Is The Recognition A Negative Or A Positive?

[Princess Chantal]

When venturing out in the view of the public eye, we are more often then not recognized as someone crossdressing or as someone in the process of transitioning. I always took this recognition of my crossdressing as a positive when the environment is least likely to be somewhere that my life/health may be physically harmed.

Do you take this recognition of being a crossdressing/trans person in a somewhat safe environment as a positive or as a negative?

[docrobbysherry]

The reactions to me dressed r either: ignore, humorous, "Keep your distance" polite, or generally negative by vanillas, Chantal.

However, Sherry illicits completely different responses: avoid at all cost, shock, smiles/winks, or "Can I get a photo with u?":devil:

[Princess Chantal]

Yes, we are well aware of the possible reactions. However, do you welcome or despise being pegged as a crossdresser? Obviously we don't desire to be pegged if it manufactures a negative response, but what about if you get the out of the blue "oh I have a friend that crossdresses" or the "is that a wig or your real hair"?

[Kate Simmons]

Tough to say unless people tell you. How can we know what they are thinking unless they convey their thoughts to us? :)

[Princess Chantal]

Hi Kate,
Please read the question(s) again, I am not asking what other people are thinking. I am asking for YOUR opinions of whether being recognized/pegged as a crossdresser/transperson is a positive or a negative.

Hmmm am I typing in a different language or what?

[Marcelle]

Hi Chantal,

I get read all the time when I am in public (you can notice the stares and hushed whispers). However, I have come to embrace it as a positive as it takes the angst off the table and allows me to relax.

Cheers

Isha

[Princess Chantal]

Whoohooo thank you Isha, that is what I am looking for chatting about. I feel the same way and knowing that the chances of people recognizing me as a crossdresser are great puts me in more of a comfortable place.

Perhaps I will reword the question to clarify for others. (Thanks to your post)

Do you take it as a positive or a negative to be read as a crossdresser/transperson?

[Lori Kurtz]

My intent, when I dressed up, was to be perceived as female, so it would never have been a positive to have somebody think I was CD or trans. I'm sure I must have been read sometimes, especially in my earlier outings, but no one ever confronted me. I would have been mortified if anyone did. Even if anyone had said something nice about my man-in-a-dress appearance, I would have been mortified. When I dressed to blend in, I think I was mostly successful. When I dressed more provocatively, I did get some catcalls and such, but never anything that made me believe the guys were responding to anything other than my female sexuality. And while there was a scary element to those experiences, they were also very thrilling.

[Krisi]

I am with Lori on this. My intent is to be perceived as a female so if anyone says anything that shows I am not passing (or "blending"), that's a disappointment. I try to avoid situations where that's likely. I don't sit down in a restaurant and order lunch. I don't go into a store and talk to the employees, etc. I walk in the park or in the tourist or business district of town. I walk in malls and look in the windows but don't venture inside the stores.

[kimdl93]

Honestly, I prefer being seen as a woman, rather than being read as transgendered. But I'm a realist. I know that for a variety of reasons, I seldom really pass a a woman. I'm ok with that so long as the people I encounter are courteous. Overall, I've been pleasantly surprised by how well I've been treated, even in small, generally conservative communities. So, to that extent, being recognized as TG and treated well is a definite positive.

[Kate Simmons]

Okay well even with recognition it's positive for me as I've held their attention long enough to figure it out. How's that?

[ChristinaK]

Love your avatar, Chantal,

I love it when I go out and nobody notices. I would rather be another woman on the street. However, when I am noticed and the person does not make an issue, I am fairly elated and take that as an acceptance as a woman. I have only had a few dirty looks, and they are somewhat unsettling. So, a positive has almost always happened, a negative maybe twice. There was one time when it seemed that EVERYONE noticed, and that was extremely unsettling, although not one person screamed, "that's a man in a dress," while pointing, with policeman whistling, sirens blaring, the cage being brought in, pictures being taken...

[AllieSF]

Being realistic, I believe that I am read as TG most of the time. I would prefer to pass, and accept blending and all that goes with it. I never take it as a negative, just as part of the activity I am involved in and the natural consequences that I should accept. So, no negatives.

I am also a very social person and love talking with strangers in male or female mode. My dressing gives me a lot of opportunities to meet new people and have a ready and somewhat serious topic, me and why the hell I am doing what I am doing, to eventually talk about. My approach is to make the others my focus points, and ask a lot of questions about them, who they are, where they are from, what they do, and so on. I also need all that social interacting contact. My dressing amplifies my opportunities to satisfy that need. So, a lot of positives for me.

That being said I generally do not care what others think about me, and being read is not consciously negative nor positive. I just enjoy doing what I do and accept that I am limited in my ability to really pass unnoticed. So, all that becomes a minor side issue that I do not think about.