Julie Denier]

I am a cross dresser who really enjoys being a male. I love doing male things. I love interacting as a male with others in society. I am heterosexual. ... On occasion for reasons I have absolutely no understanding I like to wear women's attire.

That pretty much describes me, too.

[~Joanne~]

Once again, Reine hits it out of the park. Thank you!

She usually does as she has in both of her replys :) Reine is a very smart woman and really has looked into all of this a lot deeper than I ever dared to go. She is such an important part of our community :)


Joanne, I apologize for being sarcastic, I missed your follow up post.

No apology needed, I like sacasism to be honest, it lightens things up and like I stated there truly is no right or wrong answers here, just opinions :)

Thank You Steph for a well written response. I believe that you got what I was driving at in the jumbled mess of a post that I probably should have taken way more time to have written.

[Loni]

well i kinda fit.
i am hetero only into girls (women).
sadly my job requires a guy, and i need this job, and the way the economy is trying to get another is not looking so great.

so i must remain a guy in my income life, but spend most of my time in a skirt.
have done some "body" adjustments..with more to do along the way, but if only i could get hair to grow on top of the head. it grows like weeds every place else.

does this make me a "cd", a "ts", other?
i am just ...



Me.


.

[vivianann]

I consider myself transgendered, I have a strong feminine persona, That is how I see myself, and what other peaple tell me since I was a little boy. I am a gineophile, when I am dressed as a male or as a female, I am attracted to women only. I consider myself more female than male, and prefer to be addressed as a female no matter how I am dressed, I dont want srs, however I want to live as a woman full time, I am much more comfortable in the feminine role.

[Ressie]

There is a gray area between being a CD and TS from what I've seen in this forum. I don't like the adjective 'true' being used for any label I can think of. Are you a true homeowner, true parent, true student? You either are or aren't, but dressing can progress into female impersonation or transexualism in my view. Would anyone ask are you a false crossdresser?

[ReineD]

does this make me a "cd", a "ts", other?
i am just ..

Short answer: "other", specifically "gender non-conforming".

The labels for which there are the least ambiguity are "male", "female" and "transsexual". Each of these people have or are on their way to having their physical bodies aligned with their inner gender identities.

TS means transsexual, which is more on the binary side of the spectrum. Transsexual women, or "transwomen" do most definitely want to change (trans) their sexual characteristics (sexual), to get rid of any maleness in order to come as close to a female body as science allows (breasts, vagina, labia, extensive electrolysis, etc, plus lifetime dosages of estrogen that serves to alter brain chemistry). The condition is rather rare and transitioning from male to female is rather a matter of life or death for a transwoman (or a transman).

So unless you are willing to actually alter your primary and secondary sexual characteristics (not just "plan" on altering them :p), you are not transsexual. A good, all purpose label that describes MtFs who are not male but for whom transition is not a do or die situation, is "gender non-conforming". This can cover a wide range of identity ratios.

Note, I said "gender con-conforming", but there are a slew of other synonyms if you want to use just one or two words and they are "bigender, dualgender, middlepather, inbetweener, gender fluid, genderqueer, or any other word you can think of that conveys the idea that you are not fully male, yet you have not nor are you on your way to transitioning to as fully female as science will allow.

[sometimes_miss]

What I would like to know is, How many of us are true, hetro, cross dressers here?
Difficult to say, because at any given time, there will be some who realize that what they are has changed as they become more aware and accepting of either homosexual or transsexual feelings. The huge social stigma of that can easily cause someone to deny their own sexuality because they can't accept it. Sometimes it takes years, decades, to face it, or sometimes, never, and they die still keeping their true feelings deeply hidden away even from themselves.



The word "true" meaning in this case, You embrace both your male and your female side as one. You want to go out, or stay in, and be a woman for a short time to then return to your drab state and continue in your male role.
That's not quite an accurate description of every 'true' crossdresser. Remember, what we want to do isn't necessarily congruent with who or what we are. Desires can be caused by more than one type of psychological mechanism. Sort of like the desire for a cigarette can be for the nicotine, an oral 'fix', a social escape to put the onus to keep a conversation going onto the other person you're with, a defense mechanism to suppress thoughts you don't want to deal with, etc..


