Why do we dress

[Rachell Carter]

Why do we dress but other guys don't what is it in us that makes us feel the need to dress as females x

[kimdl93]

Why are some birds flightless, why does helium weigh less than nitrogen. We didn't always know the answers to those questions, but giv us time...we will know the answers. And welcome.

[Marcelle]

Hi Rachell,

An age old question. I really can't explain it all I know is that when I am dressed "en femme" it feels as right as when I am dressed "en boy". I think if you do a search you will find a lot of threads dedicated to this subject. In the meantime I just accept who I am and would not change for all the money out there.

Hugs

Isha

[Melissa in SE Tn]

Rachell, at last count there were 5808 active members on this forum . I would suspect that you could get 5808 different yet somewhat familiar answers. Much peace to you, mel

[Amy07]

Nice you pointed that out Melissa, and I agree. Be careful, and peace!

[Helen Grandeis]

I do it because it feels wonderful both in the intense release and in the surreal comfort of a day immersed in my feminine identity.

[Steph_CD_62]

I dress to relax. I feel more like me when I am dressed. Also I enjoy the different types of materials against my skin.

[RADER]

I agree with Happy;
In just feel relaxed when dressed. Putting on a skirt or a dress is freedom to me.
I find a womans body Devinne, and I want to feel what they feel; The only way I
know to get close to that feeling is to dress like them.
Yes it is a thin reason, but it is the only one I can come up with at present.
Rader

[Adriana Moretti]

Why do YOU dress LOL !! ....you never gave us YOUR reason.

[MarcellaMcNul]

I don't know why. I quit trying to figure it out a long time ago.

[Joanne108]

Well when I'm done I like what I see in the mirror. Over the years I have improved on the the guy in a dress to a cute lady.

[Jorja]

I think it has something to do with the hypotenuse of the square root of the diagonal obtuse angle in the brain. It's either that or we just don't know. ;)

[Rachael Leigh]

I think if I could have the right answer to this I would be a multi millionaire.
I've tried so long to answer this I'm just tired. I still struggle with this part of me but I've pretty much given up on the why.
So I just try and enjoy it and while I will never really encourage others to get involved I do support those of us who have this side to them.
Hugs Leigh

[PaulaQ]

You dress because most of you suffer from mild gender dysphoria, and dressing provides you with relief.

Congrats, we have something in common now. ;)

[stephNE]

I somewhat agree with every answer here so far. But, the main reason I dress is to escape.

[Robin777]

Why do we do we dress? That is a question that can only be answered by you. I dress because I can.............

[Bima]

I think that this is always a valid and interesting question.

I guess there are two ways to approach this question, one from a subjective feeling point of view (I dress because I want to, or because it feels good, etc), or one can probe deeper, as I assume you Rachell intended, the one more from an objective scientific point of view (why is it that we want to dress, why does it feel good, etc).

The first, while fine from an emotional point of view, is kind of a meta explanation of the deeper question why.

As a meta explanation, I would say that at least for me does it provide calmness, a thrill, comfort, relieves stress, is fun, give me new perspectives.

For the deeper explanation, I don't know, except that I strongly suspect that it is biological based, and something at least I, most likely, was born with.

Browsing around, I found an interesting website. I am no expert in gender related questions, so I don't know how reliable it is, and if there are better sites, but nevertheless, i found it interesting. http://www.avitale.com/developmentalreview.htm

/Bima

[Kristyn Hill]

I dress because as early as 2 or 3 I wore my mothers patent go go boots and it felt the same as wearing my baseball cleats. I quit worrying about this the day I joined this site and learned I wasn't alone in the world...anymore. I love you girls. Matter of fact, I suspect most men dress on occasion to some degree. Blurred lines!

