Many of us started dressing at an early age. For those of you who started dressing before adolescence, how did you see yourself as a child: male, female, mixed, or neither? And how do you see yourself now?
I began cross-dressing when I was five, and recall my self-image being mixed. For example, my mom helped me make a Wonder Woman costume that I wore often, and I had several dolls (ultrasound was not used widely back then). My name even seemed female. I did not believe I was a girl, however.
Today, I feel more female, but still mixed. Examining my body and hearing my voice reminds me that I am not a woman. Working in a virtually all-female setting, I often feel masculine - even when wearing mascara and a ladies’ crew-neck. So, my mind remains somewhere in-between genders, which can be fun and also maddening. I cherish the time I spend fully dressed; it is my craft and I enjoy it. Living in this mixed, gender-fluid state is certainly much better than repressing myself. It often leaves me and my friends a bit confused, however.