Is it really "Crossing the line"

[MarinaTwelve200]

I am wondering Just how much of the "THRILL" many of us get from CD is based on a "psychosexual" response to the clothing and our fem appearence, or is it the result of breaking a strong psychological "line" or "taboo" established in our brains---that results in a quasi-erotic "rush" if we ever are daring enough to challange it, and "cross the line."

Here I see a corrilation with the "extreme" "Thrill seekers" and risk takers, that deliberately do "crazy" stunts like jumping out of airplanes without parachutes, climb glaciers, etc.---They describe an addictive "thrill" very much like I sometimes feel when I CD.---- Is it by delebrately exposing themselves to a "DANGER" their brain tells them NOT to do, and doing it any way, somehow trigger a strong brain reaction or spasim, that may feel exillerating (at least to some people)?

Winston Churchill described something like that in his soldier days "I can think of no other thrill that can compaire to being shot at, but to no effect"---Apparently, "surviving" a situation that you brain tells you NEVER to be in, a strong "inhibition line", if you will, induces a strong rush that can feel erotic in many people.

Is this not similar to the populatity of "Horror movies" where one Vicariously experiences terrible dangers, but knows they really cant be harmed?---Many people get a rush from such things.

I am wondering if the thrill of CDing can be attributed to violating a STRONG mental taboo, a firmly entrenced inhibition--against being made or acting "feminine" in (especially younger) males. Indeed, he may not WANT to effectively be a girl, but breaking the taboo, by Cding might result in a RUSH that is not sexually or identity based at all--but rather is the reaction of the brain to the person's "crossing the line", violating a limit so to speak, not unlike the thrill seekers, but one with the potential for "social damage" rather than "physical bodily damage"

Closely related is also Crossing "identity lines" that is threatening "personal identity" is also something the brain finds anathema, almost as much as death. Crossing the "identity line", even symbolically (via CD) can also cause that rush---this is NOT sexual, despite the quasi erotic feeling---it is as STRONG as sex, which may be the connection.

This may be more prevalent in the cases of "Transformists" and "furrys" than CDs As there is no "male vs Female" identity in the former, rather "Human vs animal" in identity terms.---CDing has sexual 'fringe benifits"

My Point being that we may be overlooking an important factor in many CD cases----The pure Thrill seeker who finds CD is a physically safe way to cross "inhibition lines" in the brain---resulting in an adictive thrill.

[Aileen]

Well, I used to get dressed and go outside at 4AM and walk around. I'm sure a lot of the girls who can pass and who get dressed and go to bars wouldn't consider that too brave, but I hardly ever wear make-up and I can't pass. Just to go outside and feel the wind gently billowing my skirt was a thrill, and sometimes to go so far as to go across the street to mail a letter was a thrill. Taking the chance that some car will come along and see me. Big deal. What are they going to do if they see me? Arrest me? But there's the chance that someone who lives in my apartment building might see me, and I'd have to deal with the embarrassment every time I encountered them after that. I suppose I still feel about the way I did when growing up, when my parents still attached plenty of shame to it. So for me there still is a thrill in taking a chance, a tiny chance though it might be.

Marina Twelve, I love your fiction on Fictionmania, and your drawings.

[MarinaTwelve200]

I think a simpler way to express what I said above, is that the brain naturally induces a thrill in many of us when we deliberately expose ourselves to something we have a really deep seated fear of.

It this "thrill' a "normal" reaction, but WE are the only souls BRAVE or daring enough to go far enough to experience the thrill?----OR is our reaction "abnormal" that makes us take risks and 'expose' ourselves to risk in the first place---be it Base jumping or CDing?

[Aileen]

I think it's abnormal only in so far as we are in the minority. I think a minority of people are adrenaline junkies. Personally, I'm a coward in all other aspects of my life. I don't like adrenaline rides in amusement parks, and I don't like scary movies.

[TGMarla]

I, too, have thought about this, that part of the thrill is that of the danger of possibly being caught and exposed as....as what? As a fraud? Or a weakling and a sissy? All the shame and ridicule that society is no doubt ever-ready to heap upon me? It's an interesting question. I think there's actually something to it, too. At least I can speak to my own experience, and I cannot deny that there is the thrill of going over an unseen line in the sand, entering into dangerous territory that is taboo.

And perhaps not so coincidently, I've always wanted to sky-dive.

[Jodi Lynn]

To be honest I have never compared my CDing with the thrill of other extrem activeties. But after reading your post I have. I enjoy thrill rides like rollercosters, I enjoy scary movies and I would like to try other things too. I was thinking about the adrenaline rush I get doing these things andthen remembering the rush I got the frist time I went out to a club dressed, or the frist time I went shopping dressed, oe when I got my frist wig. I is almost the same feeling for me. The knot in my stomach, the sweat rolling down my face. And it is all very addictive for me. If it is something taboo or something that gives the fear of getting hurt, or even the fear of getting found out it is a true adrenaline rush for me.

[RobynP]

I think that there is a strong adrenalin rush with the fear of getting caught, going out for the first time, telling somebody for the first time, etc. And adrenalin can be very addictive...

Robyn P.

[Rikki Elisabeth]

So, what if they catch you? If it is the neighbors, just ignore them. They probably won't recognize you anyway. If it is the police....better hope it is a sympathetic female officer.

If not, boy [excuse me, girl] will things get interesting.

Rikki

[Marlena Dahlstrom]

The transgressive aspect can definitely be a factor, probably more so in one's teenage years. And going out for the first couple times definitely does involve an adrenalin rush (both thrill and terror). But honestly, for me (and I think a lot of others who go out) that tends to fade over time.

However, while thrill seeking can be a part of it, it would be a mistake to reduce CDing to simply thrill seeking. Unlike the physical sciences, Occam's Razor rarely works well for social sciences. To paraphase Mencken, for every human behavior there is a solution that is simple, neat, and wrong.

[Lisa Golightly]

Ummmm, female in my head and very fashion conscious. Never really got a sexual 'thrill' wearing clothes, but I do like to look glamorous, which is the same for any girl who has made an effort to look her best. I don't have any male clothes... So I'm really quite dull, and unexciting.

Thrillseeker? Slippers, dressing gown and a glass of wine are how I unwind :)

[Helana]

Yes no denying that the thrill factor exists but it is essentially an added bonus. There are many taboos we could break if we wanted to feel a thrill but only this one interests us. Part of the jigsaw which makes us tick but not one of the primary motives for most.

[Helen MC]

I have never indulged in particularly "dangerous" activities and being a sybaritic, even somewhat narcissistic, person I avoid anything which could bring me pain or discomfort, either physical or emotional, like the plague!

To me the risk of discovery was never a positive factor , far from it! Even in my early teens I realised that were I to have been discovered either at school or at home to be wearing my big sister's knickers instead of Y Fronts it would have been a very nasty time for me indeed! Accordingly I adopted very careful security measures and although I had a couple of close shaves I was never discovered. The only time I was "busted" came later when I was about 22 at a place I worked in the mid 1970s and that had very unpleasent sequalae indeed!

To me however it is not the risk of being caught that somehow heightens the pleasure of Cross-Dressing but rather the buzz from breaking the rules and getting away with it. In my teens I would often sit in the classrooms, my school being a co-educational Grammar School, and think of how I was wearing knickers under my trousers identical to those the girls around me were wearing under their skirts at the time and not the Y-Fronts or Boxers worn by the other Boys and this would give me a thrill, the "forbidden fruit" effect as it were. Apart from the physical comfort and pleasure of wearing girls' knickers and the sexual buzz thereof part of the joy came from being different to the other boys in this matter and having the secret knowledge that I was, not from any adrenaline rush from the risk of being caught which in that particular situatuon was minimal , pupils not being required to strip down to their underwear during a History Lesson for example. Nowadays I am happier that male underpants, at least the modern "slip" type, are very similar to womens panties in most respects as this makes it a lot easier for me to wear knickers but if needs be undress in the locker room in fromt of other men to play golf or at the Doctor's surgery without my (female) underwear attracting any adverse attention as it would have done in the 1960s or early 1970s.

[Dana]

For me its spelled ~ freedom ~ to me!