I ask this because I have been reading a lot of different things here lately, mostly "I want all women's clothes in my closet and to throw away the last remaining male clothes" or "I want to get breast implants" and to me that is a sign that you may want to transition. That I think doesn't make you a cross dresser but a TS/TG but this is only my opinion.
Again, you'd have to figure out what is causing the desire to throw the clothes out, get the implants, date men, get SRS, etc. It's rarely a simple answer, but like many others, you seem to want a simple answer to things. Unfortunately, the simplest answer in this case is rarely the correct one. I know all about the Occam's razor concept, but in this case it does not apply. There are too many reasons why a person could want the body/life/lifestyle/etc of the opposite sex for there to be only one 'true' reason.


I know, and I hate, all the different labels and such as the next person but isn't it sort of clear cut that if you alter your body , such as the implants, that your beyond just simply cross dressing at that point or is it just me?
It's just you. Just kidding; most of the population prefers to jump to conclusions because it's the easiest way out. Reading hundreds of books, periodicals, watching every movie, play and tv show to learn more about gender behavior, spending decades discussing the topic on online forums is way more than about 99% of the population is willing to do, so they want a quick simple answer, and as such, insist that there must be one, and despite any evidence to the contrary they will, as you have above, create one or use the most convenient one available.
You write in your own opening post here: "I want all women's clothes in my closet and to throw away the last remaining male clothes" or "I want to get breast implants" and to me that is a sign that you may want to transition". Or you may not want to transition. It's the word 'may' which you have inserted there. Both those feelings may or may not indicate something. As such, they could mean lots of things, but it seems to you by the way you've structured that sentence that the 'may' must always mean only one of those possibilities.
What it all comes down to, is that we, nor anyone, will ever know the exact percentages of who's completely heterosexual, who's completely homosexual, who's TS pre-op, who's TS non-op, etc., especially since so many are not being counted or are in denial to varying extents.
My own curiosity would be as to why you would feel the need to ask the question, as questions like that are usually posted because the one posting it wants to get a particular answer to support their own feelings. And the answer to that is, you are just fine the way you are, and if you change how you feel, well that is fine too. Of course, if you're really, really a female inside, then the word 'fine' is a bad word for you (remember, tell a woman she looks fine and you're going to get a bad response!), so I should change it to you're a wonderful person whatever you are!

[IngeInCO]

If there was a rule book i would like an electronic copy! I like to wear women's clothes, wear a wig, put on makeup. My wife knows and supports me.
To me CD is different from sexuality and gender. I am not an expert by any means. I don't think there is a "true" or an absolute definition of a CD. We are all humans and different, we should embrace that! Accept and love ourselves!

[Taylor Ray]

The continuum of life offers many shades of diversity; for me, these variations make life very special. Often labels inhibit the expression of this diversity. The word "true" seems tricky to use because it comes off as being controlling or coercive, owing to the fact that all of our experiences are "true" to ourselves.

That being said, I often need to describe myself to others for the sake of dating. A lot of people I have met seem to equate the word 'CD' with the word 'Tranny', or any number of other words. The definitions and labels do seem to have contours and subtleties worth exploring, irregardless of proclamations of truth.

[Ciara Brianne]

Crossdressing is defined as :To dress in the clothing characteristic of the opposite sex. If we take this definition literally, then anyone who is pre-surgery is a crossdresser. That is the black and white of it. We don't live in a black and white world. We are not just dealing with shades of grey either. Our lives are lived in full technicolor, with every shade and hue. I don't like labels. Labels lead to segregation and prejudice. It stereotypes an individual. We are not stereotypes...we are individuals, each our own person. Yes, we have all shared similar experiences, not because of the stereotype, but because of who we are inside as compared to societal norms.

I believe that there is so much involved here, Psychologically and sociologically, that in order to answer your question, one would have to refer to the textbook definition, which, as previously stated, is simply; to wear clothing characteristic of the opposite sex according to societal norms. There it is, black and white.

