If you try on female clothing, do you crossdress?

[heatherdress]

If you live with a woman - wife, girlfriend, roommate, mom, sister - you usually come into personal contact with bras, panties, skirts, dresses, panty hose and shoes. These offer elements of intrigue, fascination, attraction and arousal. Males see these items, touch them, move them. I think that most males have, or have had, the opportunity to try on female clothing and do so, especially if they fit.

I believe most want to know what silk panties and stockings feel like. I think most men have interest or attraction or fascination with bras and garter belts and high heels. I think many have tried to walk in their mom's or wife's sexy heels - to experience what if feels like and learn if they could walk. Most would never, ever admit to doing so, but I think the percentage is high and maybe very high. I also suspect that most enjoyed their experience or experiences and would do so more frequently and perhaps regularly, if they could.

I am not suggesting that everyone who tries on female clothing or lipstick would want to fully dress as a woman. But I think many would enjoy the full experience, if they could.

Maybe the estimate of males who crossdress is 5%, or maybe 10%. I think it is higher because most men have tried on women's clothing and, if they enjoyed it (which I think they would), they would continue doing so in privacy. If there were no family or friend limitations and inhibitions, do you think many more men would crossdress regularly?

[Sara Jessica]

I couldn't disagree more. Most dudes are perfectly content in being the dudes they are. The magnetic attraction you (and many in these pages) felt when encountering women's clothing at some point in your life is not remotely experienced by most men. And just because you like it and that you "think they would" like it, trying something on, even if it was a lark, is not very likely to lead down a slippery slope towards membership in these pages.

[Isaihi]

I agree that the percentage will be much higher than most believe. I also agree that more men would wear women's clothing if there wasn't such a cultural taboo against it. As time progresses, I believe it will become more acceptable for men to wear feminine items. Once, men did not dare to pierce their ears, now it is common and not not. Years ago, there was a trend for men's handbags, although it was mostly a European fad.

[Amy Fakley]

yeah I don't know about that.

Philosophy / Logic types have probably categorized it and have a proper "fallacy" name for it whatever. There is this thing where we want to think of ourselves as a "normal", and we tend to try and view the world through the lens of our own experience, then try to extend that conception to characterize what we imagine the experience of others might be.

Over the years, as I have slowly marinated in the realities of who I am, one sort of shocking truth has emerged: compared to most people, I'm one wierd-a$$ biatch.

It's not just the cross-gender expression, but a whole lot of things. music, art, movies, you name it. What, you mean everyone in the world wouldn't just be totally into an evening of spacey ambient electronica, or performance art or whatever?

I think if your "average dude" was really secretly intrigued by the experience of wearing women's clothes, but was just to scared to say so in public (an experience most of us can relate to here), then the world would be a much different place than it is.

But it isn't ... there's the tell :-)

[Mafalda]

As Sara Jessica, I don't think that enjoying dressing female clothes is so common. At least, I know a lot of men which didn't ever think to try a female garment, and probably it isn't true that they would like it after trying. This is what make us crossdressers so special. Isn't it?
Ciao!

[Alice Torn]

If it would help so many men to get rid of the hard ass, in your face , ready to kick a-- machoism, i wish more would.

[Julie1123]

I think if there was less stigmata about it than yeah, more men would indulge their fantasies. The thing is they have to have those fantasies in the first place. Which I don't think applies to most men. I see it very much along the same lines as the hetero/homo/bi sexual debate. Some people only like the opposite sex, some people only like the same sex, and some can go either way. Remove the stigmata around it and yeah more people would come out as homosexual or bisexual, but only because they were never straight to begin with.

Edit: An additional thought crossed my mind. Some people experiment with other sexual orientations. For some it might be just a one time thing. They tried it and didn't care for it and for others they tried it and continued to pursue it more. I think that's the answer to your question about if you try on female clothing are you a crossdresser. If it happens once or twice and there's no draw to do it more, probably not, on the other hand, if there is a draw to do it more or you keep trying on female clothing than chances are you probably are.

[Beverley Sims]

If it were socially acceptable I am sure more would try it.

[Katey888]

...even if it was a lark, is not very likely to lead down a slippery slope towards membership in these pages.

Yes Sara - this is the beginning of the end isn't it.... you know you're done for once you have 10 posts on cd.com... ;) LoL

But I think Sara has nailed the rest of it - it's just not anywhere on the radar of 95% of males... and anyway, a lot of us go waaaay beyond just slipping into something silky... (and a lot of us also do it very elegantly, I might add... :D)

Katey x

[Jaylyn]

I really believe that many more would enjoy the feelings of a silky pair of hose or panties and heels if it was sociable acceptable. I think lots of males experiment sometime in their lives. I guess it all depends on the genetic makeup and the outside influences or physical influences that determine the amount of experimentation that one does in CD. I love the feel and won't lie it is still a turn on to wear the clothes and be immersed in the female side from time to time. I love heels and especially the makeup part of that side.

