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Thread: Another day out as a MIAD

  1. #1
    Senior Member phili's Avatar
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    Another day out as a MIAD

    Hi All,
    My mom went into the hospital, and I realized, here is a place like a college where people are generally good-natured, have a wide public to deal with, and.. I had to wait through the surgery, and went to a department store and browsed dresses. This was a high end place with concierge fitting rooms, and the sweet young woman SA just said 'Of course!" with a friendly smile when I said I wanted to try my selections on. I was in drab at the time. One of them was so nice I bought it, and said I wanted to wear it out of the store, so she opened up another fitting room for me, and was very friendly all along. Back I went to the hospital, and had a wonderful day. As is always reported, most people ignore, a few look with either positive or wary interest, and no one gives me any trouble. I on the other hand, am reveling in the truth of it al.

    The liberating thing about being a MIAD is that it also means Me in a Dress. In my bad old childhood days I would seek out and put on anything that remotely looked like a dress, and it was so strained and symbolic, it was awful- looking back. At the time it was a relief. Today I am reveling in the fact that I can shop freely and find wonderful clothes matching my jealous visions of females, and I can dress like them and feel like them. More on that later.

    I am reporting from the Other Side, from that place where we can put on the cute dress, the formal dress, the summer dress, etc. and wear it out in the world as a MIAD, a "man in a dress".

    1. As is often noted in other threads, the more freedom I get, the more I want. The more I do it, the more normal I feel, the better I feel, and the fear and shame are gone. There is no denying feeling like yourself.

    2. Yes, what I and many others may wish for is real. it is wonderful to be able to wear a lightweight dress in the breeze, swirling hem letting the wind dance with my thighs! It is such a nice feeling as I walk or stand, and I can't believe my good fortune to be able to enjoy it at last. I also even enjoy that it is in turns slightly annoying and yet titillating to have to find a subtle touch to keep my dress from blowing up too far in gusts. I don't want it looking like I didn't realize it was not the right dress for windy days! Yes, I do perspire in it, but less than in most other things I could be wearing. Yes, a slip adds a wonderful feeling of caressing my torso as I move, and hides my nipples, but can add to the sweating! In a dress underwear becomes more of the dominant below the waist sensation, so I really enjoy testing out a variety, and have realized that I have an advantage here over women in that the movement of underwear interacts with the exterior anatomy in nice ways, without it being visible to others, and it is lovely to be able to enjoy that too, just as I had imagined.

    Yes, a dress attracts attention, and a hundred judgments on everything from its length to pattern to fit etc. It takes a lot of energy to wear a dress.

    3. GGs observing me know all about all of this, and they know we are sisters in that knowledge. It is a little disconcerting to some, as in 'why would a man who has all the power want to harness himself in a dress?' Others probably find some poetic justice - "well, he's giving it a try, and now he knows what we go through! ". And as a corollary, they feel less imprisoned, or more free to expand.

    4. Most people read me correctly as having my heart on my sleeve. I feel significantly more at ease with harmless, considerate, non-threatening and non-posing conversation pouring out of me. There is no doubt I know that I am presenting a mixed picture, but my confidence and choice of outfit says I am at peace with being a mirl, a mix. That lets others feel comfortable too. SAs both male and female just see another unique customer. I feel I am making the world safer for all crossdressers by being out and about.

    5. No more wishful fantasizing, I have arrived to where I am free to dress. However, as GGs find, every outfit has its risks. On me, there is an extra risk they don't have- I also want people to make room for something new and a bit confusing at first. It is a fact that people are people, and change is hard, and people have to have a reason to agree with some new point you are making.

    6. Success infused quickly over into the rest of my life. Going out and finding that people are ok when I am feeling natural, and no one dies, especially me, means I am actually living my normal way. I now find myself feeling very feminine more of the time, which is the lost part revived. I feel manly in many ways as well, and all my parts coexist perfectly- I am not in conflict with myself. My split is vanishing. I am discovering that what I thought was normal was a very restricted state, and all that is melting away.
    Last edited by phili; 07-23-2017 at 09:18 AM.
    We are all beautiful...!