I am a crossdresser. I love being a girl and letting my femme side out. I have fantasized about having real breasts. I don't see myself taking hormones or having reassignment surgery. I don't really know for sure where my path leads. I just know that as I have come to accept myself and get past the societal norms that were engrained at an early age, I am dressing more. I am also enjoying it more. Acceptance has gotten me past the guilt and purge mentality, which has greatly reduced my overall stress level. I feel better about myself now than I have in years...maybe better than I ever have. I'm not saying I am completely on top of this. There is still plenty to sort out in my head.

Ciara:<3:

[Gretchen_To_Be]

In response to ~Joanne~'s thread--"Are You a True CD"?

Joanne, thanks for bringing these issues to light. I've been participating in the forum for 5 months so far. I joined because I like wearing women's clothes, and came to terms with that personally after coming out to my wife. I knew there were many more men like me, based on research over the years, and wanted to find kindred spirits. Like most newbies, I found the site simply by searching for "crossdressers". Notably, I didn't search for "transsexuals".

Based on a cursory scan of the posts, I figured I was in the right place, and determined this was the most popular site on the web. But I quickly found labels getting beaten to death ad nauseum here, which I admit turned me off.

Like you I need to get something off my hairy chest. I was very, very surprised by the extent of transsexual and transgender topics, and by the "competitiveness" on the boards. Understanding fully there is a spectrum of CD to TG/TS with many personal nuances and all the other possible acronyms, I have been surprised at the "oneupmanship" ("oneupwomanship"?) that occurs here. I have seen many posts from members that are brave enough to go out in public, or even to work dressed, who assume this is the goal of all members--like it is some sort of badge of honor--and with a slight derisive tone to boot for those of us that don't. It is admirable to have that kind of conviction and commitment, and I appreciate the hard work those members do to change societal gender norms, but let's be honest: the vast majority of us won't be able to show up for work anytime soon in a skirt suit and stilettos without major professional and personal repercussions. This is not directed to those TS members that fully transition and get on with their lives as women, and revisit the forum to provide inspiration or guidance--but those that are so loud and proud, that they make all of us who are not, feel sometimes that we are somehow missing out or inadequate.

I'm sure we have all looked at the forum stats. The vast majority of forum readers haven't even made the leap to post or participate actively…only about 25%, Why is that? Privacy concerns, embarrassment, denial, shame, or maybe they are just CD curious/admirers? Those that actually join or post are a small sub-set of the "true" crossdressers in the world, I suspect. Do the vocal participating members on this forum represent the silent majority? I doubt it. And because crossdressing is so intensely personal and private for most…with the sensual and erotic elements further driving people into the closet or behind closed doors--public posts on this forum cannot accurately represent the CD community at large.

My point is that of the active members, there is a core group that is heavily vested in this forum--a still smaller sub-set of all crossdressers, and some have very strong opinions. Some are what I like to call "activist"; after all, the convert is the biggest zealot, for reasons of self-affirmation. I myself have succumbed to that urge on this very forum--"look at me, my wife is accepting, I'm so lucky, so don't give up trying to convince your SO". In retrospect those postings were arrogant--what do I anonymously know about your circumstances?

Those forum veterans that have self-actualized are quite proud and make us acutely aware of our failings or lack of CD commitment. Many members on the TG or Transitioned end of the spectrum are fond of telling us that all CDs are just TGs in training; we just don't know it or accept it yet. They lecture us on how our behavior with our spouses will lead inevitably to divorce proceedings, how natural and normal it is for a father to dress like a woman in front of his children, and how sales associates in women's clothing and shoe departments (or fellow shoppers) are all supposed to act as though it is completely routine and accepted for a man dressed as a woman to use women's dressing rooms, browse through women's lingerie, or try on women's shoes in stores. Yes, all good boundary stretching initiatives and I do respect their chutzpah, but to assume all CDs are cowards for not doing so--and that society at large is wrong for not endorsing this--sometimes smacks to me of self-delusion.

