What causes the urge to crossdress?
I know this question is old and tired for some, but after many years of dressing it still fascinates and eludes me....Is anyone aware of any credible studies or articles on what causes the urge to dress, or of any theories that actually make sense?
Mainly, I know I just love it and would find it miserable to live without my feminine things...and yes, the reasons may vary by individual...still I wonder if there is not some common element....
hormones may be the key to much of this activity, but not all
There have been many more, to my recollection, who have started cding just as puberty hits. I did, at about 13, and it stayed a while and then it more or less went dormant for many years. It appeared on and off but returned just about the time I turned 60. Hormones?? Very likely. Andropause is the male version of menopause. After my cancer surgery, I started to develop gynecomastia and when I got blood tests, my T was in the ballpark, but my estrogen was higher that a females count and higher had she been in menopause.
I also think there is some psychological stimulus as well and that probably varies with the individual. Hormones would certainly explain the "older beginning CD" . There is likely some hormonal causes when the fetal brain gets masculinized as it may NOT get enough testosterone and retain some characteristics of the female brain. Female fetuses need no hormonal changes to become female. It doesn't have to be genetic necessarily. There are lots of switches that turn on and off the genes and they can get fouled up--blue eyes is a good example.
I read a recent paper that suggests being gay IS NOT genetic as it would eventually die out since there would be no reproduction among gays but history does show us that some gays to marry, have families and thus may pass along some predisposition. Another study with quite a bit of proof shows that women who bear a lot of children a more likely than not to produce gay sons in that or other generations , so great great grandma who had 10 kids is likely to have produced some gay children. So, we could also be within that spectrum--not necessarily gay but feminine in some part of out psyche. Gay may represent the ultimate feminization of the male fetal brain, and lesbian may represent the ultimate masculinization of the female fetal brain..
With me it was Nature not Nurture
I don't know exactly what causes it, but I know in me it was nature and not nurture. I was born with a feminine side, it was not a choice or anything that happened to me in my childhood. I remember as far back as Kindergarten being more comfortable around the girls, and wishing it was acceptable for me to dress like they did. Expressing a creative person within me with clothing, hair, and makeup was something I longed for but quickly found it was socially unacceptable and something to keep hidden. I hope someday they do find the TG Gene so it will be confirmed that it is something that a person has no choice in and they may be able to express themselves without fear of being persecuted. When I see these brave crossdressers here breaking down the social barriers by going out into public and changing the way we are perceived by the public it makes me proud. I have read accounts of outings of many here and it makes so happy to see so many people blazing a path for future generations. I hope some day we are accepted for who we are and not the stereotypical way we are suppose to look and act based on our sex.