The future of CD?

[Bima]

If you would speculate freely, what does the future hold for crossdressers and/or crossdressing?

For example, will the acceptance for CDs/CDIng in the society increase or reduce?

Will the borders between how women and men dress get erased?

Will scientific progress enable m2f bodyswapping on a whim? ;-)

Feel free to speculate what the future, say in 25 years time from now or any given time horizon, may be likely to look like.

Let's have some fun! :-)

/Bima

P.S. No need to respond on the particular 3 questions above, unless you want to. They merely aim to stimulate and exemplify the discussion.

[kimdl93]

25 years from now, it will be possible to convey your consciousness, thoughts, all your memories to a vast array of quantum servers. You will live in the Internet, observe the world through interfaces as varied as refrigerators, smoke monitors and rain gauges...and while your physical body will have long since been disposed of at a rendering plant for fuel production, pet food and fertilizer, you'll be entertained by subroutines that simulate life as a physical being, gender and other attributes to be determined at random.

[Barbie Anne]

Ok I don't want to play now and I'm never watching the matrix again

[Leslie Langford]

25 years from now, it will be possible to convey your consciousness, thoughts, all your memories to a vast array of quantum servers. You will live in the Internet, observe the world through interfaces as varied as refrigerators, smoke monitors and rain gauges...and while your physical body will have long since been disposed of at a rendering plant for fuel production, pet food and fertilizer, you'll be entertained by subroutines that simulate life as a physical being, gender and other attributes to be determined at random.

You mean we're all going to end up as holograms "living" in a "Soylent Green" version of the physical world??? Yikes!

[kimdl93]

You mean we're all going to end up as holograms "living" in a "Soylent Green" version of the physical world??? Yikes!

Yes, it is inevitable. Resistance is futile.

Well, actually not everyone will be able to afford digitizations. I'm afraid pet food is the only other option.

[Marcelle]

Hi Bima,

Interesting thread . . . hmm let me put on my head scarf and gaze into my crystal ball . . . Kaza, Kaza tell me crystal ball what does the future hold? Okay, I'll get serious . . . Isha can get a bit silly sometimes so my wife tells me.

I believe CDing will become more mainstream and accepted. We are already seeing younger gals coming out to the world with all the confidence of "I am here accept me or don't but I am not going anywhere". In addition, from my own experience I find people don't care when they see me out. Probably has something to do with being too wrapped up in their own lives to worry about the guy in the dress. However, this will depend on the political will of the day. It is possible down the line that some global uber-dictator will control the destiny of all and CDing will be outlawed but I like to think that won't happen.

Will male/female dressing lines disappear. I don't think so. Blend yes but disappear no. I don't think guys will suddenly start wearing sundresses just because it is fashionable. I also believe that even if clothing went neutral (pants, tops, shoes) there would still be subtle differences between male and female neutral garb.

MtF swapping in 25 years time? I doubt the technology will be there. I am sure medical science will grow leaps and bounds when it comes to SRS and cosmetic procedures to make you look more feminine or masculine. Just like I am sure by that time you will be able to walk into a esthetician and say, remove all my body hair with the "Dude looks like a lady laser machine" (don' steal my idea as I am going to have that name trademarked . . . okay being silly again).

So 25 years from now . . . I like to think the future is bright for us gals . . . but then again by that time I will be hoping that they can turn back the clock on us older gals by 20 or 30 years

Crystal ball and Isha out.

Hugs

Isha

[Tina_gm]

If we continue the path we are on, it will continue to be more accepted. I think though, that the blending of styles may wax and wane. Right now we are seeing a blending of styles, specifically the mens fashions, more colors, more choices and more androgyny. That may be a phase, and I do think there will always be a definitive difference with fashions, and I actually want there to be. Although I do also think it is ok that there is a blending of fashion as well.

[mikiSJ]

I was going to post earlier, but Kim had me looking for the commercial grade aluminum foil. Now that the windows are covered....

What will CDing look like in future? My guess is that much of the more progressive cultures will have worked out clothing options such that any CDing will be indistinguishable from other people walking down the street in urban areas. Part of CDing is being able to identify with you opposite gender, in most cases, feminine. If, in the future their is little to distinguish the masculine from the feminine then CDers will need to find other methods of gender expression.

