It's just women's clothing but,

[CarlaWestin]

why is it just so irresistable? That siren's call to come through the looking glass and be a women. Why is it so strong?

Come on, y'all! Tell me!

[ArleneRaquel]

As I wanted to live as a woman for nearly sixty year I just must be wired that way. I'm sorry but that's the best that I can come up with. I know that I love to live this way !

[Kate Simmons]

The only plausible answer to that is because it's part of who we are. Not to mention we'd probably be bored to tears being "normal". :battingeyelashes::)

[CynthiaD]

I've asked myself this question many times. Half the people in the world are women. There is nothing more ordinary than being a woman. And the clothes are just clothes. What's the big deal?

Then I go in my closet, put on a dress, breastforms, wig, a little makeup and some jewelry. I look in the mirror, and I know the answer. I see a woman looking back at me, and I know this is the right thing to do. If you want a rational, point by point explanation, I can't give you one. I'm not sure one exists. But that doesn't mean that there isn't a reason. I think that the reason lies at a level that is beyond words, a level that involves my basic identity and my knowledge of self. I don't know if this helps, but it's the only answer I have.

[Beverley Sims]

But, that's what it's all about. :)

[Jules Spirit]

I think the most direct answer is. . . You like it! Don't all the things you enjoy call to you in some way? That is how it is for me, at least. :)

[Linda E. Woodworth]

Yes, it is just clothing but it feels so right when I wear it.

I have no desire to transition. I am male and know that and don't want to change.

I do love the things women can wear that mean don't, all that satin, lace and nylon!

Deep down I don't know why but I also know I can not stop.

[ReineD]

But it's more than just the clothes, isn't it?

Obviously this would not apply to forum members who just underdress, or who present androgynously or as men in dresses, but for the rest … isn't it about wanting to look as appealing or enticing as a woman as possible - feminine perhaps or even sexy for some CDers? There are lots of short skirts, plunging necklines, thigh high stockings, high heels. The wigs tend to be long, busts are well defined. And then there's the makeup, jewelry, perfume, the attractive accessories. These are all things that women use to be appealing. Now many of you are hetero and you are not interested in attracting men (except in fantasy, according to some threads). But you are men and so you dress perhaps to be attractive to yourselves?

[Taylor Ray]

it is much more authentic for me to embrace the Siren's call than to wonder why

[Adriana Moretti]

well it def is alot more fun for sure! so many patterns, materials, styles...it is much more interesting and feels soo good on the skin...

[samantha rogers]

Must be a night for introspection...tee hee :)
I just answered almost the same question on another thread, albeit worded differently.
I have a GID. I am bio male but a good chunk of me is female. Do I wish to alter my body to become fully female? No, as that would be untrue to my male feelings. Do I wish to present male all the time. Of course not... been there... doesn't work. It is a binary world - male or female - but I am not a binary person.
So, to remain sane, I allow myself to take turns. When I am male I am pretty much all male. But when I am female I am pretty much 100% female. And it is not about how others perceive me at all. It is about how I perceive myself. The clothing? It is for me and how it makes me feel.
In a perfect world I would not need these extremes, though I might indulge either from time to time. In that perfect world I would swing between the two and all points in between according to how I felt on any given day. But it is not a perfect world. So I indulge the two extremes, trying to remain, essentially, somewhere in between.:battingeyelashes:

[Babbs]

I don't know why but it is. I jumped through about a hundred hoops today for two hours out and about en femme...drove about a hundred miles all told and it was sooooo worth it.

[Genny B]

I think it's because I want to know what it's like to be pretty and vulnerable. Something guys don't know much about, right?

Genny B

[sanderlay]

I'm not a psychologist or an expert in gender issues. But having personal experience with this feeling, this attraction... sirens call... and desire to wear feminine clothing, I feel I can give some input. This is who I am... but this may not be who you are. You must take that journey for yourself.

Now I'm not the average crossdresser. I don't currently transform myself into a woman, clothing, hair, makeup, etc..., for a period of time and then go back to my life as a man. And then repeat this process over and over again without end, the sirens call as you stated. Why do I say that? Because I have moved on. I have accepted a part of myself that I had tried to deny for over fifty years.

When I grew up, 1950-60's, as a child I was attracted to boys and girls clothes. But I was told boys don't wear girls clothes. I was told you're either male or female, boy or girl, man or woman. Those were my only two choices. I was also told I'm the gender that was my sex, what is between my legs. The only exception was a person that was born in the wrong body. So are you a girl trapped in a boys body? I answered No. I was heterosexual. But I also knew something was not right. Perhaps I just needed to be more of a male, more of a man. I tried to deny the feeling to myself.