[Ilsa]

To Each His Own

Many men repel the thought of wearing women's clothes once they are forced to. I know for a fact that my Grandmother forced my Father to wear girls clothes when he was little and since those days he has been appalled at just the thought of a man wearing anything feminine. As for me growing up with two sisters who liked to act out plays when they were younger, it came down to them being the cowboys and me the fair maiden on the railroad tracks. As opposed to my father I liked it and it has been my passion ever since. Though I must say I'm not as good looking as I was in my teens and twenties and even thirties I still love trying to be the best I can be dressed.

Always,

Ilsa:battingeyelashes:

[Confucius]

The majority of men would rather die than cross-dress. For them it is nothing but a humiliating form of torture. In fact wearing pink panties with flowers on them was part of the torture conducted in the Abu Ghraib prison scandal. Shameful, but it did make those terrorists break down. Usually when a man wears women's clothing he is doing so to shock the sensibilities of the general population. It may be part of a dare, a joke, or silly entertainment, but it isn't these people don't feel anything special from it.

True cross-dressers, (those with a need to cross-dress) make up a small percentage of the general population. The best estimates of the prevalence of cross-dressing is under 5%.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15859369

I believe we (real cross-dressers) are (for the most part), normal, healthy, heterosexuals with one little kink hardwired in our brains. When we cross-dress our brains interpret it as actual contact with a female, and then releases the appropriate neurotransmitters (dopamine, serotonin, oxytocin and others) which produce the sensations we love. So it is a neurological condition. So, many in society look at us and think we are delusional and just imagining the sensations from cross-dressing. However, for us, the sensations are real, a neurological phenomenon, involving actual neurotransmitters.

[sometimes_miss]

If you live with a woman - wife, girlfriend, roommate, mom, sister - you usually come into personal contact with bras, panties, skirts, dresses, panty hose and shoes. These offer elements of intrigue, fascination, attraction and arousal. Males see these items, touch them, move them. I think that most males have, or have had, the opportunity to try on female clothing and do so, especially if they fit.
I think this would more likely happen in school age boys than any other age. But I don't think you could classify it as crossdressing unless it was a regular practice; rather than as you say 'intrigue, fascination, attraction and arousal', it would be more likely curiosity to see what the clothes/shoes feel like to put on and wear; AND ALSO, how to take it off smoothly, because we want to know how to get girls naked without being seen as a bumbling clumsy nerd. I'll admit to, at 13, practicing how to unclip a bra with one hand for hours so I'd be able to do it, never realizing that it was perfectly acceptable to use both hands while holding her in my arms. As a kid, the stuff that mystified me the most was how women could manipulate buttons/zippers on the back of the clothes; of course I didn't know that women were much more flexible than men are. Same with heels; while none will admit it, I believe that most nearly all boys have tried to walk in their mom's or sisters heels just to see what it's like....and once is enough to make them think girls are absolutely out of their minds for wearing them.


Maybe the estimate of males who crossdress is 5%, or maybe 10%.
Not sure where you got that estimate. Nearly everything I've read puts it at 2 to 2.5%, other than crossdressing enthusiast websites who's stats are most likely slanted by the population they are surveying.

[kimdl93]

Nah, I think it's one thing to be intrigued by the packaging...and what is within. It's quite another to want, or rather to end to wear those beguiling garments, in spite of oneself.

[BLUE ORCHID]

Hi Heather, I think that that's what happened to me about 67yrs. ago when I was about 4yrs. old.

[Abbygirl]

yeah I don't know about that.

Philosophy / Logic types have probably categorized it and have a proper "fallacy" name for it whatever. There is this thing where we want to think of ourselves as a "normal", and we tend to try and view the world through the lens of our own experience, then try to extend that conception to characterize what we imagine the experience of others might be.

<snip>


I think you might be talking about one particular "cognitive bias". There's a big long list of cognitive biases but the "False-consensus effect (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/False-consensus_effect)" bias seems to be somewhat relevant here. Not exactly the same concept you are describing but this is what it made me think of...

Here's an unofficial list of cognitive biases if you are interested:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_cognitive_biases

[Teresa]

I remember an experiment on TV some time ago to match up couples partners it was surprising how many had a similar look. Some of them commented about their attraction and suggested if I were her or him I would like to look like them, but the men made more comments about the style of the women's clothes.
I think the percentage is higher but some men won't admit to there being a sexual content.

