To say that genes have no control over behavior is to misapprehend the question. Genes can in some cases "control" behavior. But in most cases, genes can have an influence on behavior. The degree of influence can be quite significant. Simply because genes do not control behavior in the same manner as eye color, the role of genetics cannot be so facilely dismissed.
Last edited by Samantha Clark; 05-27-2014 at 07:34 PM. Reason: Grammar
Putting the y (chromosome) in girly!
Although some members will disagree, a popular theory for the crossdressing (and not transsexualism) is that it came about by early sexual imprinting. People will say they are not sexual when they're little and it's true that little kids don't have sex. But one's sexual development does start in the toddler years:Originally Posted by Rachel Morley
http://kidshealth.org/parent/growth/...elopment.html#
Kids do discover quite early (3-5 years old) that touching themselves feels good for example. And I remember having intense crushes on boys at an early age, in fact I think that my first love was Mighty Mouse! Seriously. I was six years old. I can still remember the feeling when I heard, "Here, I come to save the day!" I would get butterflies in my stomach when I watched the cartoon. (And sadly, for most of my adult life I did believe that men's purpose was to save the day. I think I had a Cinderella syndrome.)
You describe some pretty powerful elements that might well have imprinted your eventual desire to crossdress: the intensity of the feeling as you tried on a piece of clothing worn by a girl you especially liked, and the excitement associated with the taboo.
A number of different things could easily imprint a multitude of CDers at an early age.
Not to go on and on, but my SO had an insight about how an insignificant incident when he was little, affected fears that he had as an adult. This has nothing to do with gender, but the principle is the same. Their family was driving in a rough neighborhood in a large city that was predominately black. He heard his father say, "I'm locking the doors". (Sorry for the non-PC story, but this was beyond my SO's control and it happened 50 years ago). Anyway, as a young man he often needed to pass through that neighborhood and he couldn't figure out why he felt nervous, until he remembered where that had come from when he was a child. A 2 second incident when he was 6, informed reactions he had when he was 20. For some reason, the urgency in his father's voice made a strong impression on my SO.
I think we are a conglomerate of our past experiences, even seemingly insignificant ones.
Reine
And this, can be the biggest problem. Even in therapy, we can only even consider that which we remember. All the little, 'insignificant', even ever so brief events can have long term impacts on who we become, and who we are. And when it comes to things we either don't want to remember, or subconsciously repress, it's all still there, affecting the rest of our lives, whether we're able to acknowledge it, or not.
Some causes of crossdressing you've probably never even considered: My TG biography at:http://www.crossdressers.com/forums/...=1#post1490560
There's an addendum at post # 82 on that thread, too. It's about a ten minute read.
Why don't we understand our desire to dress, behave and feel like a girl? Because from childhood, boys are told that the worst possible thing we can be, is a sissy. This feeling is so ingrained into our psyche, that we will suppress any thoughts that connect us to being or wanting to be feminine, even to the point of creating separate personalities to assign those female feelings into.
Actually, little kids apparently DO have sex. (see recent news article below) Anyone saying kids are not sexual are denying basic biology. We're born with a sex drive, whether we recognise it or not. By the way, this article will turn most parents stomachs!
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...line-porn.html
Sometimes-miss, my guess is most truly don't remember that insignificant moment but whether that's because they've subconsciously blanked it out or because they were too young is anyone's guess. Hypnotherapy and ordinary old therapy would probably clear up a lot of the confusion I often read here.
Last edited by Tinkerbell-GG; 05-28-2014 at 03:33 AM.
My mother took DES and IMHO that's what did it
http://diethylstilbestrol.co.uk/gender-identity/
It's pretty much accepted in the Transgender community that no one has any concrete evidence as to why this phenomenon happens. For those who feel that they are a girl trapped in a boy's body, acceptance is pretty easy. For those of us who are quite happy being boys and girls, it's not quite so easy. Especially when we take one of those gender tests on the Internet and we come up 100 % boy!
Lynn Marie
Click here to see me on Flickr
Paula, I just read your posting on DES. Thank you for the link. My mind is spinning as my mother took DES for several years before I was born. Now comes the research.
Sarah Adams, mature girl from NH. My photos are on Flickr under vintage4sarah !
I have tried to answer this question for years. No one thing or person influenced it. I simply liked the feel of undergarments and one day I decided try it on, and the rest is history. I guess lingerie caused me to become a crossdresser. Well, I'm glad I became one!! I'm loving every minute of it!
I like to wear dresses, make-up, and high heeled shoes.
[SIZE=3]Stacye Rose[/SIZE]
[SIZE=2]Cleverly disguised as a normal contributing member of society[/SIZE]
So many varying experiences, some that can (or think they have) pinpointed and exact moment or action. While for some I truly believe crossdressing is a choice and probably a fetish.
So for me, I don't know what caused me to be a crossdresser other than it is who I am and how I was born. Let me go down the list:
- I was an only child
- I don't recall either of my parents ever telling me they were hoping for a girl
- My parents divorced when I was 9, the rest of the time I was rasied by my Father who remained single
- As a child, I played with war with my guy friends, but was just as comfortable and happy playing clapping games with my girl friends during recess and on field trips. I climbed trees with both my guy and girl friends!
- I did have a pink Care Bear growing up, until my first dog adopted it as her own (Could this be it?)
So looking back, I never had a direct influence but I was always a little bit more feminine. I know that I always had an attraction to girls and I liked how they dressed, acted, and looked but until about 12 years old never thought that was me. Around 12 is when I know I became actively aware that I was different. What triggered the awareness was when I first tried on girl's clothing and instantly felt the butterflies in my tummy when I looked into the mirror, and I just felt and looked right. Even though that is how I felt, I didn't truly understand this feeling until later in life when I learned that I wasn't the only one that felt that way. Up until that and because of social norms that were taught, I felt ashamed and embarrassed. Whew, am I glad that phase is over!
