Lucky to be CD

I see many different reactions to being CD here. Some see it as a curse, others see it as a gift, I see it as a blessing. In these difficult times I am lucky to have a love of female clothes. I live on my own and any home time I have I spend it en femme. My work is at home and most items I need are delivered by post and courier. My food is delivered as well. I have a lot of work ahead and can work as and when I wish. I have many interests which keep me from being bored, one of which is female clothes. I am so fortunate in this respect in that I am never lonely nor wondering what to do. Wearing my favourite clothes around the house has a fulfilling effect. I have enough outfits to enable me to go over a year without wearing the same combination twice. Today I spent the first half wearing a sweater and skirt with stockings and heels, and the rest of the day I changed into a dress. I only wear minimal make up and no wig. During this pandemic I can survive mainly due to my interest in female clothes. Are there others here who can say that CD keeps them positive during this crisis?

Sorry to be a downer, but the pandemic has been the worst thing that could happen to me as a CD. I went out all the time. Now, most things are either closed or not the same as they used to be. There is nothing good about the plague for me. I am happy you have been able to find the silver lining in this worldwide tragedy.

I dont think luck has anything to do with this, I think it is the fact of being fortunate enough to lead the life that we can. Many of us have constraints to be adhered to DADT situations and so forth.
Over here our lockdown was the one of the best and mosts uccessful, leaving that to one side i was still able to dress and within the legal constraints able to go out and collect my food needs. So in many respects the crisis made very little difference to my dressing life.
But in a way I feel very fortunate to have such a lovely bunch of accepting neighbours.

Sort of glass half full or half empty. There are a lot of things I had planned for this year that had to be canceled: downer. But, there were other things I did to make up for it (a little) that I wouldn't have done. Worked steadily though it all, and had good results from the garden. All told, a decent year. Life is taking advantage of the plusses, and not letting the minuses drag you down.

Any positives that come from this pandemic are far outweighed by the human and financial costs to society. I want to live in world where life proceeds as before, where, despite issues we face in our gender identification or dress mode, we are not limited in our interaction with one another. We are not wired to live like this, and the sooner a semblance of normality returns the better.

Georgina,
I feel I could add I'm lucky I'm TG , it's not just about the clothes but being out even in in these difficult time as Teresa . I still shop as much as I can , sadly I've just lost my dog but still go out and walk . I still enjoy the brief contact with people at the supermarket and still browse the shops and the deals to be had in the charity shops . I'm not a recluse but realise the need to stay safe . To be sensible I have enough outfits but I don't usually swap during the day , at the moment I'm content to wear the jeans , blouse and cardigan I wear to take a walk but I will always have my makeup and wig on as it's my identity , if people come knocking at my door , I don't have a problem .

For me it is a mixed bag. The pandemic often gets me really down in the dumps. Being a biologist who specializes in the field of invasion ecology, I can see and understand some of very long term effects of the pandemic on human society. There are some positives for the long run, but a barrel full of snakes in the short term (with apologies to snakes). Thinking about this and examining the ups and downs of the data and examining the dynamics of the epidemic can get you down because you know that somewhere in there is the answer to what can or could happen to me personally.

When I get upset by what is happening and see the actions we are taking, both good and bad, I can re-level myself by turning to the Gretchen person who seems to have a more realistic outlook on the personal impacts. That helps to center myself again. So, in that sense the She in me is a real blessing at these times because the He in me tends to gravitate toward the more negative aspects.

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Originally Posted by Kandi Robbins

Sorry to be a downer, but the pandemic has been the worst thing that could happen to me as a CD. I went out all the time. Now, most things are either closed or not the same as they used to be. There is nothing good about the plague for me. I am happy you have been able to find the silver lining in this worldwide tragedy.

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I don't know where you live, but I recently came back from a trip through three states (in the USA) and I didn't find anything closed. Most places required masks and some had limited capacity, but everything was open and doing business. The city where I live is open under the same conditions.

As far as the original post, crossdressing (like smoking, drinking and recreational drugs) is a choice. If you enjoy it, do it. If you feel it is a "curse", don't do it.