[Rhonda Darling]

After consulting the magic orb, I've determined that there are 20 possible outcomes to the question "will Crossdressing be different in the future?" Those possibilities are . . . . . . . ready for it . . . . . . .
● It is certain
● It is decidedly so
● Without a doubt
● Yes definitely
● You may rely on it
● As I see it, yes
● Most likely
● Outlook good
● Yes
● Signs point to yes
● Reply hazy try again
● Ask again later
● Better not tell you now
● Cannot predict now
● Concentrate and ask again
● Don't count on it
● My reply is no
● My sources say no
● Outlook not so good
● Very doubtful

Take your pick.

Rhonda, always behind the 8 ball.

[Ms. Alexis]

Like many I think that issues of gender will become less and less of an issue and it will be more commonplace to see people of all gender combinations out in the open. Prejudice is Prejudice, and in most modern societies we see the world around us go down the pecking order in terms of equality and freedom... Sufferage, Ethnicity, Sexual Orientation.. and someday it will get down to all of those diverse in gender. Of course it's a slow process and all overlap. Hell the first real push was for Women's rights and women still aren't treated equally even though they are 50% of the population! So Yes.. Changes are coming, but ever so Slowly. The Scary part is that in countries like Russia and all of these predominantly Muslim countries things are heading the other direction... Very Scary.

[daarleane]

If I were to speculate freely about the future. I see a fundamental change in society.As women become more independent financially primarily due to education, the whole of society will change. Already I see men in TV commercials doing "women's work" and raising the children because the woman is the "breadwinner". Do I see men's fashion changing? Probably, but very slowly because it means redefining "masculinity" and "femininity" and marriage. Darn, my crystal ball broke again, next time I won't buy one on clearance but it was so cheap and cute and it matched my decor.

[busker]

Hi Bima,
I believe CDing will become more mainstream and accepted.

Isha needs to read the NYTIMES more often even though she lives in another country.
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/22/us...e-gays.html?hp

As the US gets to be MORE conservative, it will not likely happen. Sorry, but I think that there is simply too much pink fog rolling in . If one can dress and get out in one's community without getting beat up, be thankful, enjoy, and hope your little part of the world becomes more liberal. Generally, it "ain't " going to happen. After 7 decades on the pale blue dot, I've seen liberal California turn into something else that is not really a fun place to be--yeah, maybe S.F. or parts of L.A. but the rest of the state is getting to be like the South 50 years ago. Like 12-step programs, knowing what you can or cannot change is a great part of survival.

[Leslie Langford]

Yes, busker - pretty sad to see what's happening in Arizona these days. Vladimir Putin and his ilk would feel right at home there with their homophobic politics.

But in the name of avoiding any possible hypocrisy here, one can only hope that this proposed legislation legitimizing the denial of the rights of others on the basis of individual religious views will also include a provision for legalizing polygamous marriages of the type favored by the Mormons. After all, what could be more Biblical than that? The Old Testament is full of instances of polygamy, including keeping concubines to provide offspring to family patriarchs whose wives proved to be "barren".

Of course, maybe the real reason for this "barrenness" was that these "macho" men's sperm counts were just too low, but we'll never know...

[kimdl93]

..

Of course, maybe the real reason for this "barrenness" was that these "macho" men's sperm counts were just too low, but we'll never know...

It seems like years ago when I read about how PCBs were reducing male sperm counts, how estrogens levels in male Florida panthers were higher than female panthers and male alligator penises were 25% smaller. The article suggested that Congress might be concerned because objectively they were half the men they thought they were. My brother countered that Congress would be happy that they were half the pricks they thought they were!

[Marcelle]

Isha needs to read the NYTIMES more often even though she lives in another country.
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/22/us...e-gays.html?hp

Well thank you kindly for the "reality check". Sorry don't read the NYTimes as it has too much of a conservative agenda for this Liberal Canadian gal. If you note by my comment I said "I believe it is getting more mainstream". I am not naïve enough to believe there are still challenges. But I stand corrected . . . duly noted from my little corner of Narnia.

