Im stumped. Help me out with this.

[Steph_CD_62]

I do not hate or like the term crossdresser.
I will admit that it describes me the best since I am pure male that enjoys wearing the softer and more colorful clothes associated with what a woman would wear.
The term I have always hated was transvestite, and growing up that was the only term I had ever heard about someone like myself.

[Eryn]

We all tend to cling to various terms because, without them, we cannot have a conversation.

I don't feel that "crossdresser" really fits me well, as I think that my feelings go deeper than clothes. "Transsexual" doesn't either since it implies transitioning which I don't contemplate. I prefer to use "transgender" as it is an umbrella term that best describes my in-between situation.

To Muggles, "crossdresser" is that wierd guy whose hobby is dressing in drag. "Transgender" seems to have more serious meaning.

[wilt575]

So if they're 'just jeans' and 'just shirts', why not wear guy jeans and guy shirts? Present as a guy and express you femininity some other way. Problem solved

With my natural physique its hard to fit guy jeans and shirts. 32w 44h and "b+ " top.

[Taylor Ray]

Yes you are correct, but perhaps missing the fundamental point of the matter: society has norms.

Unfortunately, norms are part of participating in society. Waxing philosophically about semantics is interesting, and you are logically correct. But we do not exist in a vacuum.

[Jenniferathome]

Well Erica, I'm just a cross dresser so the term works perfectly for me. I suspect it works well for the majority (yet vocal minority) who visit here. In the context of this forum, "cross dresser" is both a description of some and a general catchall. There is no word that will capture the many variants of the members.

If you feel better about it, you can use transgendered for yourself.

[BLUE ORCHID]

Hi Erica, I'm not one for labels, But Crossdresser is probably the least offensive label to me.

[Kate Simmons]

We can do just about anything we want if we have the gumption. What we are called is really immaterial. How we feel about ourselves is what it's all about. We have to decide if we want to be our own person or led around by others for the most part.

[Beverley Sims]

Just call it "The Forum" and make it totally meaningless.

[Lucy_Bella]

Just call it "The Forum" and make it totally meaningless.

And that's fine if that is where you are happy at but that doesn't necessaryl mean everyone else is..To each their own ...BTW this is a support forum and thank you for that,,,

[noeleena]

Hi,

Okay what do i call a group of men who are dressed in womens clothes and i know they are men.

I did the photography for the group and is aloud to be shown .
so how do i disccribe those men to my women natal friends whats going on ,

Now when i was over the ditch in Austraila at a do for about 80 , people there were only 3 of us women natal. most of the others were........ and a few trans....... again another word to be looked at.
so do i say these are 90 % all men well my female friends thought they were women the clothes and every thing about them looked like women , and when i said you realise they are in fact all men apart from us 3 and 4 trans people,.they looked at me and said no way they look far better than them selfs,

Of cause with your detail it then would raise a few other issues that would then come up so do you have some idears of what maybe a better word or name to use, as iv said im not a .......so does not apply.

At least my many friends know what i mean when i talk about dresser's or crossdresser's. they know i know quite a few and have met some of my dresser friends,

...noeleena...

[Nikki A.]

I wear jeans, pants, panties and most of my shoes are from the woman's department but present as male. Why, because I find them more comfortable and they fit better. This doesn't make me a crossdresser, it just broadens my choices.
However when I put on makeup, a dress, wig and a bra and forms then I am crossdressing or whatever you want to call it. That is how society sees it. I don't see it as wrong but some others may see it as such.
I think that people are more confused when we dress in an androgynous mode than when we go all out in either mode.

[Elkeliini]

crossdressing is a label. take it or leave Id say. we carry many labels in life, some of them related to a role we play: child. father, sister, employee, student... then comes the ones that define our personality: lazy, creative, smart, friendly.... (endless list) and of course there are those that label how we dress: classic, casual, hip... So we carry as an individual 1000nds of labels with us, which gives a complete image of who we are. Crossdressing happens to be one of your labels. society has decided, at this point in time, what items are clothing for men and what are for women. the fact that you choose to wear the clothes designated to the opposed sex makes you a cross dresser. slap... label on. and I guess from your post casual dresser: slap another label on. That is how we all deal with diversity around us. it is impossible for a human being to give everybody the individuality. IMPOSSIBLE. there is 6billion unique individuals on this planet.

[julia marie]

I have no real problem with "crossdresser" because I'm a guy who dresses in what typically would be consider women's clothes and adds things like makeup, wig and breastforms. I present, to the best of my ability, as a woman, and I do that in public at least once a week. In private, a couple more times a week, I wear women's clothes and present as a woman only to a limited extent. Because the clothes feel right? Partly. Because I want to feel like a woman? Partly. Because I'm challenging society's rules? Again, partly.
So, "crossdresser" fits.
If we abolished that term, I like Dee's suggestion of transgender lite.