And before anyone comments, I'm not comparing crossdressing to smoking, drinking and recreational drugs as a bad thing, only that it is a choice and something you either choose to do or choose not to do.

Kind of a mixed bag for me.
Retired and lots of time to get out, but truthfully I don't like wearing a mask over my makeup. Kind of defeats the purpose.
The other downer is the restriction of gatherings. I was so used to attending group meetings at least once a month and getting together with other ladies and now that's not possible. Perhaps not all because of the restrictions, but at least in concern for other and their health. I yearn for the time when we can all celebrate together again.
Time to dress ... lots, I'm practically full time now, but the isolation takes some of the joy out of that.

Pray for the end of all this madness and sickness.

As a retire the pandemic has had no real consequences for me other than I refuse to check into a hotel and stay overnight. I do not trust the cleaning staff to fully sanitize the room for my safety. If I was not married or had a more accepting wife I would be freely don my woman's wardrobe. I have had the experience when my wife traveled for seven to ten days to be fully en femme 24/7. Then it was as simple as pulling a different dress off a hanger in the closet. The routine you're engaged in seems to be viable whether there is a pandemic or not. My cross dressing has been limited to my home or when my wife is out of town to evening drives and strolls. If I had the yearning to mingle among the masses or go to venues with like minded friends or acquaintances, then the pandemic is a real drag.

I don't find CDing a curse or a blessing although it can be addicting but like everything has to be kept in perspective. I haven't dressed much since the pandemic There is nowhere to go and thats the problem. No bars which I miss in both modes not that I am a heavy drinker but I enjoy the company. mall crawling is not the same museums for the most part are closed as are movie theaters and those are the things I did while dressed. Kandi's right its a drag being quarantined. BUt a mask does make makeup a lot easier.

Since I am retired and live alone I can dress any way that I want to. It is certainly more interesting to present as a woman (which I do about 90% of the time)
because of the great many choices that I have. I do miss being able to meet a few friends, though. I still do nearly all of my shopping and errand running as Carole although having to wear a mask is not really pleasant.

As to answer the question of keeping me positive during this crisis I would say yes it does. Crossdressing in general makes me happy, so when the need comes it takes me out of this world enough for me to focus elsewhere. Going out as Joyce or my male self, the risk is the same. We make the same choices as we did prior.

Although, we haven't been out much due to group meetings being Zoom meetings. Which I feel are nice but can be so boring, even more than some of the past, actual meetings (LOL)

My wife doesn't want to see or know that I'm dressing or DADT as it's often referred to. In the past I had a CD friend I would go visit and we would alternate staying at a family lake home so there were plenty of opportunities to dress on a regular basis. Since then the family member who owned the lake home passed away and a family member is buying the place and paying off their siblings. My CD friend who used to let me dress there and even offered to let me have online purchased delivered to their address fell off the face of the earth. So as a consequence I spend all day every day with three cats who could care less what I'm wearing and one human that I cannot dress in front of. This would be a wonderful time to order things online and perfect one's wardrobe and look for when things open up again but for some of us we'd just as soon see things return to normal so we could dress once in a while. It could end up being up to two years before I can get enough wiggle room to dress again and every missed opportunity at 69 is an opportunity I'll never have again. I'm not depressed about it which is kind of a surprise but the desire to dress seems to have fed the desire to dress when I was able to and now that I can't it has waned. I know it will come back and probably with a vengeance but right now I'm not really feeling it.

You could be talking about me Georgina.
Crossdrssing is the icing on the cake of life is my motto.

I consider my self lucky to be me. Part of that is being aa CD but there is so much more to my life too.

I share your sentiments girls, "I feel so lucky" is a term I say aloud several times daily. Girly lingerie and stockings were always an occasional diversion, distraction, or compulsion until I started sharing my love of it with my wife, whereupon it soon became a daily routine. As for this pandemic, 2020 has been an upside down year and it was certainly no different for me. I'm retired so that part of my life remained pretty similar to before, but my wife still works so the pandemic meant she was home for about two months and in that time the rate at which I was dressing in girly things increased exponentially, now I rarely spend more than an hour in "Yucky boy clothes" as my wife calls them.