[Brittany CD]

Why do people do anything? I don't know. Some men like sports and others don't. Some men like cartoons, others don't. Some men like wearing dresses, others don't

[suspender]

Why is the world round and spherical? Because it is (i'm sure the scientific folk on this forum could aptly explain, but that is not the point). Somewhere genetics and experiences in life come into play. It is a drug that will not cease calling me until the end. Similar to Adriana's question, why is it for you?

[Janine cd]

Dressing is a natural response to an inbred need that can't be rationally be explained. If I could explain it, I would be one of the most brilliant psychologists in the universe.

[Dani0948]

I crossdress because I'm a man. If I was a woman I wouldn't be able to wear a skirt while crossdressing.

[Rachel_B]

I dress because, honestly it feels normal and right in my mind. I don't who I would be if dressing and appearing as a female wasn't a part of me.

[sammiecd]

I crossdress because I'm a man. If I was a woman I wouldn't be able to wear a skirt while crossdressing.

LOL, I guess there's no arguing with that logic :P

For me, I've never been very masculine, being somewhat small in stature. I always loved taller women than me, so maybe its an underlying submissiveness that, combined with feeling pretty, just gives me the good vibes.

[devida]

I wear women's clothes because they are generally more comfortable and often better work clothes (I'm a jeweler) than the T-shirts and baggy shorts I used to wear before I started wearing compression underclothes. Women's clothes are close to the body and so they are less likely to get caught in the many rotating machines I use and I'm much more fluid in my movements in them. But the primary reason I dress mostly femme is because women's clothes are a cue, both private and public, that I am not comfortable perceiving myself or being perceived as a regular guy, or frankly any kind of guy. I am comfortable identifying as transgender and the clothes help to present me to myself and to others as that. When I look in the mirror I do not see a man. Why would I want to wear only men's clothes? Like many women, including my wife, I wear some men's clothes (I like long compression underwear with short women's shorts) but most of my clothes are now women's clothes. I assume that most men are happy enough being men and so they're happy enough wearing men's clothes. By the way, I'm not dressing as a female, though I know most cross dressers do feel that that's what they do. I'm dressing as me. Like Eddie Izzard said, he doesn't wear women's dresses, he wears his dresses.

[Beverley Sims]

Something in our minds wired differently I suppose.

[Nadine Spirit]

Why do some people like vanilla ice cream while others like chocolate? Yeah, I don't know either, but it happens.

It just happens to be that I like doing this.

[Kristina_nolagirl]

Questions like this take valuable time away from more important things - like dressing up! Who cares why?

[Jenelle]

I use to ask myself this question a lot. I came up with all sorts of possible answers but in the end (for me) none of it mattered. I like it so I do it.

[Sallee]

thats a question we all have been trying to answer since the 1st time we slipped into a bra. Well I have the and we for me FUN. Lets stop there otherwise it gets way to heavy

[MsVal]

There is a bit of cognative dissonance in my mind and crossdressing seems to mute it.

Best wishes
MsVal

[Katey888]

I find myself going back to 1637 for the first individual who really, truly identified WHY? and who was more than likely seen most days with long, flowing hair and wearing frilly lace chemises.

Sadly, his original answer has been corrupted over time and lost through the centuries... :eek:

He, was Rene Descartes.

The original quote:

"I think, therefore, I glam"

:)

Katey x

[RADER]

I think it has something to do with the hypotenuse of the square root of the diagonal obtuse angle in the brain. It's either that or we just don't know. ;)

I see that you have been talking with Karren Hutton again.
Only she would come up with such an idea. LOL... Like the
square root of 2.
Rader
Rader

[mechamoose]

To meet a need we have.

Nothing more, nothing less.

- MM

[Anna H]

Well, for a very long time, I thought I was the only one. So
I guess...maybe...I'd thought I invented it.

I don't recall letting my secret out....LOL!

:)

[Jorja]

I see that you have been talking with Karren Hutton again.
Only she would come up with such an idea. LOL... Like the
square root of 2.
Rader
Rader

I didn't have a need to drive the train, I am just too darn lazy to walk all that way.;)

[lovetobedani]

That's a questions I've asked my self many times. I have no clue as why I dress or why I started dressing. It's just something that I need to do. All I can say is....I somehow feel better, more relaxed, balanced and who I really am while enfemme.

