Are Crossdressing and Crossdreaming related?

[Jennifer Michelle]

This is one question that I am genuinely curious about are Crossdressing and Crossdreaming related and are most crossdressers often crossdreamers? This question is very personal in that around about the time I started crossdressing I would have dreams about turning into a girl, and these dreams often scared me because at the time I thought it was exclusively a sexual fetish can anyone shed some light on this?

[NicoleScott]

I wasn't quite certain I knew the meaning of crossdreaming, so I looked it up. The first source I checked described it as the sexual arousal one gets by fantasizing of being the other sex. Some may think it's broader than that and doesn't necessarily include sexual arousal. But it seems to fit for me.
I'm a crossdresser, a guy who likes to dress up, no gender identity issues. and there is a sexual aspect. I used to have a certain recurring fantasy:
I was in an accident resulting in a head injury. I was fine after a few days, with no lasting effects - but one. Cleared to get out of bed and resume normal activities, I hit the shower, then asked my mother where my clothes are. In your closet, of course. No, those are boy's clothes. Oh my.
I didn't want to a girl, just wanted an excuse to dress as one. The fantasy continues: Family accepted this brain change resulting from the head bump, however, they didn't like that I took my dressing choices over the top.
As a crossdresser, that's my preferred style (OTT), so it fit my fantasy perfectly.
I never wanted to be a girl/woman. Still don't. It was a fantasy in which I could dress up as I wanted.

[CD Tammy]

I grew up before they invented the internet. Since I did not know anyone, besides myself that liked to dress in women's clothing, I was pretty sure that I was the only one that felt this way. After college, I went in the military. I was still keeping that secret, often under my BDU's. One day, I picked up a copy of a magazine called Penthouse Variations. While some may know it, it is a book of letters. Pretty vivid stories by readers. There were a couple stories with bondage and couple involving crossdressing. I must have picked up a great edition. I had many dreams after that.

[NicoleScott]

Tammy, my past is similar to yours - no internet, college, military (but I never dressed under my uniform), and feeling alone with the desire to dress.
I remember the collection of Penthouse Letters. Some were very arousing, and in total they taught me that I'm not so weird after all (but a few others really ARE weird -haha). I tried to never miss out on good opportunities to fantasize about crossdressing.

[CD Tammy]

I was once standing in front of the formation (I was an officer) and in my mind, I thought how I wish that I was brave enough to rip these BDU's off revealing the stockings and teddy that I was wearing under my uniform. But of course, I did not.

[NicoleScott]

Thank goidness for the restraint NOT to live out all of our fantasies.

[GretchenM]

Jennifer,

Yes that is a part of my experience. But if I describe some of the dreams I have had I will get banned. So I will leave it at that and let your imagination fill in the blanks. It is not often, but - oh, my! Even a person in their 70's can have those or perhaps more appropriately, it is especially a person in their 70's can have those.

Gretchen

[Confucius]

For myself, I was practically born crossdressing. I can't rermember a time in my life when I didn't enjoy crossdressing. Regarding dreamining, I did have some disturbing dreams where my masculinity was questioned. For instance, I had a dream where I brushed my hair and it instantly grew long like a girl, or I looked in the mirror and saw a girl. The loss of my masculine self was a scary nightmare. I did not associate these dreams with my crossdressing at the time. Nowadays I still have crossdressing dreams but no one in the dream ever seems to notice. I sorta like those dreams now.

[Jaylyn]

It's funny I've had dreams where I was dressed and was stuck in the closet with mom and the neighbors there looking for me. I've dreamed also about hiding from my family while dressed and them hunting for me. Luckily I was never found. Back in my younger years I had some really hot sexy type dreams that varied from hiding while I was wearing bright red lipstick only and I'd be running and hiding my face while being chased by people.
I've never had dreams of turning into the opposite sex though that I recall. The rest of my dreams I'm usually in guy mode.

[Jennifer Michelle]

My dreams where odd in that often it would be a group of girls that were after me and they would eventually get me and dress me as a girl, and It seemed like the clothes were changing me into a girl, but I would always manage to fight it off somehow or I would wake up before that process was complete. In my dreams though I never saw the process complete its self because I was never actually able to visualize myself as a girl lol. It was really creepy perhaps maybe it was just denial that I liked to wear women clothes. :eek: Sorry if this is too much info btw lol.

[biannne]

I have never crossdreamed ... that is I was woman. But I have dreamed many time about crossdressing in my dreams.
The dreams are way of our subconscious telling what is stored in our brain. You suppress them during the day time but they come to the surface as dreams.

[Alice_2014_B]

I've had dreams where I'm wearing high heels with guy-clothes, which is something I would never do in real life.
:)

[Kate Simmons]

Not sure but I seem to "morph" in my dreams as needed. :)

[Acastina]

"Crossdreaming" is a term coined to explain the phenomenon of becoming sexually aroused by the idea of being the opposite of one's natal sex. It is somewhat similar to the controversial hypothesis of autogynephilia but distinguished as not describing a pathology and not necessarily involving transgender feelings or acting on them. There are websites under that name where you could read more. Lots more.

I believe the OP was asking a question from a recent thread, on dreaming about crossdressing or becoming the opposite sex, which technically isn't the same as what the "crossdreamers" mean by the term.

[Stephanie47]

I suppose dreaming about your male self attired as a woman does not equate to dreaming about being a woman. Either way I believe it is fantasy until you act upon it. Frankly, there are a lot more disturbing dreams based upon real life experiences.

[Laurana]

I don't think I've ever dreamed about being dressed as a girl.

But then again, humans don't remember the vast amount of their dreams.

[Johninabra]

I often dream about being crossdressed to varying degrees. In some dreams I am outed some of which is embarrassing in the dream. I have never dreamed of being a woman.

[Taylor186]

I'm a crossdresser and I do occasionally have dreams where I am crossdressed at some level, but I have never dreamed of being a girl/woman. That said, I agree with those who suggest that the current concept of crossdreaming (which you can easily find doing a google search) does not actually include dreaming. It is more like fantasizing or day dreaming.

[NicoleScott]

We offer topics for discussion using terms that members may define differently - not wrong, just differently. It would help to provide "...for the purpose of this discussion, crossdreaming is defined as.....".
Other examples: want vs need, hobby vs lifestyle, fetish, CD, TG, and the best/worst example, trans.
The description of crossdreaming Acastina provided closely matches the one I found. Thinking about it later, the story I posted earlier isn't really crossdreaming, as it was always about the dressing, not being female, using a concocted situation for acceptance to crossdress.
I have a hard time comprehending how a male can have a male sexual response (since it's the only kind males can have) to the idea of being female. I can get aroused by the clothes and such, but not by being female. I believe others can, though.