They are the terminology police and relationship experts, and will quickly make sure you know just how wrong or less than authentic you are. They'll demand you smile or show your face in photos, or to compose them better with optimal lighting and professional backdrops. They'll endlessly debate labels while posting transsexual or transgender topics in a thread called "Male to Female Crossdressing" in a forum entitled "Crossdressers.com". They will then viciously attack a mere CD who dares to post something even remotely non-TS-PC in the TS forum within.

On the other hand, there are wonderful members who always have a positive, welcoming tone to their notes. Non-judgmental, without prickly sensitive radar scanning for the slightest slights.

To answer your question, am I a "true" CD? Based on this forum, who knows. It's how I have chosen to refer to my compulsion / enjoyable hobby to my wife, so I suppose "yes". I'm a guy who loves his wife and kids, but also likes to dress in women's clothes and will work to improve a feminine illusion over the coming years. I'll try to do so without alienating my spouse, children or employer, or making anyone else uncomfortable.

Maybe naively I thought that a forum named "crossdressers.com" was primarily about wearing clothing of the opposite gender--mostly on a temporary basis. I love posts about skirts, dresses, hose, heels, wigs, makeup, corsets, etc. I understand how there are reserved threads because this has become a de facto portal for far more than crossdressers, based on the global popularity of the site. These "superficial" topics are of little interest for those on the far end of the spectrum. There appears to be a great deal of bleed-through, however, and sometimes it just gets so heavy. Maybe some acknowledgement of original intent, a bit more levity and enjoyment, and less snarky comments are in order. The newbie who is still reveling in the first leg shave, or the first pair of heels, deserves the same respect and engagement as someone living full time, for whom wearing hose or heels has by now become a jaded and dreaded pain--as many GGs view it.

I'm glad you stirred the pot, Joanne. That's what makes a forum interesting. And that ends my accusatory, holier than though post, making me as guilty as anyone I just indicted with mine.

Thanks for your contribution

Shibumi

[Brittany CD]

I think people are being a little too hard on Joanne. I think the question at hand was really if you just see yourself as a guy who happens to like women's clothing

But to answer your question Joanne, yes, I am that kind of crossdresser. I like dressing up, but I am just another guy

[Ciara Brianne]

In response to ~Joanne~'s thread--"Are You a True CD"?



The newbie who is still reveling in the first leg shave, or the first pair of heels, deserves the same respect and engagement as someone living full time, for whom wearing hose or heels has by now become a jaded and dreaded pain--as many GGs view it.



Shibumi

I like to view these forums as being for the newbies who are struggling with themselves, with the knowledge and experience of others whom have progressed further in their understanding and acceptance at their disposal. A place to show the newbies that they are not alone.


If I have ever come off as arrogant, competitive, an activist, or appeared to be trying to "one up" anyone, I apologize. It was not my intention and never will be.

:hugs:
Ciara:<3:

[Chardonnay Merlot]

I am a crossdresser. I love being a girl and letting my femme side out. I have fantasized about having real breasts. I don't see myself taking hormones or having reassignment surgery. I don't really know for sure where my path leads. I just know that as I have come to accept myself and get past the societal norms that were engrained at an early age, I am dressing more. I am also enjoying it more. Acceptance has gotten me past the guilt and purge mentality, which has greatly reduced my overall stress level. I feel better about myself now than I have in years...maybe better than I ever have. I'm not saying I am completely on top of this. There is still plenty to sort out in my head.

Ciara has just described me pretty much perfect.

I learned recently how much I love my femme side, because I couldn't let her out for a little bit. Now I can let fly as much as I want, and I like it.

I like being male just as much, because ultimately both sides make up me.

I appreciate Joanne bringing up the question and how it led to a discussion I learned a great deal from :)

[gender_blender]

I am certainly true. I take pride and frequently express myself in public through a variety of clothing of different genders.

I only date biological females.

