Puting Face to Name

[Janelle_C]

I've been here about three months now. And this forum is my first time being able to talk to girls like my self. I've keep this secret for what seems like forever. I so much want to post pictures and put a face to me but its had for me not to worry about someone I now seeing it. Even thow I know if someone I know sees it they will have to tell me why they where there looking. Right now I'm sitll in the closet but I hope to change that in the future, I'm in therapy to work on self acceptance. My question is was it hard for you to post that first picture of your self?

Shy

[Melissa_59]

I haven't posted one of myself yet, Shy. There are times I'd like to, but my self protection mechanisms kick in and stop me.

Melissa

[Karren H]

The first one really was the hardest. But when the pervert alarms didn't go off and the world didn't end the next on was a little easier. The 15,583rd one was the easiest to date! Lol.

[Beth Wilde]

Hi Shy,
Everybody has to start somewhere! I decided to put my face pic up based on 2 things, one is the statement you have already made, if they see me, they were looking at least for A CD/TV..... No excuses!!

2nd, I am a distinctly average (if slightly overweight) male and I look nothing like Beth when in male mode.....

Hoping you get there soon.

[Lisia]

I have only recently posted my pic with face visible. Reasons already mentioned: "What were YOU doing on there?", combined with f**k it, why not. Since coming out to my SO, I have been getting gradually more comfortable with the idea and decided it was time. She spent a lot of time on me that night and couldn't stop taking pictures once she was done. I was very proud of what she had done and figured everyone here should be able to see it too!

Lisia

[Leana]

I'd like to expand on what Beth said, if I may. When we look at pics of ourselves En Femme, we instantly recognize ourselves, because that's how we're wired. To see ourselves. Each one of us would be astounded to realize that even our closest friends have trouble recognizing us when wearing a little makeup, because they're not expecting to see us.

Little story as an example. I have been on a dating website, and saw a pic of someone nearby. It was weeks before I realized that it was someone who I worked with, saw every day, (and still do!). They just looked totally different! I guarantee that in that pic they saw themselves, but I saw someone completely different.

Bottom line; most of us look nothing like ourselves when in female mode!

[AllieSF]

I have no face avatar pic and instead use a pic of my shadow on a green tennis court. I have posted pics in a few threads, but it took me a long time to get there. I would say listen to your fears for now and let yourself convince yourself when it is the right time to post pics. This is far from a secure site, which is a big shame since we are all sensitive to some point about our secret identity coming out to those that know us and you would think that this site would be the first to understand, respect and accommodate that need for better security. So, when you post anything here in the general non-secured part of the forum it can and will be picked up by someone doing a simple Goggle search. I had to notify a member here twice over a couple of years because I saw her pic posted by someone else in a dating section of Craigslist. That stuff happens, probably rarely, but it happens. So, only you can make that decision to post or not. Others here sometimes demand a pic as proof of something one writes here, or they state that they think less, trust less someone without an avatar pic. To me that is total BS since posters and pics can lie, posters sometimes use fake pics, or at least select their best pic for posting. Who we are comes from our posts here and the consistency of those posts. So, go at your own speed and enjoy the pics of others, as I do occasionally.

[Laura912]

Karren keeps a full time photographer. The rest of us sort of screw up the courage and post...Yeah, but try and get a lot of details from the one to the left.
Laura

[Eryn]

I just keep the resolution down. I'm not so concerned about human recognition as the present and future of machine recognition.

[Jenniferathome]

Yes, I was worried that I would be recognized, but my wife said there was no way anyone would see me in my girl face and in truth, it is so remote that I got over it. now it's quite fun.

[Barbara Ella]

It was very difficult. I first posted pictures of just my legs in heels and hose, and was perfectly fine to let it go no further. My first makeup experiment changed that, and I felt secure enough that i look different enough from my male appearance that it would be difficult for anyone to connect the two. With the wig added, and some nice outfits, I am internally happy with how I appear, and feel very good about myself. I am not perfect, but i am having fun and enjoying my time here. I am still in the closet as far as never going outside my house, and dont care if that ever changes, but it probably will, that is just the progression.

Dont worry about posting facials, show us some of your other fine features. A fine pair of legs with heels can go a long way in putting a name to a feature.

Babes

[Cristi]

I don't know how old you are, but in general it looks like as we girls get older we get more of a 'Who cares!' attitude.

I used to worry about getting caught ALL of the time. Now, I still don't want to be out friends or the people I work with, but the reason is more that it just isn't any of their business, and I don't feel like having to explain this part of me to everybody I know.

The way I think of it it now is that if somebody found out, it really wouldn't bother me too much. My only concern at all would be if it effected my job.

When your attitude starts getting this way, and it probably will over time, you will find it a lot easier to post photos!

[Julogden]

The chance of someone who knows you coming in here, seeing your photo and recognizing you are incredibly slim. Post away and quit worrying.

Carol

[AnitaH]

It was difficult to post my first photo. But I realized that if anyone found it and recognized me I would ask what they were doing on this site and then ask if they wanted to go out as a couple of girls sometime. But now I have developed an attitude that I don't care much any more. If recognized it could go badly at work but that is more an issue when I am out and about. The reality is, as my therapist explained the first time they saw Anita, no-one would recognize the male me from seeing the female me.

AnitaH

[Cristi]

One more note on the subject.

Not to make anybody TOO paranoid, but my one concern is that someday the technology will exist to recognize faces well enough that it will 'see through' the makeup and analyze the structure below.

At that point, if anybody clicks on a photo of my male self and selects 'find more photos of this person', it will pull up Cristi photos.

All I can hope is that by that day I just don't care any more.

[JLynn17]

ya i just now put my face pic up like 5 mins ago... lol im not dressed up at all in it either, blah...

[Tanya C]

You might want to try posting your pic for a couple of days just to test your comfort level. You can remove it any time you want. But at least you'll be able to experience how cool it is to have your photo posted.

[Chiana]

It took me a really long time to do it. Fear was one reason. But probably the biggest reason is that I didn't have any pictures of myself dressed. But I finally took a couple and selected the one I like the best and the rest has been totally uneventful. Do it in your own time.

[Beverley Sims]

I can't offer advice yet but like you, we will get more comfortable and take the high diving board and jump in.
Mind you I don't look too flash these days not like when I was 20.

[RenneB]

I hear you on this one girl. My first photos were from the knee down. As I grew in confidence and experience, five days a week working on makeup, I started with the face shots.

My first face shots, I blurred out the face... As I lost some weight and had some minor eyelid surgury, my confidence grew a little more, until finally I said what the heck and started posting total body and face shots...

I'm still worried about the facial recognition software but oh well.... as my favorite superhero Popeye always said, "I's ams what Is ams"....

Renne.....

[Beth Mays]

For me it seems that with each step the next becomes easier. My first pictures here were horrible with no wig and no makeup but they were me none the less.
Allow yourself to move at a pace you can accept and others will accept you as you! we are all in this together.


Beth

[az_azeel]

i have posted pics myself ...( a long time ago).. and they were headless... yup im in the closet and happy in there... the thing is if someone you know actually saw the pics.. you have to ask ....what are they doing looking at a CD forum.... the odds are pretty high of being found out even via google