It helps me feel happier, comforted, empowered, more myself when I am feeling feminine. It's part of who I am, my gender expression as someone who is genderfluid, and it is definitely something that brings a bit of much needed positivity into my life regardless of the pandemic.

Hi Georgina! I would definitely say that CD helps keep me positive. I have always been effeminate. I am an artist so I get inspiration for paintings from photos of myself in various poses and outfits. The pandemic hasn?t altered my lifestyle much because painting is solitary and it?s fun and relaxing to wear a dress and stockings in the studio. I have never considered this to be a curse. It is an essential part of my being, and while I struggled over the years, I now love and accept myself for who I am.

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Originally Posted by Krisi

I don't know where you live, but I recently came back from a trip through three states (in the USA) and I didn't find anything closed. Most places required masks and some had limited capacity, but everything was open and doing business. The city where I live is open under the same conditions.

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Krisi, the entire arts community country wide is principally closed. Community theaters, most movie theaters, art museums, while open are severely restricted. Our Playhouse Square, the second largest theater district in the country, closed. Charities, which took up much of my time, cannot hold fundraisers. Restaurants and bars, again open, but many have done away with Happy Hours and you have to sit at the bar between plexiglass screens. Many never reopened, out of business, jobs and livelihoods lost. I had a full, mainstream life pre-COVID, all gone. There are still things to do, but by no means can I call this a "good thing". Believe me, I am always looking to find a way and will continue to do so.

Kandi, we obviously live very different lives and in very different places. Pretty much the only thing that has changed for us is having to wear masks in businesses and having our temperature checked when entering medical facilities.

The Thanksgiving family reunion has been called off because one of the members would not be allowed back to work for fourteen days after leaving the state. Personally, I think it was a good decision regardless.

There will be a vaccine and this will all be in the past. There have been far worse things to deal with in the past.

This may sound selfish, but with all the Covid-19 anxiety, tension, unknowns, stress, etc. I find my dressing affords relief and relaxation from what?s going on. Dressing has always been a great source for relaxation and tension relief. My going out is limited...small, nosy neighbors and community. My supportive wife is wonderful. She still continues to tease me about how can underwires and hose be comfortable? I don?t know why either, but it does. I just smile.

Hi, Georgina. :)

I can honestly say that yes, CD'ing has been one thing that has kept me positive during the Covid-19 pandemic..... Also during the civil unrest that has been going on in the country for a few months now. Crossdressing has opened up so many doors and opportunities for me that I didn't think were possible. There are days that I literally say to myself, "I need another Kimberly day". LOL And so I get up, get in the bathroom and feminize myself and once I'm out my door and in my car dressed and headed for somewhere, I feel SO relaxed and more like myself.

I, too feel very lucky to be a CD..... I live alone, I don't have a girlfriend or a wife, so I don't have to worry about being told "No, you can't do that" or anyone nagging me about it. I have a couple of very supportive GG friends who know that I CD and their support has been one thing that has boosted my confidence in my CD'ing. I just only hope that one day I can find a S/O who will be as supportive of my CD'ing as my GG friends are, because I will NOT change for any woman. :bs:

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Originally Posted by Krisi

There will be a vaccine and this will all be in the past. There have been far worse things to deal with in the past.

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Krisi, we'll agree to disagree. Millions out of work, industries decimated, loved ones gone from the virus and no vaccine will fix that.

My comments were specific to being an out and about CDer, that's all. You are very fortunate to not have been effected by this, God bless you.

Working from home, not going where anyone is ever going to be seen brings up a question. What are those old sayings? I seem to recall something along the lines of ?if a tree falls in the woods and nobody sees or hears it did it really fall?? Likewise, if we live alone and dress en femme but nobody ever sees us does it really matter?

Before anyone scolds me for my comment I should add that if I had the freedom I would be right there with you. I would do that all day every day if I could. The cats don?t care but the lady that lives here is the jealous type and insists on me not doing that in front of her. That awkward situation when the love of ones life becomes the gatekeeper standing between us and our happiness.