Labels. I am CC.

[Georgina]

With all the recent discussions about labelling and what are we I have come to a decision. If I have to have a label I am not CD I am CC for clothes curious. I don't want to be feminine or look feminine but if I wear all that women do I will obviously end up looking someway feminine. I wear the clothes because I like them and how they feel and make me feel. I wear various styles of dresses and skirts but never any trousers or related items. If women can wear skirts and dresses and use face disguises I don't see any reason why men can't do the same and still be a man.

[ziggie]

I like it. Obviously the term doesn't describe everyone who makes atypical clothing choices but I think it does describe some, myself included.

[GretchenM]

I support your choice. Gives me an idea. Maybe we ought to all make up our own labels that applies to just us as individuals. It might quickly teach the label fans that labels really are not that useful when applied to the individual. And they are dangerous when applied to large groupings of the population. It really goes back to that statistical principle - Even though a population may exhibit certain general characteristics one must use extreme caution when applying those traits and characteristics of the population to the individual members of that population. It leads to stereotyping.

[bridget thronton]

Nice observation Georgina

[Stephanie47]

"why men can't do the same and still be a man."

Now you're getting into trying to explain what that phrase means?

[Heather76]

Georgina, if there is an award for Creative Labeling, you just won. Love it.

[docrobbysherry]

U can stick a feather in your hat and call yourself, "macaroni", Georgina.:thumbsup:

But, I'll still think of u as a CD!:heehee:

[OrdinaryAverageGuy]

I like it, but I'm not really curious anymore, I know full well what a skirt and a bra feel like. :)

I was talking to a good friend once about leggings. He said "leggings are gay." I answered with something I probably can't repeat here, but suffice it to say I described an activity that really would be gay, as opposed to wearing comfy pants.

Less related but funny (to me, anyway): Another friend was complaining about gays in the military, because he was worried that the gay guy in the foxhole with him would have sex with him. I told him "You're holding a machine gun. If that guy has sex with you it didn't make you gay, you already were."

"Not that there's anything wrong with that" - Jerry Seinfeld and company

[Georgina]

I am always curious as to how my next dress or skirt will feel and look. I also purchased a 6 hoop crinoline recently. I wonder how I will get a dress to suit it?

[Karren H]

U can stick a feather in your hat and call yourself, "macaroni", Georgina.:thumbsup:

But, I'll still think of u as a CD!:heehee:

Boom! And are you not representing yourself as being feminine by calling yourself Georgina?

[Georgina]

I don't call myself Georgina. It is only for signing in purposes. I use different names on other sites.

[sometimes_miss]

If women can wear skirts and dresses and use face disguises I don't see any reason why men can't do the same and still be a man.
A rose by any other name, ......... is still a rose.
Doesn't the wigs and necklaces sort of overstep the 'I'm still a man' feeling? I mean, men don't wear feminine things like that; sure, some glam rock boys did wear fem articles, but their behavior is usually still masculine. Not that there's anything wrong with it, it's just that it seems that you're just desperately trying to avoid the whole classification of female in any way you can.
Be all you can be. Throw the labels away. Accept whatever you do, as normal for who you are. It's just simpler.

[Marsha Louise]

Adopting the term "fashion liberated" to describe my sartorial preferences gives me a lot of latitude in my choices of clothing, is a lot more fun and a lot easier to sell. It allows me to mix and match items from both sides of the closet without feeling obligated to look strictly feminine or masculine, but somewhere in between.
I'm very comfortable in this hybrid mode, and the more often I do it the more other people have gotten used to seeing me this way. I no longer have to explain myself.

[suzanne]

I totally support your position, partly because I'm a lot like you. I don't try to look or act like a woman. I am a man who is trying, successfully, to look presentable in a skirt and make it a viable option for everyone.

[Marsha Louise]

Yes, Suzanne, the operative word here is "presentable", and even though it means different things to different people, I think it's important to establish standards of appearance for our individual selves that land somewhere between what actually looks appealing and what looks absurd.
Whenever I'm out in public, I feel I am an ambassador of sorts for people who challenge society's strict, binary dress codes, have a duty to present myself in a neat, confident and fitting way and to act accordingly. It makes the job - and being accepted - much, much easier.

[alwayshave]

Georgina, I'm no longer curious, I have accepted my dressing. You can call me a CD.

[GretchenM]

Marsha, I completely agree with your perspective on this. And your use of the word "presentable" is a huge plus. One of the few times I have seen that word used here. And it is a great one. It allows much more flexibility in the expression than the word "passable," which for a huge majority of males is more of an impossible dream. I have known a few trans women that are fully passable, but it cost them over 100 to 150 grand to achieve that and it involves far, far more than just clothes. But even then they had tells. A cough or a sneeze pretty much gave them away as being fundamentally male.

I think it is important to note that Georgina said "If I have to have a label I am not CD I am CC for clothes curious." She can do that and she can use the name Georgina if she wishes, or whatever name she wishes to use. In my view it is fine.

But that also points out the problem with labels. Almost all oranges are orange-ish in color, but there are many species and varieties of oranges. But using the generalized term of "Orange" is OK, however stating the type of orange is better, e.g. Mandarin, Valencia, Navel etc. But that isn't really a good example either because most are dyed with orange to make all the variations of skin color when picked be alike in the market. And that is why Georgina's use of a CC label is OK and why "presentable as female" is an achievable goal for males who sense inside that they are not exactly a guy even though they cough and sneeze like one. Like Oranges, for people it is what is inside and how that functions that counts when it comes to the identification of a person's gender. But unlike Oranges, our genders are not fixed entities - our sense of self is individualized and one of our most precious possessions. How we express it is up to us.

[Linda K.]

Georgina - There are a few others here like yourself, men who enjoy wearing women's clothes but are not interested in presenting as a woman. I think the term that is typically used here for that is MIAD, Man In A Dress. If that is how you identify yourself, then I support it!

[Kris Burton]

I fully embrace crossdresser. It took me a long time to get here, to accept it, and like it. I find it feels good to be part of that community - please don't take it away!

[DianeT]

Crossdresser suits me well too. Even the old "transvestite". Since that is what I do. Well, once in a while anyway.

[Jane G]

LoL.. An entertaining thread. Me I am simply me. Oh and I like to cross dress.

[Georgina]

i am MIAD most of the time but now and then I will use make up. I do so because i am curious, that word again, as to how I would look if I was more feminine. I use a necklace for the same reason. I am me all of the time so I never feel feminine.

[Sallee]

I like that CC that is ood. Just curious to see how I would look in that short dress or long pants or women's underwear

[Beverley Sims]

I am very much into labels too.

Berlei on my bra and any label that denotes locally made.... Even Canada or Europe will suffice.