Hugs

Isha

[Jeninus]

All other things being equal, it is likely that with greater acceptance of gay marriage, CDers will also find greater acceptance - in general. In the particular, not so much as we will still need to come out to family, friends and our employers and coworkers, where acceptance, being personal, is far more problematic. There will also always be aggressive males who will prey on CDers whom they perceive as weak and a disgrace to the male side - not to mention snot-nosed 12-year old girls and their shrill - "eeeh, isn't that a man in a dress?" questions.

On the macro social scale, the same side of the political spectrum that seeks the votes of the LBGT community (and their political contributions) is also easing the way for an ever-increasing influx of adherents of the "religion of peace" (for their votes) that holds it's OK to stone rape victims to death and mutilate the genitals of young girls. If that crowd gets to set laws and social norms in the future (looking 50 - 75 years ahead), we'll be deep in the closet again. That's for CDing. On a slightly brighter note, it should be remembered that Iran has a religiously approved and relatively liberal policy on SRS, so it may become a choice of cutting off your CDing, or cutting off your "thing."

[MeDeanna]

I love this question because I do think the path of evolution is bringing us as a civilization closer to accepting the fact that male/female traits exist in every individual. I believe the LGBT community is evidence that like anything living in this world, nature does not have hard-and-fast rules for homo sapiens.

But, there are days when being yourself is an uphill battle.

[Sheren Kelly]

My expectation is over the coming years we will continue to make advances due to those brave souls who are willing to live openly and true to themselves, while there will be setbacks as some marginal people will try to excuse their failings as gender related (for every 2 steps forward, 1 step back). But eventually there will be an acceptance of diversity in gender and other aspects of life. Individual TG people will become a part of everyday life and find themselves being judged/objectified for their appearance much like GGs are today.

[Ineke Vashon]

Twenty five years from now I will be a centenarian, sitting in my rocking chair going: "Harrumpph. Why, in my day......"

However, to use just one example of rapid change, recall the sudden long hairstyles on men after the Beatles had been in the US. Can happen in small ways or big ways.

Ineke

[mykell]

i believe it has already evolved, the younger clubbing sect was never seen and most likely never be accepted in my youth.

i hope that the borders remain, i think that is why i have fun with it. but thoughts of "ruby" "Buzzzzzzt" in "the fifth element" come to mind.
hope in the future we will all receive the rock star treatment of a reality show judge that can wear women's clothes next to one of the more beautiful women of this time (i have some of her clothing line) and not even here a weird comment about it.
then later see that person in full femme.

i remember a movie where they invented a machine that could record your thoughts and feelings, then someone else could play it back and and have those sensations, always wanted it to be true, and one day feel what it really does feel to be a women, not just pretend.
so maybe something like that in the future since your talking 25 years, but i wont be around to see it....

[Helen Grandeis]

Many companies now have firm policies that their employees must be able to recite requiring equal treatment of CD customers.

[Tina B.]

Played this game back in the 50's, I'm still waiting for my flying car, I' think I'll pass on this one, I don't want to depress anyone.

[sometimes_miss]

If you would speculate freely, what does the future hold for crossdressers and/or crossdressing? For example, will the acceptance for CDs/CDIng in the society increase or reduce?

We will become more accepted, just like homosexuality and minorities have, to the point where we won't be noticed much.

Will the borders between how women and men dress get erased?

Probably not so much; men will dress in ways that we think will get women to notice us, and women will do the reverse. Appearance is the primary thing that we notice about another, way before we know anything else about someone we're attracted to.

Will scientific progress enable m2f bodyswapping on a whim? ;-)

Not likely in the even near future. That will stay in science fiction.

While gender bending in general will increase in visibility, I don't think there will be any great change in what women find attractive and/or a sexual turn on in their men, nor will there be much of a change in what turns them off (feminine behavior/appearance which could make our masculinity suspect). So much of attraction is based on subconscious thoughts and beliefs, what people like to refer to as chemistry (although psychologists have figured it all out, most don't want to believe that, preferring to believe in magical thinking, fate, a higher power directing their lives, etc.).

