I think I need some perspective on this because I see it a lot in the forums and I've never really understood it. Please note before I start that I mean no offense and that I'm not trying to be snarky or mean or passive aggressive but I truly want to understand this because I think things like this are fascinating.
I'm trying to understand the feminine persona that many CD'ers seem to adopt when they dress. It's almost as though the dressing transforms them in a very literal sense. They are no longer "Bob". They are now "Bobette". They adopt entirely different mannerisms and sometimes personality and tastes. However, they do not phrase this as Bob acting like a female. They phrase it as Bobette acting like herself. Bobette is held to be an entirely different being than Bob, living inside the same person.
Now from one point of view I can understand this. It may just be the name they choose for their feminine side or it may simply be a psychological mechanism to provide some escapism from the trapping of male social pressures. I suppose the reasons for creating an entirely different female self is just as varied as the reasons for crossdressing itself.
Still I have an issue understanding this. I cannot feel comfortable creating a different female persona for myself. When I dress I am simply turning the outside of my body to reflect my inner self. I guess this means I am always in my female persona as it were. When socializing with men it is uncomfortable but even then I do not see it as someone different than myself doing the talking. I see myself using male gestures and cues in order to make socializing a little more relaxed.
So my questions is: if you do have a female persona for yourself, how did this come about? Is it truly like dealing with two separate people in the same body? Was it a natural thing or did you carefully construct and then become this persona? Is it just a name for yourself while dressed or something deeper? Do you literally see someone different than your male self when you dress? Has your two personas ever spoken to each other of their own accord? I have too many questions to type out so any information you can shed on your "alternate self" would be enlightening. If you are TS and adopt or construct a different identity than your inner gender, I would like to hear so too.
I hope I phrased this well enough to be understood.