[CynthiaD]

Sure you can replace the term "crossdresser" with something else. But then some people would begin to dislike the "something else," and then you'd have to replace that with yet something else. Then some people would begin to dislike the "yet something else," and it goes on and on. Why bother? Especially since we already understand one another (mostly)?

[krissygurl]

I think everyone feels differently about themselves. I have no desire to be a woman full time, but dressing as one and feeling like one gives me a sense of completeness. So if you connect the two, I'm a male who enjoys dressing as a female or I guess you could say crossdresser. I'm not offended by it, but I can see where if a person feels more feminine or in fact feels like a female it would be offensive. If that were me I would call myself transgendered or transexual. My two cents.

[Christen]

I love your thoughts but I think it's not us who get to decide the labels applied. We just do what we do, feel how we feel. It's always going to be someone else who decides what name to call us.
For me, crossdresser is OK. It's what I do, as Jen says, but I do really like Carla's 'Ultimate Extreme Ninja Gender Pirates', aaarrrggh!!

Christen x

[Erica Marie]

I guess to clarify this a little bit, Im not upset with the term, Im just thinking it is time to get rid of it and treat everyone as individuals.

I mean if I have on womens jeans and a cute top, Im still just me right.

If you are at the mall and your S/O says "Look hon there is a crossdresser over there" your reply should be "No thats just Jim from work, he isnt a crossdresser that is just what he likes, besides that sure is a cute skirt he has on"

Im not saying it is totally a bad term but if we treat each other as individuals then in time no one will care how we present. Am I way off base with this?

[Krisi]

I'm fine with "crossdresser". It's short and to the point. It's a lot better than "tranny".

[Zylia]

I don't get how being a cross-dresser (i.e. a descriptive term) and being an individual are mutually exclusive. You have a gender, clothes have a 'gender' and there's a descriptive term for people who wear clothes made for the opposite gender, namely cross-dresser. You present as 'yourself', but also as a woman while you identify as a guy (as far as I know). You're a cross-dressing individual because you cross-dress based on current cultural norms and values.

Doing away with the gender binary and in effect the gender division (e.g. different clothes for different genders) is a pipe dream, practically nonsensical and defeats the point of cross-dressing. Cross-dressers are a product of the gender binary, not a subversion.

[kimdl93]

The other day on the Writers Almanac, I read a quote from a philosopher, Ludwig Wittgenstein, who wrote: "The limits of my language are the limits of my mind. All I know is what I have words for." And, "Uttering a word is like striking a note on the keyboard of the imagination

[sexycindy]

Personally I don't like the use of labels for anything as it brings certain things to peoples minds, so the label of disabled usually brings an image of someone in a wheelchair to mind. so I am against labels anyway.

But with regards to the term crossdress, I feel it brings an image of a guy in drag (much like a pantomime dame) to peoples minds. Also it seems to mainly be used for males dressing in female clothes, yet it is acceptable and no labels as such for a female wearing male clothes. So the term seems old fashioned and a bit sexist.

[S. Lisa Smith]

I am not a transexual in that I don't want to be a woman full time. I was not born in the wrong body. I enjoy being a man. That being said, I love to dress as a woman. When I am dressed that way, I want to be perceived as a woman. I want to be one of the girls. I crossdress so I am a crossdresser. Hard to explain? Yes! However, I do consider myself transgendered.

[natcrys]

In Dutch.. we don't have a one-on-one translation of the word "crossdresser", so I just tell my friends I like to express my feminine side and wear clothes/shoes/make-up that make me feel as such.

I personally don't have anything against the word "transvestite" or the Dutch "travestiet", but I do see my fellow T's cringe whenever that word is uttered, so I like to keep it pleasant.

So yeah,. transgender, transgender, t-girl.. that's what I use describe myself when I want to be bit more accurate.. but "crossdresser" is fine too.

In the grand scheme of things.. the discussion of these words don't mean much to me.

[Tracy Hazel Lee]

Yes, we could stop using the term, but replace it with what?

It's most basic definition explains, pretty well, what the term means. Wearing clothing normally meant for the opposite gender. (At least from the view of society).

Would you rather say all that, or just say 'crossdresser' ?. A lot easier in my opinion.

People are going to attach their own meanings to the term, no matter what. I don't let it bother me. I know what I am, I am a crossdresser.

[Katey888]

Yes you are correct, but perhaps missing the fundamental point of the matter: society has norms.

Unfortunately, norms are part of participating in society. Waxing philosophically about semantics is interesting, and you are logically correct. But we do not exist in a vacuum.

I would support Taylor's view and that we are back to waxing and whining like the phases of the Moon... but it is true that others will use the label and the connotation to categorise us collectively and as individuals.

If I get to choose my own label, then bagsy I have "SnazzyDresser"...

Katey x