Of course for me the attraction to feminine clothing was still there. I was about 5 to 10 at the time. And I did find the opportunities to put on the clothing for the next 50 years on and off in secret. Guilt and shame became entangled in these feelings. But I also learned about myself and thanks to the internet I learned about others who felt this same attraction, this same need or sirens call. I read their stories. I dealt with the guilt, the shame and came to a realization about who I was. I stopped denying the feeling and accepted it.

What I discover about myself is that part of me is feminine and part of me is masculine. My sex maybe male but my gender identity is different. I'm a balance of the feminine and the masculine. And for me it leans more to the feminine. So that's why I was so attracted to the feminine, why I wanted to wear the clothes. But I'm also masculine and so it would be a mistake to only be female. I'm not a girl trapped in a man's body.

So today, for my gender presentation, I wear both feminine and masculine clothing so I feel my true self. I'm no longer get caught in that endless cycle of dressing feminine and returning to the masculine. The secret I guarded for so long has lost its power as I made the decision to come out. My friends and family know and now I feel right inside my skin as my true self.

[Rachael Leigh]

I know for me it's the amazing selection of clothes that women have to choose from. If I had the money I could shop all day for the pretty clothes. Now that those spring dresses are out too it's just so darn crazy how much I love those style dresses..
It's hard to explain to anyone unless you have experienced it .

[lingerieLiz]

Funny, I thought about it the other day when I was looking at the spring fashion ads. I really didn't have any interest in the guy clothes, but saw several women's outfits that I liked. Given my age only a few were age appropriate, but that goes with women too. I've long past the short skirt world and now wear mostly pants and shorts. The one thing that I do have are a lot of silk tops and beautiful blouses. I leave the cute things to my granddaughters.

[Christen]

Texture, colours, feel, sensations, I used to think maybe that was all it was, an attraction to female clothing. However if that was true surely I'd just be happy wearing silk underwear, etc. But it's not, it's how I express what I believe is my feminine side.

[Gardener]

Throughout my life I have been drawn to female clothes but I realise that is the tangible facet. In other ways I have lived my life as the husband and father but willingly adopted and displayed what I would call feminine qualities. Inside me there was a desire to be more feminine and less masculine although I had and still have no great aversion to being male. To say the least it has been quite confusing! Clothing is one way of being more open about myself. It is not necessary to pass publicly as a woman, I doubt I would even try. What it does is tell me that I feel alright, and it is alright to be myself. How far I push that depends on circumstance. I have a wife who is uncomfortable because she did not know this aspect of me when we married all those years ago. She tolerates but would rather not have to. So I do not push too hard. However I would if I felt the overwhelming need.

[Eryn]

But it's more than just the clothes, isn't it?...but for the rest … isn't it about wanting to look as appealing or enticing as a woman as possible - feminine perhaps or even sexy for some CDers? There are lots of short skirts, ... high heels. The wigs tend to be long, busts are well defined. And then there's the makeup, jewelry, perfume, the attractive accessories. These are all things that women use to be appealing. Now many of you are hetero and you are not interested in attracting men (except in fantasy, according to some threads). But you are men and so you dress perhaps to be attractive to yourselves?

Perhaps for some, but I don't thing that this defines me. My skirts aren't short, my bust is modest (38B), and my wigs are shoulder-length and conservative, not curled to '80s proportions. I don't wear perfume, my jewelery is what would be worn by a GG my age, and my shoes are seldom over 3" and usually lower. I don't feel that I dress "to be attractive to myself" any more than a GG does. Certainly, I like to look nice (as a GG would) but I don't do it only for myself. I don't subscribe to the belief that women work to make themselves attractive strictly to attract men. I think that most of their motivation is simply to create the best appearance for the world in general, exactly as I do.

I enjoy being out in public and being perceived and treated as a woman. I enjoy interacting with women as a woman. I'm not as interested in interacting with men, but I will in casual settings. I don't like to turn heads and there is nothing sexual about my dressing.

The male and female genders have different cultures. Men tend to be naturally competitive and aggressive. Women tend to be naturally cooperative and social. In modern society women have won the "culture war" as everyone is expected to display the female traits of cooperation and social interaction. Is it any surprise that some of us on the losing side might want to emulate the winning side, particularly when we have had a dose of gender dysphoria?

[Katey888]

Carla - you are on a crusade at the moment! :) Do I get the feeling you are either getting too much or too little Carla time...? ;)

It's more than just clothes, as you intimate about 'coming through the looking glass..' - in years past I would have thought it was just clothes but I know and understand now that if that were the case, then there'd be no need for a full 'makeover'...

Samantha described this well, I think:

.... It is a binary world - male or female - but I am not a binary person.
So, to remain sane, I allow myself to take turns. When I am male I am pretty much all male. But when I am female I am pretty much 100% female. And it is not about how others perceive me at all. It is about how I perceive myself. The clothing? It is for me and how it makes me feel.