[NicoleScott]

Shibumi, that was a great post (#60- I'm not going to copy the whole thing - scroll up to read it). I, too, have been miffed by the different rules for the TS and CD forums. My comments require some eggshell-walking so as not to appear to be critical of the mods or admins which is against the rules. But by gaining access to the forums with posting privileges, we have to agree to forum rules. The TS forum is about, and only about, TS issues. I do read some of the posts occasionally, but I have never posted there (I'm not a TS). The MtF CD forum is much more open to just about anything anybody wants to post. That's just the way it was set up, and I guess we have to live with it until it changes. It is frustrating at times to engage in or follow a discussion about crossdressing - that is, "something I do" - without hearing from those for whom being a girl/woman is "something I am". Sometimes it hard to process posts when I don't know the poster's perspective, only making sense of it by researching profiles and previous posts.
Perhaps one of the reasons it is this way is for TS folk to provide advice and support for those who think they are CDers but aren't sure if they are CD or are really TS. That's understandable, but some use access to the CD forum for ....let's just say.... less than suportive purposes. The "men are garbage" post rings a bell. Also, it baffles me why some TS think they are experts on CDing, when they admit they never were a CDer but only thought they were until they got it right.
It is the way it is, but I do wish for a forum for those of us without feminine identities, just guys whio like to dress up. Yes, I know, start your own forum.
Not meant to be disrespectful, mods and admins. Just my thoughts.

[Lorileah]

To quote a past President "Well there ya go again"

The MtF CD forum is much more open to just about anything anybody wants to post. That's just the way it was set up, and I guess we have to live with it until it changes. Think about it. Crossdressing is the bigger area and most people are here because they are or were (I hate saying were...because can you even quit until you have GRS???) crossdressers
It is frustrating at times to engage in or follow a discussion about crossdressing - that is, "something I do" - without hearing from those for whom being a girl/woman is "something I am". Sorry, don't see this as a huge difference. There are people here who are crossdressers who will say it is who they are.

Perhaps one of the reasons it is this way is for TS folk to provide advice and support for those who think they are CDers but aren't sure if they are CD or are really TS. That's understandable, but some use access to the CD forum for ....let's just say.... less than suportive purposes. and apparently vice versa
The "men are garbage" post rings a bell. which would be against forum rules. And would be deleted or removed.
Also, it baffles me why some TS think they are experts on CDing, when they admit they never were a CDer but only thought they were until they got it right.
Maybe because they have lived the life??? Why do we have to keep this as a "Us" against "Them" thing? Why do we have to have little boxes when we could be in a big world? The whole thread started as a "let's label things more" and now you choose to start with the TS members and question their intent?

You don't disrespect me. I am doing what I am asked to do and I am a member here just like most people. But you are getting close to disrespecting other members. Get back on topic "Are you a 'true' crossdreser" and get off the infighting.

[~Joanne~]

Shibumi, Thank you so much for your post. It covers a lot of different points of view that I am sure a lot of us share and is very well written :).


I think people are being a little too hard on Joanne

Thank you Brittany but honestly, I do not feel as if I have been "beaten up" or "attacked" by anyone who has taken the time to respond to this thread. I asked for "opinions" and I got them :) Like I stated, none to this date have been right or wrong. They bring up interesting points all together :)



The whole thread started as a "let's label things more"

Actually that was never the intent of the thread and I tried my best to try and word it as to keep it from becoming a huge labeling thing but failed on my part. I apologized for that and thought I had broke my question down to it's barest form in post #33 to to keep this thread from becoming just another "label" thread but apparently I failed there also.

In my eyes there are only TWO sides to this coin. Either your CD or Your TS, which neither is right or wrong and based upon each different sisters view of who they are. all these other labels fall under one of the two sides. I have never understood the reasoning for all these other labels because in their truest form.....they are one or the other. Hence this theory validates my original question. Of coarse though.....It's just an opinion ;)

[LilSissyStevie]

