Is this a hobby

Hi everybody.
Here is a word that has been used in a number of posts and it is one that leaves me a little uncomfortable.
Do you regard dressing as a "Hobby"?
I for one do not.
A hobby is some thing you do in your spare time for fun, and yes while I do enjoy what I do it does not fit in the catagory of a hobby for me.
I consider dressing as part of my inner self which I have only a small amount of control over.
Any views on this please.
Philipa Jane

OMG no for me this is a lifestyle. if i could i would choose to be a woman. i feel more comfortable as a woman then a man. and anyway i have a lot of other hobbies and dress is not one of them

well I think so some it may be a hobbie or at least they think of it like one. I know whatever you want to call it it's part of me as has been as long as i can rember or had a name for it

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Originally Posted by Philipa Jane

Do you regard dressing as a "Hobby"?

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No, it's a necessity. Dresssing when I leave my house keeps me from being arrested when I go out in public.

Now, cross-dressing... yup. That I do for fun. :)

The minute it ceases being fun is the minute you should quit it.

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Originally Posted by Philipa Jane

A hobby is some thing you do in your spare time for fun,

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Exactly and this is why some people call it a hobby.
It's my hobby and I have fun doing it.

I dont do it for fun.

I have fun whist I do it!

Not a hobby for me. I have hobbies and I'm sure I could stop doing them if I wanted to.

Now this is not something I could stop for very long. Do I get enjoyment out of it...absolutely.

Not a hobby! This is who I am. There is nothing that I can do to change.
Now, shopping is a hobby!:thumbsup: I do that because it is fun! Especially when I am adding to my shoe collection!:D

Aye, for me this is not a hobby - I don't get to do it very often, but when I do, I do it more for my own sanity than anything else. Every moment I spend in the clothing of my physical gender is a moment I am lying to myself.

But for others, it may be different. There are many out there for whom CDing is just a fun diversion, and there is nothing wrong with that.

The same as with other things in life. I went to tech school to learn mechanics and work on cars, but I don't want to become a professional in the field - for me, cars are a hobby. One I am very passionate about, but a hobby nonetheless.

:3

I'm with most of the rest. I consider it a big part of my total being. When I do get some time to dress, I feel as if I am a complete person. My classic car tinkering is the hobby in my life!

"Is it a hobby"?......I like this question.

I was discussing this very subject with a kinky lady friend just last night whilst wearing hold-ups under my jeans with black ballet shoes (or dolly shoes if you're in the UK). I explained to her that the almost unisex shoes with a hint of nylon on view was just perfect for me. I quite like the idea of 'OK you've spotted me, but only because you were looking at me anyway'. Perhaps it's a touch of exhibitionism, a smidgin' of suggestion and a dash of femininity, just me being who I am happy to be.

Now, when it comes to dressing, it's more about the exhibitionism combined with covertness. It's a strange mix but I like it. So fully dressing is actually more of a hobby for me. I like the idea of changing into someone else. I'd love to walk past people who know me just to see the look of confusion on their faces, then see them again later in the day, in male mode. Imagine listening to their story of "hey I saw a woman earlier, well actually I think it may have been a crossdresser".

The connotation of a word can have an emotional component to it. Sometimes the word "hobby" in the context of cross-dressing is used as a weapon, such as, "it's just a hobby, get over it".

The denotation of hobby is it's spare-time recreational pursuit. So for me, cross-dressing does fall within those parameters.

But the reality of the situation gets missed for me when this word is used. I have no choice about the thoughts that run through with my mind at any given moment, and they do have to do with dressing and feeling feminine.

I'm not hostile to the word in general, I just don't think it covers the true nature of our condition.

-Tracy

I I I I N E E D T O D O O O I t

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Originally Posted by Jeanna

Exactly and this is why some people call it a hobby.
It's my hobby and I have fun doing it.

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Yep, its FUN for me too! Let us not forget that Cross-dressing is symptomatic of a variety of different "conditions" that people may have. It can range from a fun "hobby" to an "irrestable drive" or " psychological necessity", depending on the underlying reason one cross dresses.

We are not dealing with different "degrees" of a singular condition but rather a secondary act or symptom (CDing) common to many diverse underlying causes that have varying degrees of importance and significance to different individuals.