  2. #2
    Gold Member Dana44's Avatar
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    Phili, Nice thread. Yes it is so nice for ourselves to be out and about. I did not shave this morning and we went to Walmart to buy a hand brace for my SO. We then went about the store.. I asked her if my whiskers was showing. She said yes looking at me and said nobody else will notice. And they didn't. It is so nice to be out as yourself. Yes we all feel feminine at odd times and we never have to declarer our identity.
    Part Time Girl

  3. #3
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    Phili,
    I'm sure you appreciate I'm all or nothing with my dressing so I still can't understand the in between phase.

    So one question do you feel you are truly comfortable in the MIAD state, or is there something that is holding you back from total dressing ?

    I couldn't live with the possibility of being openly called a weirdo, it may not have happened to your face but I'm sure it has behind your back, OK it may have also happened to me .

    From my own dressing history dressing just in the clothes was grabbed moments for sexual reasons and I do wonder if many people would associate your appearance with it being a sexual message , maybe something you should have grown out of .OK you are declaring your identity but what as ? MIAD is something the public will struggle to get their heads round as it's not one thing or the other, maybe lampooning both genders to some people.

    I couldn't do it personally because of my need to be seen and accepted as a woman , but Eddie Izzard does it all the time , apart from I don't recall the last time Eddie was seen in a dress or skirt if at all .

  4. #4
    Transgender Person Pat's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by phili View Post
    The liberating thing about being a MIAD is that it also means Me in a Dress.
    Philli - Awesome insight. As usual. Sounds like you had a great, affirming time which is good because you had enough stress to deal with by having your Mom in the hospital. it's fun that in this thread we have folks on different paths but who have the same motivation -- getting to who we are. Thanks for posting.
    I am not a woman; I don't want to be a woman; I don't want to be mistaken for a woman.
    I am not a man; I don't want to be a man; I don't want to be mistaken for a man.
    I am a transgender person. And I'm still figuring out what that means.

  5. #5
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    Phili,
    Your MIAD experiences are encouraging; many thanks for sharing. I hope some day to feel as free as you do and wear skirts and more feminine tops when out an about. Weekends I am out an about in women's casual attire (i.e. jeans and tees or polo), jewelry, and handbag but sans wig. With each step out the door I too become more comfortable. But I hope to go beyond this someday and fully present as a woman like Teresa and others do.
    Michele

  6. #6
    Senior Member phili's Avatar
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    Thanks, Pat- Yes- end-of-life reminding stresses are great prompts for taking new steps to reconcile ourselves with ourselves, and yes affirming- at last.

    Dana- very cool to have such a frank and intimate relationship with your wife- and as we know GGs have unwanted hair to contend with. I have found a warm reception when I have said to women- "Part of this is saying "if I don't have to shave, neither do you!"

    Or conversely, we can all shave and enhance ourselves as much as we want!

    Teresa, I have never been one who liked makeup on others, and in the 60s I was a 'natural high' - no drugs, no frills hippie. Second important part of my not wanting to present as a woman is that I am not one, and I see my contribution here as saying that being a male is not a limiting factor. And that we don't have to be in one camp or the other. Some MIADs say I just like the clothes. Others, like me, say I want to enter feminine space without changing my anatomy or trying to pass. This is not a criticism of those who feel differently. I am really happy to say that being on this Forum is a great education in the diversity of how we feel, and we are lucky to have found a place to meet and share.

    I have found myself as a mirl, a girlish boy still alive and happy. I no longer am struggling to find myself in the darkness of repression and oppression. This makes me perfectly comfortable and fully supportive with others finding themselves and their expression. I was uncomfortable with all out dressing of others when I was when I was struggling, as it didn't resonate with me as a personal solution, and yet was clearly addressing my issues. I think this applies to many men and women who have difficulty with crossdressing- they are uncomfortable with their own state with respect to gender. They may rely on tradition, or scripture, or a pattern of shaming, reasons they have accepted to curb and contain their own discomfort, and which they then feel justify curbing and containing ours.

