The other Two Things post

#2 for sure....I am constantly trying to be closer to being feminine as that is how I was raised. :battingeyelashes:
It really wasn't till I was in the Navy, did I really know what it was like to be masculine.
The comfort does goes away when having to be a husband, but I do it as not to be selfish....and I can cheat.
I can get away with a lot of feminine thing in male mode as I conditioned my spouse to perceive these things in a neutral light. :hypnotized:
I continue to broaden my spouses acceptance and understanding on this mellow and caring husband and when finished, if I live long enough....
....I can be laid to rest in a rose colored casket in a chiffon ballgown, painted toes and fingers holding my white communion rosary, a white pearl necklace/bracelette, and a glittering pair of open toed high heel pumps! :heehee:

I think my "tag line" explains me as best as I can. I really like my time dressing up but I am very comfortable where I am on a daily basis. So, on the theoretical spectrum, I am firmly planted with a foot in both worlds and with no plans to change.

I love what Sandi said although I tended to be shy even when I was going out. I know I also missed out on a lot of things because of that. Saying all that, I'm firmly in #1, and halfway into #2, as I don't tend to feel uncomfortable presenting male. In fact, I have learned to enjoy my male presentation even more because of my crossdressing :)

Definitely #1 here. It’s interesting but I recently saw the classic movie “Saturday Night Fever” and I couldn’t help but see similarities to my crossdressing. Tony Manero (John Travolta) works all week then starts to plan for the weekend; the clothes, the moves, ...the whole new different persona!

I similarly look forward to dressing up as sexy as I can, getting ready, and transforming into a much more outgoing playful female version of myself. Very similar to Sandi Beech (love you girl!), I also enjoy going out to clubs and meeting people and dancing. And then when it’s over, I’m more than happy to remove the wig, make up, nails, etc and jump into my much more comfy men’s clothing. Happy as a male during the week and happy as a female on the weekends!

Thanks Carla, great post.

I would say I'm in between both right now. I like to crossdress because it's allowed me to have fun new experiences and also it helps me in rediscovering joy in known experiences. I gotta admit, lately it's feeling that it's more than just crossdressing. I like my boy mode but I'm loving all these other aspects of life that I'm discovering while in girl mode. I used to think crossdressing was a tool or a means to access those things temporarily but now I feel like those things are always with me and I just have to let them happen. I do admit going back into boy mode feels like the fun is over, but I'm trying to slowly let things from my girl life bleed into my boy life and the other way around. Having a double life is exhausting and I'm not getting any younger :P

I am quite comfortable on the male side of the spectrum. I?m also becoming more comfortable on the feminine side. I, however, would be extremely miserable if I had to be exclusively on one side or the other. I started off as a very sensitive kid. Obviously, that can be translated as ?Target?. As I?ve grown older, I?ve become very jaded and hard. This can be beneficial in many circumstances, but honestly, isn?t much fun. Combined with my (male) appearance, the result is an incredibly rare smile. Meeshell brings out a warm, happy, and sensitive side that has been long buried, and brings out a smile that I never knew I had. I may be selfish, but I want both.

Hugs
Meeshell

P.S. I sometimes turn myself on also ;-)

I am firmly in category #1. I love the creative transformation to Danielle including all the preparation such as body shaving, applying false nails etc. but I am very comfortable returning to my male mode which I live in more than 99% of the time.

Hi Carla,
I am guessing I fall somewhere in between a 1 and a 2. I love the artful creativity crossdressing brings. As an artist it allows me to expand my creative side outside of the woodshop. While I?m comfortable with my male side I always felt I never quite fit in with ?the guys? and I have always been more comfortable around women.

hello Carla,
for me it is about the clothes - I am a man in a dress. I am never going to look feminine if I am honest.
But perhaps the world is not as binary as your two options. That does not matter as long as we find our true self.
stay healhty,
luv J

I pick door number 1.

I am quite comfortable being a boy, but I just love being a girl from time to time. Girls have so many different choices in clothing, style and colors and everything. Plus they get to accessorize with earrings, bracelets and necklaces. Since most of my hair disappeared 10 to 20 years ago, so I have no choice but to wear a wig. But, I have several wigs of different lengths, colors and wavy, plus I get to accessorize with various scrunchies and hair clips.