[Louise]

Hello Girls, For me the thrill of being caught does not exsist, I live downstairs in a terraced house alone, upstairs is a family [2 young kids]. One afternoon, knowing they had all gone out, I went out into the hall to pick up the post [fully dressed] and to my horror the front door opened and in came the family from upstairs.The father stopped dead in his tracks with his mouth open [the shock of a strange person in the hallway]. I just said hello, and beat a quick retreat. When back in safely, I broke out in a sweat and wondered how can i talk my way out of this one! I was terrified of coming up against him again........to my amazement the next time we met he did'nt bat an eyelid [he did'nt realize that the strange person in the hallway was me] To me that is not a thrill.........although i did feel pretty good knowing he did'nt recognise me. Lulu.

[racquel]

I don't believe that the 'thrill' aspect is relevant for most cd's since alot of us started at a very young age (6 in my case) and thrill's are often bragged about or shared,when was the last time a base jumper failed to announce his most recent conquest?
That is not to say we don't experience thrills,butterfly's,fear,elation etc but is not the motivating factor.imho.

[Christina Nicole]

No, no adrenalin rush or thrill seeking here. I tend more towards TS (IE: being female) than towards fetish. Therefore, for me, the benefit of going out dressed as a woman is that I can interact, albeit in a very limited way, in the real world as a woman.

Warm regards,
Christina Nicole

[Julie York]

This is an interesting angle.

You only get a thrill i.e. a burst of adrenalin when you feel you are in danger or doing something dangerous to your well-being. If it goes down the wrong tube, you get terrified and feel sick. If it goes down another tube (it won't kill you but it might!!!) then the effect is different. So you get the sky diving, roller coaster effect where you don't REALLY think you might genuinely die but your body is telling you that you might . And that bundle of chemicals can be a turn on if you dress up and feel it is wrong and yet exciting; wearing fem stuff as a guy, going to the Mall dressed even when you don't pass, taking a ride all dressed at 3 am and buying petrol..

It is interesting because the people who get that scared thrill of crossing lines or putting themselves in a situation that is 'thrilling' have a different mind set from the people who say "It feels right."

And just for the record I am a thrill seeker who occasionally 'feels right'. I think a lot of us are that way.

But ask yourself this......If it is all about the thrill of doing something taboo...and defying societies expectations...and crossing lines...being eccentric even....Then why would you not find it exciting to dress as a Teddy Bear and walk down the high street.....or purposely go for a drive in your car at 3 am with a sauce pan on your head?. Wouldn't work at all would it?

Nah I don't know the answer either but it is interesting.

[MarinaTwelve200]

This is an interesting angle.

But ask yourself this......If it is all about the thrill of doing something taboo...and defying societies expectations...and crossing lines...being eccentric even....Then why would you not find it exciting to dress as a Teddy Bear and walk down the high street.....or purposely go for a drive in your car at 3 am with a sauce pan on your head?. Wouldn't work at all would it?

Nah I don't know the answer either but it is interesting.

I asked myself THAt question losta times too, myself. I personally think the difference is with CD you are crossing "Identity lines"---tinkering with or 'threatening" the core of your Psyche--your IDENTITY---and apparently its something the 'stablizing systems' of the brain does NOT like. Driving a car with a saucepan on your head is NOT a threat to identity. Apparently the brain reacts excessively to an identity threat (just like a death threat)---And those of us who get a rush from this reation, can INDUCE it by CDing.---just as thrill seekers "toy " with a threat to life by base jumping.


Im NOT saying the THRILL from threatening identity is all there is to ALL CDing---but it is a BIG often not considered factor--just as strong as a sexual thrill.---Which, BTW , may also be present

[Shelly2069]

Dressing up was a thrill. Little steps like going out and driving around, then hitting the mall in my early 20's. Early thirties came the clubs and bars.

Now, none of those things I dreamed of doing are thrilling. I already did them and now dressing is more of a challenge for me. Still trying to figure out why I still do it.

I do enjoy doing the hair, makeup and fashion/clothes, which I think keeps me going

[JEANNE63]

WOW, I've told two different psychologists about my CDing and neither of them touched on this theory! Very interesting, thanx.

