My life has been all about words, in a variety of professions. Still, Reine, the answer from me is that there is something pre-verbal about why we dress. The putting on of women's clothes, regardless of the softness of the fabric, sends some kind of mysterious semi-electric jolt through the body and to the brain. It feels like what I imagine an antidepressant would feel if it worked well and instantaneously.

The cost of crossdressing, as you point out, is absurdly high, so I believe we do it for a reason that transcends reason; talking about it gets us closer to the truth, but it will never take us all the way there.

That's my story; the mileage of others, of course, varies.

elizabethamy