[samantha rogers]

I would just rather see a woman in the mirror than a man, honey.

[Melissa18]

I don't know why, all I do know is that it feels right, and I'm very comfortable with it and within it.

[jsunic_1978]

why are some of us different nationalities?? ETC ETC, we dress is its because who we are ;)

[dana digs sweaters]

I crossdress because it was fun while young and continues to be fun as an adult

[Babbs]

Why is there air??? I don't know, to fill basketballs and footballs maybe lol

[DaniCD1986]

I don't wanna get into details, but when I was a little child, a friend from my same block 4 years older than me used to claim that I looked like a girl and he was always "touching me", so as you can see, I learn about sex early in life. So since I have a memory every time I see a sex scene in any film I rather fantasize to be in her shoes that in his pants, I find more exciting the passive female role than the active masculine role. I GUESS that my relationship with that guy changed my way in life. after all my confused adolescence today I can say "no regrets for that."

[telka]

For me its always been an urge from very young sneaking sisters bras and staring at jcpenny catalogs (for the clothes more than the girls in them) I just love the feel of it all especially the soft embracing comfort of a bra not sure why but I love bras lol

[Alice-n-wonderland]

I have always loved the stuff that women get to wear. Started out with my love affair with hose and feminine footwear. Now I love it all. I love feminine

[Confucius]

Okay, we can assume that the great majority of males feel nothing but embarrassment from cross-dressing. So why do we find it a wonderful pleasure? I believe it is just hard-wired in your brain. Your neural synapses are connected in such a way that cross-dressing produces an automatic and involuntary experiences in a second sensory pathway. This makes it a form of synesthesia.

The pleasurable sensations you experience are not some sort of psychological delusion or product of make-believe. Your brain's neurons are connected to release dopamine, serotonin, oxytocin and other neurotransmitters which produce the sensations of well-being, pleasure, sexual gratification and bonding. It's just as if your brain is interpreting cross-dressing as actual contact with a female.

This is just a theory, but there is good science to support the idea that increased levels of dopamine and other neurotransmitters results in the side-effects of cross-dressing and other forms of hypersexuality. I believe that scientists could investigate this further by measuring changes in dopamine levels in cross-dressers in drag and in drab, and comparing this with a control population.

So how does a person get his brain hard-wired for this form of synesthesia? Most likely it occurs during critical periods of synaptogenesis and neural pruning. You know that your brain has more neural connections when you are 2-3 years old than at any point in your life. Then connections are either lost or reinforced through the learning process. So if your early childhood included periods where you over-valued the feminine - thinking that girls had it better in life than boys, then that may have conditioned your neural connections for the pleasure of cross-dressing. Again, its just a theory.

[jessicacd43]

I dress because it feels good and it's a feeling of where I belong how I should look
Hugs
Jessica

[Claire Cook]

I think it has something to do with the hypotenuse of the square root of the diagonal obtuse angle in the brain. It's either that or we just don't know. ;)


Jorja clearly has found the Universal Answer .....

[ClaraKent]

My mind just got blown by Confucius's response. Definitely put a few things in perspective. I don't know why I CD, I just know that I enjoy it a lot. I feel prettier in a skirt and top than in a t-shirt and blue jeans, the prettier I feel the more confident I grow. It may also have to do with being raised by my sisters more than my parents.

[sanderlay]

I have searched long and hard for an answer to "why" over many years. The short answer is nothing is proven as to why that I know of. But it is clear we all do it for different reasons. But I don't believe there is one answer that fits everyone.

Why do I dress?

This for me was more important to answer for obvious reasons. But I could still could not say for certain and point to "why" in my own life.

But my own theory is that I need to acknowledge an important part of myself, my feminine side. That my mind, even though my sex is male, leans more to the feminine than the masculine.