I'm about half way through reading Dr. Magnus Hirshfeld's 1910 classic, "The Transvestites." He's the guy that coined the term if you don't like it. In it he presents a number of case studies and then attempts to analyse what it all means. What's fascinating to me is how little things have changed in the CD world. Reading the case studies and the other cases mentioned in the analysis portion we find the following types: the man in a dress, the male lesbian, the bi when dressed, the prim and prissy asexual, the underdresser, the partial dresser, the 24/7 transgenderist, the probably TS, the transvestic fetishist, the bi gendered, the androgyne, the femulator, the drag queen, the manly man by day/ princess by night, the Milquetoast by day/ vamp by night, the Madonna, The Wh@re, the sissy, the various BDSMers, the adamant heterosexual, the autogynephile, the tg fiction reader/writers and more - all the usual suspects we encounter here every day. If I left you out, I'm sure you're in there too. Of course, everyone could be described by more than one label. Hirshfeld had a simple broad definition: if a man (a human with a penis) wore any item of clothing meant for females (a human with a vagina), he was a true crossdresser.

Labels, in the CD world, are useful when they describe and un-useful when they circumscribe. Some people just can't stand to live in a world where labels have fuzzy and shifting meanings or are meant metaphorically. They use labels to circumscribe. Everyone gets tossed into a neat little box labeled with a precise definition. Anyone that can't or won't be stuffed into one of the boxes is deemed delusional, in denial, or non-existent and invisible or {gasp} other.

I've been around here long enough to know that when someone says they are "just a man in a dress" that it isn't the end of the story it's just the beginning of a story and each person's story is unique. I'm more interested in the story than whatever labels and definitions are used to tell it. (Hint: If you want to understand what someone means by a certain label, use their definition.) Sometimes you have to use your imagination to discern the meanings of terms people use, but I think that's why Darwin, in his infinite wisdom, evolved us brains instead of computers to think with. It's the variety of stories here that keep me coming back, not that many of them match mine.

When it comes to terminology police and all the self-righteous pontificators I just reflect on those immortal words of Ronald Reagan when some self-righteous pontificator tried to interrupt his speech: "Aw, shut up!"

[Asche]

What I would like to know is, How many of us are true, hetro, cross dressers here?

The word "true" meaning in this case, You embrace both your male and your female side as one. You want to go out, or stay in, and be a woman for a short time to then return to your drab state and continue in your male role.

I ask this because I have been reading a lot of different things here lately, mostly "I want all women's clothes in my closet and to throw away the last remaining male clothes" or "I want to get breast implants" and to me that is a sign that you may want to transition. That I think doesn't make you a cross dresser but a TS/TG but this is only my opinion.
OK, I'll bite.

I don't fit your definition of "true crossdresser." Other than my body, which is unabiguously male, I don't have a "male" or "female" side to embrace or not embrace. As for "being a woman," dressing up as a woman is "being a woman" only in the sense that dressing up as Dr. Who's police box means "being a police box." I don't dress as a woman or as a man, I dress as me. As for "part time," I dress as I do most of the time, the only exceptions being when I go to work or the rare other situations where my gender-non-conformant dress might cause problems.

As for "I want all women's clothes in my closet," I do prefer skirts and dresses and such and would wear them almost all the time if I could, but have no interest in HRT or SRS, or in changing my name or pronouns. I don't think wearing them or preferring to wear them makes me any more female than wearing trousers. (But it does make me feel more "me.")

Sorry to not fit into any of your categories. I seem to do that a lot. I sometimes wonder whether God put me on this earth to be, like the Cantor set, a rich source of counterexamples.

[Taylor Ray]

In my eyes there are only TWO sides to this coin. Either your CD or Your TS, which neither is right or wrong and based upon each different sisters view of who they are. all these other labels fall under one of the two sides.

Just to make things clear, there are only five sides to a four dimensional algorithm. Either you are a quadrant-four vector manifestation, or a multi-vector spectrum instance. Other than that, if becomes merely labels. Either you are quadrant-four or not.

(no offense meant towards any posters; just responding to semantics)

[Melanie Sykes]

Just to make things clear, there are only five sides to a four dimensional algorithm. Either you are a quadrant-four vector manifestation, or a multi-vector spectrum instance. Other than that, if becomes merely labels. Either you are quadrant-four or not.

(no offense meant towards any posters; just responding to semantics)

This made me actually laugh out loud in my otherwise silent house! Thank you Taylor Ray :)

~Joanne~: In answer to your question, yes. :)