[Nadia Pinky]

I don't know if percentage higher or not but I think most of men try that when they child or youth and some of them continue dress and some of them stopped .. this depend in what's opinion and feel with men when their try dressed

[NicoleScott]

No, just because you try something doesn't make you a member of the club. I tried water skiing (once), snow skiing (once), and a lot of other things (once), and I can't claim to BE any of these. I AM a fisherman, hunter, crossdresser, and many other things.
From another angle, most definitions of crossdressing include a motive, usually sexual or emotional pleasure, driven by an internal compulsion. Trying something on doesn't measure up, nor does the transformations of Tootsie and Mrs. Doubtfire, as they did so as a disguise. I guess a guy can say "I crossdressed" and be somewhat correct, but that doesn't make him a crossdresser any more than it would make him a woman.

[ReineD]

In fact wearing pink panties with flowers on them was part of the torture conducted in the Abu Ghraib prison scandal.

Goodness I thought you were kidding, but no.

http://www.salon.com/2011/03/25/james_4/
https://ccrjustice.org/hell-and-dr.-james%3A-when-gitmo-and-abu-ghraib-come-home

They consider this degrading and they compare it to abuse and torture, all activities that constitute was crimes!

I agree that most men would be repulsed by the thought of wearing women's clothing, unless they're doing it on a lark, judging by the way I've seen guys shy away from anything feminine. Even behaviors like two guys sharing an umbrella is a no-no.

To answer the OP's question,

My son's girlfriend once persuaded him to dress up like a girl including wig and I think makeup, and join her and her female friends to go sing Happy Birthday to the girlfriend's mom at the office. They thought it would be funny because all the girls were about 5'5 and my son is 6'4. I asked him how it felt and he said that it was OK, it was funny and all and everyone had a good laugh, but it wasn't something he'd like to do again. So no, I don't consider my son or anyone who tries on women's clothes a CDer. My dad wears women's tights in the winter under his pants and I don't think he's a CDer either. I guess it all depends on the motive.

[Wildaboutheels]

I have no idea how many websites sell "giant sized" high heels... in 14, 15, 16 and up? I wear mostly 10&11 so I am pretty clueless about them... and would never buy shoes online anyway even if they were 5 bucks.

Now I could be wrong of course...

But my guess is that few of these shoes are going to GGs??? SOMEone is buying them. Or maybe "most" people buy them as just gags and no one is actually wearing them? I am not aware of ANY company that maufactures stuff just to employ people.

If one searches for *Crossdressing* with ANY search engine...

This site is just one of dozens. Perhaps hundreds? How many pages is one willing to search?

One could join THIS very website and never even bother to READ a single word at any Forum. Do nothing but look at all the various NUMBERS that this site [so conveniently] displays everywhere in various places and of course look at the pictures. It's very easy to notice/not notice the Female items you rarely see in pics or talked about in threads...

I am quite sure it is merely sheer coincidence, that one is highly unlikely to find hookers, centerfolds and porn stars wearing any of this stuff either.

Most people haven't a clue as to what percentage of women are raped. For good reason.

I do believe a better name for this site would be Obfuscators R' Us.

The crux of the matter though is that it does not matter what the actual percentage is.

Very easy to prove, that with very few exceptions, almost everyone here at least "passed through" the You know what stage.

Men cannot control what their Brains do with their visual input. Good thing too. It's what keeps us on the planet.

[shimmeryphantasy]

my answer to this question ... if you try on womens clothing do you crossdress .. is yes... LOL ...... whether or not you continue to do it or not .... when you put it on you crossdressed......... ....... my other answer to this question is for me it depends on where you live whether or not you can go all out and be yourself..... I live in a small town in KS so it would be impossible for me to come out of the closet here..... I had a gf for 5 years and came out to her and I thought she accepted it but in the end it was too much for her I guess and she left...... in the bigger cities I imagine it would be more socially acceptable to be able to be open about it .......

[newbiecdmd]

I cannot begin to guess the % of cds out there, but doing social research in my professional work I could imagine that getting a true count/percentage would be near impossible given that this is such a private and personal aspect of cds' lives. Good luck getting folks to return that survey - no matter how strong the promise of discretion is!

[NicoleScott]

Whether or not the Abu Ghraib prisoners were truly horrified, repulsed, offended, etc. by wearing flowery pink panties, it would most certainly be the response expected by fellow prisoners. I wouldn't expect one of them to say "Hey, I kinda LIKE this!"

[renees]

That's a tough question. Once my ex-husband, who was a super macho redneck who rode Harley Dabidsons, tried on a pair of my panties (at my request) and then later commented how nice they felt and one Halloween my son wore a pair of my stockings, thigh high boots and lingere to a party. When he got home he admitted how great/confident he'd felt dressed like that and, not to mention, as he said, 'how many chicks hit on him'. As far as I know, neither have dressed again (like I said, as far as I know), but hey, who wouldn't want to wear those silky stockings and skirts? They do make you feel beautiful.