When I didn't acknowledge my feminine side I felt what they call gender dysphoria. I was suppressing a part of my identity and that was causing my dysphoria. I felt wrong like I was just playing a role and not being my true self. Not validating and hiding a part of myself creates my dysphoria.

For me wearing a mixture of male and female clothing and allowing myself to show emotions has helped a lot. My gender is not all male and I'm not all female either. I'm a mixture of the two even though my sex is male.

If I was younger I might have considered hormone therapy. But because I'm in my late fifties I'm more concerned about messing up my health. My health is more important to me.

I do feel happier, more genuine and less fake. I'm closer to feeling the authentic person the Creator meant me to be.

That's why I dress the way I do. :)

[CynthiaD]

I dress to feel normal. I can't speak for anyone else.

[Milou]

Probably because I have some kind of fetish for female clothing, which might be the cause of some humiliation fetish. This might be the result of my ****ed up childhood or very alternative upbringing which was very controlled. It might be even biological, I don't know. Maybe science will come far enough to see why we crossdress.

[adrienner99]

I wish I knew. But few things make me feel happier or more at peace.

[Lucy Lou]

Hi Rachell. Why do we dress. Many reasons really. I do it because I love dressing in women's clothes and seeing myself looking pretty. I love the feel of them. I have done it for years and will never stop and don't want to either. I personally feel more real dressed than I ever do in man's clothes. If I could I would dress all the time as I think I look better. Many other reasons are there for other people, but if it is not hurting anybody and makes you feel good then why not. Lucy xx

[secretcd1]

For me it's the way that I feel when I'm dressed. It's probably an indescribable feeling, but euphoric is probably the word that works best.

[Emilyl]

I've been reading a wealth of information on this as recently I've been extremely curious. My strongest belief is that I already enjoy some of the more feminine things in life, I converse well with others and I am generally open minded to most views and situations.

It feels nice to express myself through Emily.I've only gone to the local LBGTQ club with my girlfriend so far but even the walk from the car to the club is a great experience. Being hit on a few times I've felt a little of what a girl actually feels on a night out. Being able to dress up cute and dance in small heels is a fun experience that myself and my girlfriend really enjoy. She loves that she can have her man and a girls night with the one she loves. I feel very comfortable dressing as a woman and I believe a lot of the experience is about getting in touch with my slightly hidden side. As a Male we are believed to be logical and practical so we wear jeans and a shirt,nothing special but practical all the same. Females enjoy such beauty in the world, get dolled up in little trinkets and outfits that make little practical sense,they do their hair and makeup for hours and go out in skirts and dresses with no pockets, only a purse. I enjoy greatly this experience of seeing the world simply through a more beautiful perspective.

[missjoann49]

I dress because it it who I am

[Tami]

I'm only new to it but a compulsion of sorts and better clothes. Plus I have great legs to show off

[sometimes_miss]

Why do we dress but other guys don't what is it in us that makes us feel the need to dress as females x

I'm currently under the impression that most guys simply don't really want to know. There are so many threads about this in this forum alone that you could probably spend a whole day reading them. So before searching for the answer, consider whether you could accept the worst case possibility. If not, perhaps better left not to look into it. The percentage of TG suicides is quite high compared to the rest of the population, and I believe that it's because a lot of men (and women in the case of FTM folks) discover things about themselves that they simply cannot accept.

[Lucy_Bella]

There are many reasons why, some even collide with other reasons and you just can not pin point one all the time..Sexual attraction to the clothing and what they represent as well as appearance or as appearing that representation , sexual preference in presentation( more comfortable as the gender other born as), multi gender .Etc etc..It goes on and on... Why others do not feel this way? We can not be 100 percent sure that they do not ,maybe they have never experimented or have a different hormone balance or it could be their sexual desire isn't as strong and later rely on viagra.. Who knows and who can say I probably wouldn't have never do this if I havn't taken that first step..