I consider it as a hobby but at the same time I have a real NEED to dress from time to time. It satisfies a deep need to express the fem side of myself. Sometimes words have different meanings for different people.

In my life I've went through so many "hobbies" I can hardly recall them all.

I've built and raced cars, built giant telescopes, put together aquariums, made pirate radio stations, built and used my own handmade sailboats, explored wild caverns, climbed rocks, learned three instruments and played in several bands, become obsessed with archery, built guitars, bows, model airplanes, tinkered with electronics, built computers, played chess, collected comic books, LP's, books, and baseball cards as a kid, learned to sew professionally, sculpt professionally, photograph professionally, draw, write, sing, bake, garden, backpack, camp, bicycle long distances, raise birds.....the list could go on, and I'm but 35 still.

My house is full of the remnants of one obsessive hobby after another, and 90% of them come on like a fire of passion, and then leave me just as cold after a bit.

I got to thinking, what has always been there through all of the rest of it, that has never left me cold? What is actually not a 'hobby,' in my life of ever-changing hobbies?

1. My wife and family
2. My closest lifelong friends
3. What I do with mirrors.
4. My dreams.

(I sometimes refer to cross-dressing as 'what I do with mirrors.')

"Hobby" has a bad connotation for me these days, being synonymous with "medium-term obsession." Cross-dressing doesn't fit the bill, it's just part of who I am, one of the good parts.

It's not a hobby for me.

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Originally Posted by Wen4cd

(I sometimes refer to cross-dressing as 'what I do with mirrors.')

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Now, I love that line. Very nice.
:) O

I consider my crossdressing to be a hobby and there would be no problems in leaving it. Like I've said several times, "Once the passion and fun of crossdressing stops, I'll stop and seek something new to spend my spare time".
However, I don't consider other people's crossdressing to be a hobby unless they say so.

For me it's not a hobby.

It's the lifestyle I love so much and make me happy of what I am.:daydreaming:

Yeah, it's a hobby for me. Kind of like breathing is a hobby. I can stop it for awhile but then I just have to do it again.

Hugs...Joni Mari

Hobby>obsession = obsession<hobby.....I'm guessing that lots of people who are into model railroading or airplanes (or whatever) and consider themselves hobbyists would also say that it's something that lives deep within their souls. This is an activity that I think about daily, and pursue in my spare time. So even if it's a manifestation of what is a big part of my soul, others could say the same thing about their more conventional "hobbies". Perhaps it's accurate to say it's something more than a "mere" hobby, but something less than total obsession. Or maybe not. Because there are times when the obsession seems to take over.

My big hobby is modifying cars, how does crossdressing compare?.....

Modifying cars

Crossdressing

Is it fun?.....

Yes

Yes

Do I spend as much time as possible doing it?....

Yes

Yes

Do I spend any money I have spare on it?....

Yes

Yes

Does my S.O. enjoy my interest as much as I do?....

Yes

Yes

Would my S.O. like me to give my interest up?....

No

No

Could I give up my interest?....

If forced..Yes

If forced..No

Conclusion....I guess crossdressing is more than a hobby!!

to me My crossdressing is just a hobby, so I suppose I differ from many above.

Yes, I do crossdress, but it is not something I need do daily, in fact I have not dressed for weeks now, due to the school holiday's in the UK, and won't for nearly another month yet!

At present the chance to dress is just not there, and I just get on with it, and accept that when the time comes I will be ready, in fact one of the last things I did before there break was to have a good sort out, of my stuff. however I know I will get to the end of there holiday time, and if I'm not ready or feeling like I want to dress, then I won't.

I think crossdressing can obcess people, and to some it can become an obsession, even in my case, I have to many clothes and far to many wigs (to the point I'm going to thin those down in time) but to me Crossdressing is no different from my other "Main hobby" and I suppose the fact that in the last month I've spent about £20 on my dressing and far more on my other hobby, surely must mean to me, it's just a hobby.

Call it a hobby or whatever you choose to call it. CD-ing is definitely a choice.
It's not something you're physically forced to do, so it's a personal choice.
Yes, I already know this thread will go exactly the same route all other threads like this go. :doh: