Do CD's Transition?

[BreenaDion]

This point was brought up in the TS section an I figured Id post it here.
The point was CD'S when they get older transition into woman. Take HRT and have Surgeries to be classified as females. I just wanted feed back on this point please.
From what I gather, thou not scientific, but CD's are Men, period. They often express the female side by dressing I know this but plain an simple they are Men. So if they are then why do they transition or do some TS's have this all wrong ?
Love to hear your view points on this, think it might bridge the gap between transgendered groups.
Thank you.

I also want to add that I am 56 and on HRT for 16 months and you guessed right I am a TS.
Breena.

[Shananigans]

In my humble opinion...

I'd say that a person who transitions and is happy with the result was never a CD. This person was always TG and identifying as the opposite sex to which he/she was born into, but only was able to make the full transition later in life. Perhaps others classified this person as a CD because he/she was not on HRT and had not undergone SRS....but, this person never really was a CD...just a TS on the way to transitioning.

A true CD, on the other hand, does not feel as though he/she was born into the wrong gender and does not feel gender dysphoria or a desire to transition to feel "complete".

I think this is what you are asking.

[Phoebe P.]

This should get a lot of response! There are a lot of people here with very different viewpoints.

Personally, I have no intention to make a transition. I'm happily married and don't want to leave this world without everything I came into it with!

[sissystephanie]

Breena, some CD's do transition to fully become women. But I believe that is a small number of CD's! I personally have been a crossdresser for over 60 years and do not have, nor have I ever had, the desire to be a woman. I just like to wear feminine clothing, and so do a lot of other CD's who feel the same as I do!!

For a man to actually become a woman is a very involved project! BTW, not all CD's are men. Any person who wears the clothing of the opposite sex is technically a CD, whether it is a man or a woman!

[Fran Moore]

I'm speechless, but no, dear, that is not very good information.

Rather than going into a long drawn out explanation, all the answers to that question can be found by searching this site.

Suzanne

[Kathryn Philips]

Funny you ask because I was going to ask a similar sort of question. Which is how many in this forum, after having been lifelong CDs and are now in their 50s or so, have come to realise they are TG/TS and want to take this further?

[BreenaDion]

Thank you, Shenanigans, and I loved that music video LOL I just love Lady Gaga so it was ok for me, 2 thumbs up LOL
Breena.

[Phoebe P.]

Don't know if it's true, but I read somewhere 90% of CD's are heterosexual and most are married.

[Shananigans]

Don't know if it's true, but I read somewhere 90% of CD's are heterosexual and most are married.

True, true...but, a TS can be heterosexual and married too.

[crystalann]

In 2008 I started my transition and now I'm done and live my life as I always felt I should have been. I did cross-dress most of my early age but felt it was so wrong for me to do it. I my heart I felt I could never get to the point where I could transition. So what would I have been if I didn't, would I still been a cross-dresser or transgender M2F? that never moved forward? I can't say. But love where I'm at now.

[Phoebe P.]

You just blew my mind!

[Sophie_C]

It's very simple. Some people are CD's and will always be CD's, whether they initially understand it or not. Some people who think they are CD's don't completely understand they are TS and will later transition once they come to that realization. There are no people who are simply CD's who should ever transition. That's what the SOC are for.

[Julogden]

I would say that if someone transitions and has reassignment surgery, that defines them as being transexual, not a CD. CD's don't transition. A person may feel that they are a CD for many years until they finally realize that they are actually TS and then go through transition, but they've been a TS all along and just didn't realize it.

Carol

[Marissa]

[SIZE=3]To keep this from being maneuvered over to being about labels, a cd/tg’s transition is not based on age (except as law dictates, ie below 18) so it’s not about ‘when they get older’. It can be based on realization or discovery, financial reasons, family/self acceptance, or desire. I say desire because some do know they are in the wrong body, but will not go the full course for whatever reason they choose. Now all of this is based on what I have read in here and other sources, not in my personal experience as I am only a crossdresser, with no desire to transition.[/SIZE]

[Fran Moore]

I'm so glad that you have found happiness Crystalann! And I will take a moment to explain. Your first sentence said it all. You live your life as you always felt it should have been. THAT is the difference between a Crossdresser and a transsexual. You always felt "female", just born with the wrong "parts". If you had never had the surgery and did not transition, you would have still been a transsexual, just "nonop". You can't change what your brain tells you is right. While you may have been wearing womens clothing, you were never a Crossdresser hon. Being transgendered is the "umbrella" that crossdressers and transsexuals share, but they are truly two very different people. Hope that helps answer you question.

Suzanne

In 2008 I started my transition and now I'm done and live my life as I always felt I should have been. I did cross-dress most of my early age but felt it was so wrong for me to do it. I my heart I felt I could never get to the point where I could transition. So what would I have been if I didn't, would I still been a cross-dresser or transgender M2F? that never moved forward? I can't say. But love where I'm at now.

[Phoebe P.]

Let me get this "straight". I'm still pretty new to this. All Crossdressers are transgendered?

[Shananigans]

Let me get this "straight". I'm still pretty new to this. All Crossdressers are transgendered?

Nope. There are "crossdressers" that claim they wear the clothes simply because they like the clothes. As in, they are NOT trying to come across as a female. In other words, they are a man in a skirt or vice versa.

It can be bantered about all day as to whether this makes them a CD or not. (See thread about women crossdressing because we wear jeans and blah blah blah) But, I'd say the majority of CDs are TG on some level. There is a TG spectrum actually that is kind of a nice way of thinking about things because it's not so black and white.

The spectrum:

Gender play..................CD/TV...............TS..........Post-op TS

So, instead of saying you are black and white a TS or a CD, you could be falling somewhere between the two.

Transgendered is the umbrella term for the community, but some people that are dressing adamantly say that they are not TG. So, you can't always assume.

[Phoebe P.]

Very nice. Thank you for explaining. That makes perfect sense. My best friends have always been girls/women. My wife is my best friend. Women have always been comfortable around me. Could just be my Southern upbringing and respect for women. Have to ponder that...

[Julogden]

Let me get this "straight". I'm still pretty new to this. All Crossdressers are transgendered?

Yes. The term "transgender" is now an umbrella term for all of us regardless of which flavor we are. It formerly referred to people who cross-lived in their gender role of choice without undergoing sex reassignment surgery, but it's not often used in that manner anymore.

Carol

[AnnaCalliope]

We now have a Yes and a No to the question of "Are all crossdressers transgendered?"

In my honest opinion, not all crossdressers can be considered transgendered. It would have to be determined on a case by case basis. Some drag queens and kings, while being crossdressers, see it purely as performance art or a certain level of acting. I personally know several guys who enjoy wearing skirts, most of the time over their boy pants and while that's considered crossdressing, not a single one of them has any interest in becoming or even presenting as female.

My real question is, why the heck do we need another label?

[Fran Moore]

And my answer to your "real question" is.......We Don't! Labels are confusing, misleading and unecessary. We are all individuals, and it's much more important to just be yourself, be happy, and live life to the fullest.

Suzanne

We now have a Yes and a No to the question of "Are all crossdressers transgendered?"

In my honest opinion, not all crossdressers can be considered transgendered. It would have to be determined on a case by case basis. Some drag queens and kings, while being crossdressers, see it purely as performance art or a certain level of acting. I personally know several guys who enjoy wearing skirts, most of the time over their boy pants and while that's considered crossdressing, not a single one of them has any interest in becoming or even presenting as female.

My real question is, why the heck do we need another label?

[Melissa Rose]

Again with the labels and associated rigid definitions. :-) If I had to label myself, it would be a TS who has elected to stop before HRT and SRS. I've undergone electrolysis and laser over most of my body, and I'll probably get a tracheal shave within the year. That will be as far as I will go. I have a number of personal reasons for my decision. Most would label me a crossdresser because of where I've elected to stop the transformation process and because I'm not full time. I would rather to have lived and continue to live my life as a woman, but it is a decision I'm at peace with and not unhappy about it. Whatever I'm labeled does not really matter, all that matters is I'm me.

[ReineD]

Here's a well thought out theory, together with an abstract of the supporting clinical study:

Identitygender.com: "A Question of Early or Late Onset Transsexualism", drawn from "Age of Onset and Sexual Orientation in Transsexual Males and Females (Abstract)", by Nieder et al.

In a nutshell, the majority of FtMs in the study had signs of early onset gender identity disorder (78%) and late onset (13%) with residual (9.1%), as compared to MtFs early onset (39%), late onset (48%), with residual (13%).

The person who wrote this article proposes that the gender incongruence is there for all cases early in life, but for a variety of reasons, a substantial amount of MtF transsexuals do not realize it until later. These TSs may well identify as CDers for some years.

This is likely the source of the confusion?

Let me get this "straight". I'm still pretty new to this. All Crossdressers are transgendered?

Depends on who you ask. It is generally accepted that TG is an umbrella term for everyone who crosses the gender barrier in some way. But, a lot of people here equate the term with transsexuality, or somewhere "in between" crossdressing and transsexuality. IMO, either someone is transexual or they are not. They could however be Questioning, in which case I propose we all agree to use TSQ for the "in betweenies".

I can't tell you how often we've had this debate over semantics, TG vs. TS.

[Suzette Muguet de Mai]

Simple, the older you get the less family members are around who tell you what you can or can't do within the family unit. Most of the younger generational members do not care about what you do so you are able to make decisions without "affecting" the parents, uncles and aunts or close cousins. Your time left on this earth is getting shorter hence there becomes an urgence to make a decision such as transitioning fully. If you whinge a lot and become more demanding then the children will agree with anything you say just to shut you up. Then you become that eccentric family member no one wants to visit.
QED

[DeeInGeorgia]

In my opinion, the most important point about the "transgender" label is the self identification requirement. Efemmenant gay men or masculine lesbians may exhibit transgender characteristics but are not transgender unless they self identify as such. The same goes for transsexual people and those that were TS that have transitioned. They may have been TG (or may have not been TG) and after transition may or may identify as TG. The same for the crossdresser or the drag queen/king, they are only TG if they self identify as such.

And remember, TG is not just about the clothes or crossdressing, it is about where the mind is, it is about being comfortable with who you are and not letting others try to fit you into their own labeled boxes.