[Michelle789]

Will scientific progress enable m2f bodyswapping on a whim? ;-)

Not likely in the even near future. That will stay in science fiction.

Nothing is science fiction. Anything that seems like science fiction to us today is science reality tomorrow. I'm pretty sure that in 1914 if you told someone that you could use a device in the palm of your hand to talk to someone half way across the world, or to gain information about any subject under the sun, they would've called science fiction on you. Yet, today the internet and smart phones are reality.

Now there may be political agendas or ethical issues with body swapping, and it may take a long time to get to perfecting it, but I would never rule out any such possibility. Yeah, it probably won't happen in our lifetimes, but the future generations may see it. Maybe such a technology is 1000 years away.

As the US gets to be MORE conservative, it will not likely happen. Sorry, but I think that there is simply too much pink fog rolling in . If one can dress and get out in one's community without getting beat up, be thankful, enjoy, and hope your little part of the world becomes more liberal. Generally, it "ain't " going to happen. After 7 decades on the pale blue dot, I've seen liberal California turn into something else that is not really a fun place to be--yeah, maybe S.F. or parts of L.A. but the rest of the state is getting to be like the South 50 years ago. Like 12-step programs, knowing what you can or cannot change is a great part of survival.

"parts of L.A" - so are you implying that if parts of L.A. are accepting that other parts of L.A. are like the deep south was 50 years ago? Please tell me which parts, so I can avoid them.

If California is turning into the deep south the way it was 50 years ago, then will the deep south revert back to the way it was in 1814?

I can see some parts of the US getting more conservative. But I think in large cities, it's getting more progressive and more accepting of CDing and TSes. Also, the big cities are most likely where you will go to for high paying jobs, and as the future progresses more of the younger generation is moving into big cities and out of the rural and suburban areas.

I also think that money drives everything. A lot of what is accepted and not accepted will depend on how much money is involved. A lot of what does occur in technological development will depend on how much money it makes.

I can see more people working from home where htey will have more opportunities to dress.

Working from home, that's a major if. I think more jobs will eventually allow flexibility in hours, and working part of the job from home and part of it from the office. Our survival instincts may prevent us from working from home completely. Hint: if a big disaster occurs and pushes us back 5000 years in technology, no one is working from home. It's our survival instincts keep us in the office, as well as some old generation people who run businesses that are stuck in old ways of doing things.

I will disagree with Busker about older people becoming more conservative. While they may do so in some ways, their broad range of experiences often make them more tolerant of others. The people we should be concerned about are the young and middle-age redneck types who often act before engaging their brains. Those are the ones that commit violence against TG people.

Yes the younger rednecks have more testosterone and are more driven towards acts of violence than some old redneck. The old redneck may still reject their transgender child, but unlikely to commit murder. It is the older generation that is driving most of the anti-gay, anti-trans, legislation in this country. In 20 years they'll all be dead so there will be few people to push such legislation. Most of the younger generation wants to see progress for gays and transgender people.

most women aren't going to like CD with their significant others more in the future than they do now.

That's because most women want a man 100% of the time. The women who will accept their CDing husbands (or TS ones too) are generally tomboys or more masculine women. Some masculine women may want a CD so they can swap roles sometimes.

[Melissa in SE Tn]

I see a very bright future ahead for our lifestyle. There is no question that the pendulum of cd stigma is swinging from contempt to ambivalence; not yet full acceptance but ranging with ambivalence. That range has come because of the army of cders that venture out into public + the volumes of men who are closeted cders + the greater demonization of our culture + the legal / societal advances of the LGBT movement. What I have randomnly observed is that there are many more men , then statistically estimated, that enjoy wearing some form of female clothing / undergarments . It is no secret that wearing female undergarments is sexual, peaceful & wonderful. What man can honestly deny those factors?
It has been well spoken by my forum colleagues that the younger generation of cders will face a totally different cd environment when they reach middle age. That generation is so fortunate. Again, the only constant in life is change... & the cd evolution of acceptance ( even if passive ) cannot be stopped because our numbers grow exponentially . Peace to all, Melissa