That's what it does for me too, even in those relatively short times the feeling of finally being able to project a true and whole sense of self is overwhelming... it goes way beyond the clothes, they just happen to be one element in something much broader...

Katey x

[Marcelle]

Hi Carla,

I hear you. I know it is just clothes but there is something about them that just calls. When I see a woman dressed in something pretty going about her day I don't think I want to be her, I think . . . I want to be out wearing what she is wearing.

Hugs

Isha

[dominique]

Yes, its just women's clothing. But its the feeling it gives when you start your transformation. The silkiness and wonderful styles we can wear. All in all to me its a state of being and of mind.

[NicoleScott]

But you are men and so you dress perhaps to be attractive to yourselves?

Exactly. Fortunately, the girl in the mirror knows exactly what the guy looking at the mirror likes, and she does her best to accommodate. He shows his appreciation by buying her nice things to wear.

[Cheryl T]

It's irresistible because it unites the way we feel inside with the way we appear to everyone.

[PaulaQ]

Gender Dysphoria. That's why it is irresistible. No most of you aren't transsexual, but cross gender expression through cross dressing is a very common symptom of GD.

[Chickhe]

My own experience is that it is 'wanting what you think you can't have' that increases your need. Once you actually do it and gain experience you can let it go somewhat.

[Debra Russell]

Yes Renie - exactly - attractive to ourselves, not men - it's nice to be admired and "feel feminine" ............................Debra

[Eryn]

Gender Dysphoria. That's why it is irresistible. No most of you aren't transsexual, but cross gender expression through cross dressing is a very common symptom of GD.

The gender spectrum has two ends, but many of us live at some point between those ends. It always bothers me that some people feel the need to discount the feelings of others who aren't in their own group. I don't identify as TS, but I feel strongly the need to interact with society as a woman. Clothes are essential if I am to do this, but the interaction is the important thing.

[BLUE ORCHID]

Hi Carla, It's just who I am and it's just what I do.

[sarahhayes]

Hi. It is hard to know exactly why I dress. I think there is something alluring in the silky and sometimes tight fitting clothes. I guess, however, there is a desire to be perceived as someone else for a short while. It is hard to put into words. I know I am nowhere near being a TS. Sarah x.

[laceydoolittle2013]

The reason why I have determined why I like dressing is obviously the feel of softness but also the feeling you get of having a softer side yourself. I was reading in a book one person response was they find it easier to relate with women when they dress and I have to say I can see that as part of me sometimes also.

[lovetobedani]

I'm not so sure it's all about the clothes for me. I think it's more like who and what I am. I feel like my mind matches my appearance more. Like Erin I dress very conservatively or as an average GG would for that particular occasion whether it be going to the grocery store or out to a formal event.. I want to look and feel as female as I can without standing out. After all is said and done I'm just another person. I just feel more aligned and identify with being female.

[Ericaxd]

This has been enlightening to read. Part of the reason I come to this site is to gain some personal insight based on others' experiences, and this conversation has been interesting.
For me, it is about much more than the clothes--dressing and all that goes with it--forms, wig, jewelry--is an outer expression of something I feel powerfully within myself. I have dressed for almost as long as I can remember--wearing my mother's heels when I was 10 or 11, letting my hair grow long enough to style in a feminine fashion when I was in my early teens. I have never been a flamboyant dresser. I try to dress like any other professional and family woman my age (or as a college girl all those years ago.) Modest makeup (or as modest as I can be and still hide the beard.) I don't want to stand out in the crowd. I don't dress for the man in me, I dress for the woman in me.

[Babbs]

Exactly. Fortunately, the girl in the mirror knows exactly what the guy looking at the mirror likes, and she does her best to accommodate. He shows his appreciation by buying her nice things to wear.

Point right on Nicole! Couldn't have said it better myself!

[mechamoose]

why is it just so irresistable? That siren's call to come through the looking glass and be a women. Why is it so strong?

Man-bags are boring. We have TASTE, sweetie!

- MM

[Brendastevens47]

I have always been attracted to girls, and a big part of that is the clothing they wore. I grew up in the 50's and 60's, and I was completely taken by the lovely lingerie of this period, so sensual, so soft, so lovely...so so feminine. I just so wanted to be a girl and to wearing pretty silky panties and slips....but the dresses and skirts, the blouses, the lovely fabrics, the styling...Oh I LOVE it.

[wanda66]

You sound like me ....enjoy

[Annaliese]

For me that is how I am, the need to dress, for who I am a girl.

[Wildaboutheels]

"It's just women's clothing but,"

^^^ Nope. Not at all for the vast majority here.

It's just SOME women's clothing and the P&V gallery offers incontrovertible proof of this.