I think I have accepted that I am stuck presenting as male, so much of my life is based around it. But I will always feel better dressed, that is were my head is. It just does not fit in with the life I have chosen and mostly enjoy.

There was a time that I had myself convinced that it was about being a woman but came to the realization that it was really about something else that only superficially resembled "being a woman." I liken my infatuation with the idea of being a woman to my infatuations with certain girls when I was younger. I would see some girl I found attractive. She would fire my imagination and I would convince myself I was in love with her. We would be happy forever after, blah, blah, blah. Then if we should happen to get together and got to know each other I would lose interest after a short while. It wasn't love at all, it was just lust. The difference is that I don't feel lust for my so-called female self. What happens is that imagining myself as a woman or some reasonable facsimile allows me to cast off the shackles of masculinity for a little while. Since a lot of my anxieties about about being a male and masculinity revolve around sex, the idea of being "feminine" allows me to be sexual in an uninhibited way. So it's just lust.

I crossdress for fun and enjoyment . I love my feminine side much better and dress often by myself.

These days I am more comfortable presenting as a female.

I do have to present as a male to work and earn money.

That is becoming a bit of a drudge.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by GracieRose

2
I was never, and still am not comfortable as a male.
When I'm dressed as a woman, it just feels right.

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Sums me up exactly as well.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by CarlaWestin

This crossdressing thing is actually two things.

1) Like many here, I crossdress for the fun, excitement, artful creativity, cerebral stimulus, etc.. It's just what I enjoy and I'm perfectly comfortable and balanced as a male entity.

2) Many others here crossdress to be or be closer to being female. The comfort goes away when having to emulate male or the birth genetics entity.

So, where are you?

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I'd say it's both for me! I love to be able to express my feminine side, and can spend hours in Jill's closet trying on any number of outfits. Women's fashions allow for so many more colors and textures in our clothing options. On the other hand while I'm comfortable in my male role and pursue many manly hobbies, I do find my self at parties wishing to be included in the ladies conversation than the men's especially when the topic of conversation turn to topics such as cars or politics etc.

Isn?t this just basically the difference between Crossdressers and Trans?

With me it's a bit of both really.

When I was younger I would have leaned more towards #1 and always strove to emulate the female form as much as possible using make up (which I never do now) and never wore any male clothes with female clothes; it was all or nothing. I always felt sad returning to my male self which I didn't like too much. I felt out of place as a male and for years wanted to become a woman.

Fast forward to now and I am happy with my male self and would be considered a snappy dresser as a man. I always fly under the radar when out and about but always dress in as many female items of clothing that I can get away with. I am married so do have to think of my wife's feelings in all this.

Today for instance, I woke up wearing a cotton nightie and panties. I got up after my Wife left for work (I work from home currently), had a shower and got dressed in a conservative maid's outfit and spent most of the day doing housework. I had to go out earlier so I changed into jeans, a top and boots am now back at the computer. I will get changed later into joggers and a t shirt to relax at home.

The only male item of clothing I wore today was the coat I wore when I went out.

I need all the sensory feedback from attire, wig, etc., that tells me that I'm female. Visual, tactile, smell, the whole nine yards, to overcome the GID. I only feel 'normal' when dressed as a female. Otherwise, there's always this underlying feeling that I'm in the wrong clothes.
The best analogy I can give you, is, think about going to a formal event. Everyone else there is in a tux or an evening gown; but you're in a bathing suit. Doesn't matter if it's gender appropriate bathing suits, you'll always feel that you're in the wrong clothes. It's like an itch that I can't scratch, I can only get rid of it by dressing like a girl.

Perhaps the odd thing is that I'm not actually transgendered; I don't see the world the way women to, don't communicate like they do, have no interest in children, no nesting behaviors, no strong desire for constantly talking about relationships, none of those things. And I have no desire to go out of the house, dressed and behaving to emulate a female.
And there's no sexual component to this, either, though for a long while once puberty hit, I thought there was simply because I was just horny all the time (dressed as a guy, naked, dressed as a girl, in a Halloween costume, didn't matter), no matter what I was wearing (puberty and the testosterone effects). That made for years of confusion.