The only thing we have to fear...
...is fear itself.
I shared the fears for a long time.
Then I went to a salon to get my nails done, and the tech (Cailee) was excited to hear my plans (makeover at Sephora and trying on dresses at Nordstrom the following day). My nail tech, Julie, and my sales angel, Falon, were fabulous. So many of my fears just melted away, and I have since made several GG friends.
I decided also that people may see a guy in a dress, but they don't know it's ME in the dress, and I want to make sure it's a pretty dress. Plus, there is enough of a difference between the boy me and the girl me that people won't likely put the two together.
I've been out in daylight in big cities (Chicago, Melbourne, Cleveland, Milwaukee), on public transit, at a Cardinals game, at a U2 concert, multiple restaurants, a few bars, lots of stores, never a problem, and a fair amount of complements.
I have now had four times where I was out and I knew someone. The most recent time was this past Saturday at Pride. I saw her (mom of a kid I coached in youth soccer, and now a Facebook friend), but she didn't see me. None of the four knew it was me.
Yes, going out with your spouse is probably not a good idea, as if someone knows her.....
But your boy and girl lives are probably extremely seperated, so you are not likely to be outed by a common friend.
If we let our fears of being discovered by unknown people to dictate our lives, we are giving control of our lives to that unknown person, who doesn't know who we are or even care who we are.
Once I was out, my only regret is that I didn't do it earlier.