And here I am today, open about myself to most of the world and happy about it waiting to the day I get to live more of a full time life!
--Charlene
Admiration of womens clothings. They have so many different types and styles than guys. Accessories and all the other fun stuff. That's what drawn my attention
I tried to track the study produced by Scott P Kerlin "Prenatal Exposure to Diethylstilbestrol (DES) (2004)". It apparently was presented at a conference, but I can find no evidence that it was published in any peer reviewed journal.
Here's the study:
http://www.desaction.org/documents/S...LINRpt2005.pdf
There is also a CNN news article that is a cut and paste of the wording provided in your link:
http://ireport.cnn.com/docs/DOC-811910
I could find no other reference to Kerlin's study and I'm wondering if it was not published because his work is unsubstantiated.
There is evidence, however, that DES caused physical abnormalities in male sons: non-cancerous epididymal cysts and some other genital abnormalities, and a slight issue of infertility:
From the CDC.gov: http://www.cdc.gov/des/consumers/abo...ects_sons.html
Here's another report from the desaction.org, that additionally states there are possibly higher incidents of testicular varicoceles (swollen varicose vein on the testicles), along with the possibility of testicular and prostrate cancer. They do say there is no evidenced-based research in human populations showing that homosexuality, transgender and transexualism are at issue:
http://www.desaction.org/dessons.htm
Last, here are study links from scholar.google on the myriad physical efffects of DES. I've only clicked on the first few links, and the only references to gender identity state there are no significant differences between DES children and the general population.
http://scholar.google.com/scholar?q=...&as_sdt=0%2C14
My concern is, a belief that DES causes gender identity issues might be an all too convenient way to explain away the crossdressing for those who look for explanations, even though there does not appear to be any evidence.
Reine
far back as I can remember I liked looking at the lingerie adds in the newspaper. later in life a female family friend that had been staying with us left a box of clothes behind.. I was disappointed when my mother found the box and threw it away.
Those pantyhose laying on the floor. Had to try them and was hooked.
" In my early childhood I was trying to gain contact with my mother" .. well in my case I can certainly relate to that, my mother and father separated when I was about three years old, and, unusually, my mother relinquished custody of me to my father after a few weeks or months, as a result I was raised first by my paternal grandmother and then, from age six, by a hostile stepmother ( "hostile" by her own recent admission). My first crossdressing experience occurred when I tried on some very feminine knickers from my grandmother's drawer at about three, when granny caught me I told her that I was "playing babies". I did read a theory once that cross-dressing in males is rooted in early separation from one's mother, and there may well be something in this in your case (emotional), and mine (physical) ? It's not true in all cases though, as anyone who has read through the many threads on the topic here will know, and I certainly can't say that my very secret and suppressed childhood feelings that I SHOULD have been born a girl all stem from this ..
.. just like you, at puberty it became a very sexual thing, and now mainly comfort, relaxation and happiness .. and a bit of fun
It's complicated, then again it's simple ... where did I put that skirt?
They wouldn't know though, Brenda, as early childhood memory is fleeting and subjective. Every single member here might have one significant thing in common yet we will never know unless we perform hypnotherapy and other rigorous research on them.
Hmmmm....would that be so wrong??
It's complicated, maybe genetic or DES, the way my mom raised me or that I'm really a woman trapped, I don't know. Physically I am nothing like any of the men in my family, A good 50 pounds and 3 to 4 inches shorter.
Some of my first vivid memories are of playing with the two girls who used to mind my while my parents worked when I was between 3 and 6. Some of the time when I was at their house (they were sisters, aged 13-17 roughly) they used to put make-up and jewelry on me, and I remember absolutely loving it.
Whether that is what caused me to start, or whether I would have developed this way regardless of those events, I guess there will never really be a way of knowing that.
For me it all started with an innocent curiosity about pantyhose. Once I put them on for the first time there was no turning back. Eventually my curiosity extended to other forms of female clothing and enjoying the tactile sensations eventually led me to dressing completely. Liking how my legs looked in nylon originally, and liking how they looked in nylon under a skirt even better brought me through the "looking glass." I think of myself as a red blooded guy who happens to have a wider range of clothing tastes than most.
my feminine side.
Chickens should be allowed to cross the road without having their motives questioned
My favorite among the responses to a thoughtful question. I think I just fell in love! Thanks for making my day.
Simply an avid clothing enthusiast...
After I watched TV news about transwoman people(I was only 8 years old), I wanted to have female breast and enjoyed wearing a bra.
Last edited by missmars; 05-30-2014 at 12:39 PM.
I honestly dont know the moment when i became a crossdresser. There was not one moment when i was like "kk now i wear girls clothes too" its just always been a part of me. I had a good childhood and was not repressed or anything. I have always dressed flamboyant even when not in fem clothes, and i did not start really dressing alot till recently.
Short version, i like girls clothes, i like being a girl sometimes.
For Me I was around 12 or so and had always had a fascination with lingerie in catalogs. One night after getting out of the shower I saw that my sister had laid her clothes out for school the next day and I thought I should find out what these pretty things were all about so I tried on the bra and panties and I was hooked. I also found something else to to keep my young mind racing but that's another story!
Jamey
I can't remember that far back. My earliest memory of wanting to dress was maybe three years old. So what caused this love of things feminine? Maybe a hold over of a previous female life?
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