Can You Call it Underdressing.

[Glenda58]

Can you really call it underdressing. If you put on a bra and panties then your girly socks. Put on you girly jeans with a cami or tank top. Then your girly sweater. And your girly shoes. I go out like this every day some lipstick and mascara.

Do you think this is underdressing?

[Tracy Irving]

Bra and panties, possibly the cami or tank top if under. Not much beyond that is under.

[Micki_Finn]

Not according to the generally accepted usage that “underdressing” is wearing women’s undergarments under traditionally male clothing. If you’re wearing women’s outerwear, it's just dressing.

[Amelia13]

If you're going out in public like that, I would say you're just under-dressed ;-)

[docrobbysherry]

Would u prefer us to call it androgynous?:thumbsup:

[Vickie_CDTV]

Definitely more "androgynous", maybe even more feminine than androgynous. Cis men don't wear lipstick or eyeliner (or any non-corrective makeup unless they are a performer or goth) and it really sticks out.

[JoannaCD]

Agreed, androgyny. I do the same but no bra. My jeans and sweater aren't overtly girly but couldn't be replicated in the men's dept. The boots from LTS have a 1.5" heel. As for lipstick, a shade called spiced cider is only slightly different from my natural lip color. Mascara, yes. Eyeliner, never.

[Helen_Highwater]

I would define underdressing as the wearing of female items such that they're not visible or detectable by a viewer.

So wearing knickers or/and tights under Male trousers such that no-one will know is under dressing. Wearing a bra such that the straps show through a covering garment crosses the line. It ceases to be overt. If this isn't the case then any GG who wears a bra is also under dressing.

[Aunt Kelly]

Do you think this is underdressing?
No. Why do you ask?

[BTWimRobin]

I would just call it dressed.

[GretchenM]

To me underdressing is just wearing women's underthings that function in various ways. What goes on top is the expression of some of the things underneath. To me, it doesn't really become feminine/female until the topdressing exhibits a feminine/female look. Some men with severe gynecomastia need to wear a bra, but that does not make them a crossdresser, transgender or anything other than a male with a metabolic and hormone problem that produces large breasts. But if they wore a women's top they could be confused as someone on the transgender spectrum even though they are not. In short it is all in the expression and the perception and interpretation of that expression.

[JessikaSometimes]

Underdressing implies that the girl clothes are hidden.

[Asew]

To me it is underdressing (because of the bra and panties). Mostly because I typically wear boxers under my dresses and skirts :)

It is also just dressing because of the outer clothes :)

[Michelle1955]

My simple answer is that it is more than under dressing since female cloths are visible. I will not put a label on what you are doing, you know your history / why inside you.

I consider myself transgender since around 4-5 years old and had back of my brain saying GIRL at that age. And still in my brain as female all the years later.

[Cheryl T]

Why does it matter what you call it??

[Stephanie47]

Glenda, and what garment of this outfit was bought in the "men's" section of any store? Even if you're totally bald and are not donning a wig your description is totally en femme. That also includes whether or not you're wearing a wig or are totally bald. Some women choose to appear bald for personal style or not conceal the fact they are undergoing chemotherapy for breast cancer. I cannot understand how someone would call this visual "androgynous." A GG wearing this outfit and having male facial features would be characterized as "androgynous?"

[Aunt Kelly]

Why does it matter what you call it??
It doesn't, unless you are trying to communicate.

[Krea]

I would call that look genderblurred, mixed-mode or androgynous. Apart from the makeup, which i do not use, this is my usual presentation most of the time.
Underdressing seems to imply fem clothes hidden under male attire, which is what i do for work.

[MeshelleCD]

Why does it matter what you call it??

I agree with Cheryl. Not sure it matters. Although I do appreciate the discussion it started and am fascinated by the differences in opinion.

[Marianne S]

I'd call it overdressing! ;)

[RADER]

I do not care what you call it. I do it and I enjoy it.
Bra, Panties, Female Jeans, Boy Polo top, men's shoes and socks.
I can not find women's shoes in my size.
Rader

[alwayshave]

Glenda, This may be a how many angels dance on the head of a pin question. We may never know.

[Cheryl T]

It doesn't, unless you are trying to communicate.

??? Trying to comunicate ??
Do we have to say, I'm an underdressing, male, straight crossdresser to communicate?

Just saying that you don't have to label everything you do. There are bigger issues that affect us rather than trying to identify the smallest details of our lives.
Whether it's under dressing or not is for that person to determine, we don't have to vote on it.

[Micki_Finn]

??? Trying to comunicate ??
Do we have to say, I'm an underdressing, male, straight crossdresser to communicate?

Just saying that you don't have to label everything you do. There are bigger issues that affect us rather than trying to identify the smallest details of our lives.
Whether it's under dressing or not is for that person to determine, we don't have to vote on it.

And sometimes having clarity of communication is important. Such as in the following conversation. “Are you going to be there?” “Yeah, I’ll be there underdressed. You should come that way too!” “Yeah, let’s do that!”

Let the sitcom commence.

Or perhaps someone here on the forums wants to communicate express something to the rest of us. “I was sitting in a restaurant underdressed when the waitress approached me...” If we all agree what underdressed means, than we don’t have to take time to EXPLAIN everything. Precision of language isn’t the same as “labeling” everything.

[Aunt Kelly]

??? Trying to comunicate ??
Do we have to say, I'm an underdressing, male, straight crossdresser to communicate?

Just saying that you don't have to label everything you do.

You have just illustrated my point. You do not have to label everything you do, but you do have to use labels like "underdressing", "male", "straight" and "crosssdresser" in order to communicate effectively about those things, as you just did. No one is forcing you to communicate effectively, just as no one should suggest you are anything more or less than what a given label defines, but it is absurd for anyone to suggest that the term crossdressing does not apply to the act of donning clothes typically associated with the gender opposite of that with which one identifies.

[Wendy me]

If your going to a formal event yes...

If your a cd asking silly questions no it’s not

[SaraLin]

but it is absurd for anyone to suggest that the term crossdressing does not apply to the act of donning clothes typically associated with the gender opposite of that with which one identifies.

I'm not trying to argue with you (really, I'm NOT!) - but what you wrote above has me scratching my head.

I'm born male. I present to the outside world as male. I've had a lifetime of acting/thinking like a male.
But I've always felt in my "heart of hearts" that I'm not (or should not be).
My soul cries out "but I'm a girl!", so I guess at that at least some level I identify as female.
So when do I say I'm crossdressing - when I'm in jeans and a t-shirt, or in a blouse and skirt?

I always thought that cross-dressing was wearing clothes associated with the the gender opposite that of one's (current?) body.

Dang - this definition stuff gets so-o-o-o messy.

[Glenda58]

The way I look at it if feels good I wear it. Can wear dresses around my wife but this I can do without much problems. As my grandson said it's only cloths.

[Aunt Kelly]

Dang - this definition stuff gets so-o-o-o messy.
It does indeed, and I will admit that I've made it more so by taking the same point of view that you've just expressed. I don't want to put words in your mouth, like transsexual, so I speak only of myself when I explain that, as a MtF TS, I am not crossdressing when I am presenting as my authentic self.
Gender identity is defined neither by genetic sex nor by the clothes we wear. By my reasoning, if you dress opposite your gender identity you are crossdressing. Yes, that's a rather more nuanced definition, but also a rather more accurate one.

[tmonsivais]

I would not consider it to be underdressing