[kristytv]

with me, its a distinct feeling that i have wanted to be female for a long time, and i have to admit with some of the clothes its very sexual, all the soft silky materials, the way they hang and feel, i too am not a junkie for many things, heights is a big issue with me , no horror flicks, but i love to go fast , i have a few quite moddified cars and as i am getting a little older and able to spend more time being kristy and really trying to be more presenatable, i like going to porn stores dressed, gone to some gas stations dressed, holloween is my favorite so i can go out full dressed and not worry about oh look at that guy in drag. its a not a fear of being caught dressed , but beign passable and presenatable as a girl

[Fallen Angel]

Everybody is different.dressing feminin is a every day thing to me Im out in the open Every one that is aquainted with me knows I dress. So as for the thrill of saying i'l be caught theres none or will I be reconized.Now i wount say that theres been times that ive done such a good job on my self i have fooled a few men.And that Ive played with there heads abit at the risk of being caught Id be lying. A thrill for me yes but very self satisfying. Do i go to the extemes as far as sex with a man no. I agree with the taboo part of it what we do is just that.I cant speak for any one here but myself I have made my own set of rules up and I abide by them always! It goes with the territory of crossdressing I never put my self in a possition I cant get out of.And with that Im going to end it with this.Theres a trill in life everyday! To dress and be yourself, to stoop over and smell the fresh bloom of flowers in a garden. To be with the person you love and to be loved back. we have aquired a speceial gift of a six sence and many of you girls know what im talking about and to me thats the biggest thrill of all xxxxxxx

[MarinaTwelve200]

with me, its a distinct feeling that i have wanted to be female for a long time, and i have to admit with some of the clothes its very sexual, all the soft silky materials, the way they hang and feel, i too am not a junkie for many things, heights is a big issue with me , no horror flicks, but i love to go fast , i have a few quite moddified cars and as i am getting a little older and able to spend more time being kristy and really trying to be more presenatable, i like going to porn stores dressed, gone to some gas stations dressed, holloween is my favorite so i can go out full dressed and not worry about oh look at that guy in drag. its a not a fear of being caught dressed , but beign passable and presenatable as a girl


Well, YES, There are several reasons or "drives" behind CDing, and your wanting to be female is ONE of them. For others, it may be "escapisim" and for others it is the sexual turn on or fetish thing.---MY point here is that there is yet ANOTHER driving factor, that dosent seem to get much press, so to speak, and that is the RUSH a segment of the population may get from crashing through strong "inhibition barriers" set up in the brain that protect us from physical danger (and also protect out identity)--in this case, CDing is closely related to "extreme thrill seekers" who climb cliffs and stuff like that.

Of course, I also will conceed that it usually is a combination of those drives that will be found in most CDers and not just one.---I just wanted to get this "barrier breaking" thing out in the open for consideration in addition to other aspects of ourselves that may contribute to our CDing---and help in our understanding of it.

[Helen MC]

To be honest psychiatry is NOT something I believe in. I view it as a pseudoscience. I simply could never imagine consulting a "Shrink" and I have never felt any need to do so nor would I accept the validity of what they would tell me anyway, so it would be a waste of my time and money.

As I said earlier in this thread I avoid danger and risk like the plague and I like a peaceful and comfortable life. Wearing female clothing, especially panties but when it was possible skirts, dresses, bras and other female clothing, gave me sexual pleasure and a inner peace and happiness when I was a teenager (and still does) and of course girls' knickers were far more comfortable than the male underpants - Y-Front Briefs or Undershorts like baggy boxers- available then in 1965 Britain. The chance of being caught, which I took vigourous steps to eliminate as much as possible, was a NEGATIVE, not in any way an enhancement to my CD activities and I would have got a very nasty time of it, especially from my father, had I been discovered as a CD when living in the family home. Thankfully, this never occurred and it was a great day when I moved away to another town and a place of my own. This was a rented flat, rather shabby in a run down Inner City part of that town but I had my own lockable front door and could close the curtains and dress to suit myself in peace and security. The only problem I was to encounter was when I was accidentally "busted" in a place I worked a couple of years later when one of the men there walked in on me sitting on the toilet (the bolt on the stall door was faulty) and saw me wearing a pair of floral patterned panties and his being a butch type who was hostile to anything not conforming to the sports playing , car driving, macho man type , he told the others and made my life a misery till I found another job and left that place. No way did I get any enjoyment from the hard time and mockery I was given.

I don't like pain and discomfort be that physical or mental and emotional and do my best to eliminate these from my life. So the hypothesis that risk of discovery is part of the thrill of Cross-Dressing simply does not work with me.