Do your parents know?

may know.

Dad, no.

I think my parents know. I used to always lock my bedroom door after sneaking into their room and stealing a silk bra to wear. Then they would be knocking at the door and I'd be rushing to take it off while they were demanding that I open it. I'm sure they knew too that I used to wear one in the bath when I was a teenager. They never said anything about it though.

My mom knew because she gave me my sisters hand me downs as I was growing up. My father on the other hand does not but he wasn't around when i was growing up as he is not now so I don't hardly talk to him as it is. So I see no reson for telling him

No one really knows except me and the walls.

But my mom has her fleeting suspicions. I remember once she asked me if I felt like a girl trapped in a boys body (thanks Oprah :p ). So she knows I am different. She just doesn't know how i'm different.

I am an only child raised by a single mom after my father split, so I never really knew him. My mother and I were very close though, and she was very supportive and accepting of my crossdressing. She knew all about my "hobby" from the time I was about 13 and bought me my own girls clothing to keep me out of hers, keep me from going outside the home to dress and possibly expose myself to harm, and keep my self-esteem from completely crumbling.
Starting when I was 7 or 8, I started sneaking into mom's clothes and trying them on. As I was a latchkey kid, I had ample opportunity to try her clothes on from say fourth to seventh grade.
My mother found out that I was trying her stuff on when I was in seventh grade, say 12 going on 13, and had probably suspected for some time before that. She almost caught me red-handed in one of her nice skirt suits and ruffled blouses for work. I had left her clothes on her closet floor because I did not have time to hang them up before rushing to my room to change back into boy clothes. I had hoped to be able to hang them back up while she started dinner, but no such luck. She found her clothes and came to my room to inquire about why they were not hanging up. As I was the only other person in the house, obviously I had to be the culprit.
However, instead of being upset with me, my mother seemed only concerned and asked me all the usual questions about why I liked trying on her clothes (not sure, but I liked the way they felt), and if I wanted to be a girl for real (no), etc. She had apparently done her research on the topic and knew it would be difficult or impossible for me to stop.
I'm convinced of a couple of things regarding my mother: First, I was a short, small, smart, nerdy kid who had enough problems dealing with all the crap at school (I got picked on regularly), but she knew I was a really good kid who needed a self-esteem boost. Second, I think she missed having a daughter, as she had two miscarriages after I was born and had been clinically depressed for years. So upon discovering my love and enjoyment of crossdressing, my mother decided it would be okay for me to continue dressing up, provided I kept it inside the house, I stayed out of her clothes unless I had permission, and that I dress properly like a young lady and not some sort of cartoonish version of a girl.
So she proceeded to supply me with my own feminine wardrobe -- well, a few blouse-and-skirt or sweater-and-skirt outfits and dresses to begin with, plus lingerie and hosiery, so I would stay out of her stuff, and heels, padding, jewelry and a shoulder-length wig. As it was the early and mid 1980s, most of my girl clothes had ruffles or lace and puffed shoulders and fuller below-knee length skirts. I could have been a walking ad for Gunne Sax and Laura Ashley. I did love those Victorian style blouses and the floral print dresses that made you look like a bridesmaid! :)
Mother also taught me the fundamentals of being a young lady -- how to act, walk, talk, sit, everything like a girl. One of mom's rules was that if I was dressed en femme, I had to act like I was 100 percent female -- no going part-way with the dressing, etc. We kept a strict dividing line between my boy and girl selves, and mom would treat me that way, like a daughter if I was dressed, like a son when I was not.
Dressing up became a reward for having homework and chores done -- though some chores I did en femme, like the laundry, ironing, making beds. Punishment was not being allowed to dress up. My mother gave me the name Karen Marie because that's what my name was to be if I had been born female.
I was able to dress quite often during my teen years -- I went from dressing a couple times a week to dressing a few days a week, and spending some weekends and school vacations almost entirely en femme. My hair grew out to shoulder length -- kept in a ponytail or "metal" hair in boy mode. By the time I was 15, my mother was taking me out occasionally en femme for shopping and dinner, so I had some "girl" experiences that way. Mom and I enjoyed "mother-daughter" times like doing our nails, mom helping me dress in a formal gown, etc. We had a very small circle of GG friends who knew about my little "hobby", including mom's hairdresser Donna, who would do transformations on me and rather doted on Karen. They would even gently tease me about boys, basically engaging me in conversation as though I was a real female, which always did make me smile.
Of course I lived in constant fear of exposure, which wasn't too much fun. As a typical self-conscious teenager who thought the eyes of the world were upon him, I was afraid everyone would see through my "male disguise" and figure out that I was a CDer. But only a couple of my closest friends knew about Karen and met her -- a couple of GG friends who let me hang out with them as "one of the girls", and my best male friend who met Karen and became quite fascinated with her (very long story).
By the time I hit college though, I started getting away from CDing quite as often. I had discovered GGs anyway and was chicken about letting them in on my "secret". I also began a career as a published journalist at the age of 20, and that sort of took over my life as I began working for my hometown newspaper, and eventually for bigger and better publications. It became increasingly difficult to spend time as Karen, and I went through an awful purge that I still regret very much to this day! :(
Off on my own after college, I did continue dressing sometimes, but I also met my wife and while at first she was sort of okay with my dressing -- I did tell her months before we got married, and she knows some of my past and has seen some of my pics -- she is now rather intolerant (we also have two small children now), and I have been relegated to the closet... :(
As for my mother, we never brought up my crossdressing after college... I think she may think that I stopped dressing, but I'm not sure about that. She has never dropped any hints about my dressing, even in private, and I'm not sure how she would react to learning that I still dress occasionally when no one's around, and that I still yearn for the days of my youth. Since she is in ill health, I fear what it might do to her, so I remain silent on the subject.

So that's my story of dressing and my mother's acceptance and support...

Karen :)

Hello,

New member here, and this is my first post....guess I can use this as my first "coming out"...

My mother knows.

I used to sneak her underwear into my bedroom and sleep wearing her bras under my pajamas. I used to keep one in particular under my mattress.

Of course, mom made my bed one day and found it! She pretty much yelled at me, wanted to know why I was stealing her underwear, did I want a sister, I don't understand, all the things I now know came from a parent not prepared for her son to be a crossdresser.

I continued to take that same bra - it was my favorite and must have been hers to and she knew just where to look when it was missing.

A few years ago I opened up to her, told her all about my dressing, that it hasn't gone away (does it ever) and I now buy my own clothes.

I was relieved to find she is very accepting of my dressing, and I think is relieved that I was able to approach her about it. I feel it has made our relationship more complete. For me, the best thing I've ever done is tell my mother.

I don't think my father knows, but he may suspect, especially if he's ever read moms email!

(I chose the name Lisa for my self. I asked mom what she would have named me had I been a girl. She liked the name Maria, from the character in West Side Story, which was out around the time I was born...)

my mum to found my girly clothes rolled up in the back of my cupboard she returned them washed ironed and on hangers,never a word was said about it.

I'll never forget the time when I was 17 and I had just purchased a four pack of various colored panties in a clear package. I went through an elaborate ruse to conceal them. And you know how snoopy moms are. And of course the rest is family history. I suppose you could say that I outted myself through carelessness. But now I don't care who knows. It's just not considered polite in my family to discuss a girls dainty things. Love+ kisses,

love your look darling. please reply and we can chat. i've been dressing for many years and just love being a girl.