    Yes, I am also comfortable being thought a weirdo, as I am perfectly aware of my purpose and can defend it. I grew up taking pride in being able to propose or support unusual positions with confidence if I could provide unassailable logic. I admit this works because a minority of people get pleasure from calling others weirdos, and there are no culture police with whips walking around. I am VERY grateful to be living now and in a liberal and remarkably free nation.

    I started this thread to build on the interest in a previous post by Salerba on MIADs, https://www.crossdressers.com/forums...highlight=MIAD
    as it seemed that there are a decent number of us around. One of the great lessons of this Forum is how diverse we are, and as we become more understanding of each other we can begin to sort out our individual take on gender that is being addressed by crossdressing, and begin to separate out elements- i.e. crossgrooming and other aspects besides clothing. I don't know if we will find a word for 'being girlfriends' but we kind of understand it as a really different modality from what we are allowed, if men, to develop with friends.

    Being a happy MIAD is not going to appeal to anyone who is not comfortable with their own male anatomy and hormones. It seems like there are better and better solutions for that today, which makes me very glad. I support everyone's path to gender peace, and I see a lot of different niches. Some of us like to be fully in boy or girl mode, and there is not mixing. This doesn't work for me because my reality is that I feel both at the same time. What I do doesn't work for others who have a different sense of themselves.

    Those of us presenting as MIADs will have a variety of internal states, too. My happy report that the world is safe for MIADs is to encourage all who are interested to go forth, since to others we will look more or less as one group, despite the internal differences we may feel. My most wonderful discover was that completely owning it makes all the difference. I feel and act exactly as if I am perfectly normal and that is magical and helpful for everyone around me too.

    Being fully aware of who I am also relieves me of the pressure of having to show people. So I am now not feeling confined, so I can be generous about whether I am going to make it a part of my interactions for the day. I understand it makes people think, so some days it really doesn't have to complicate things without taking away from my own sense of security.
    Last edited by phili; 07-23-2017 at 09:35 AM.
    We are all beautiful...!

  7. #7
    Senior Member Tracy Irving's Avatar
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    Phili,
    I wish you nothing short of 100% success and happiness on your journey. People like you are exactly what I thought I would find when I joined this site. You are a true crossdresser. When out and about, people know you are a crossdresser. You do not add on or accessorize with wigs, makeup and padding to conceal your crossdressing desires from the public.

    Shortly after becoming a member I discovered there is so much more to crossdressing than crossdressing. Most people here enjoy the extra work required to blend in and I respect that as well. I have even taken advantage of some good advice and suggestions posted in various threads. You may be a vocal minority here but you are not without sympathizers. Keep up the good work!

  8. #8
    -1.#QNaN Lydianne's Avatar
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    Phili, I am also happy for you with the progress you have made to develop the confidence to wear what you feel most comfortable with and being happy. Btw, you are in awesome shape! .

    Best wishes to your mother for a quick recovery after being in hospital.

  9. #9
    Lisa Allisa's Avatar
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    Seems to me that you are coming to grips with your true(natural) self not just the wearing of clothes that were denoted to one gender or another. Now the feeling of the clothes makes more sense and can be enjoyed. Sounds like a "person"(piad) in a dress not a man(miad) in a dress. Oppps made another label to pigeon hole us. Seems your more fluid than you may realize yet.
    "you are a strange species and there are many out there;shall I tell you what I find beautiful about you ,you are at your best when things are at their worst" ...[ Starman]
    It may of course be a bit disturbing to sense that one is really not so firmly anchored to the gender one was born into.

  10. #10
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    OK....time for brutal self honesty here.... I've been assuming, quite incorrectly, that MIAD was simply a misspelling. DOH!

  11. #11
    Member AlanaG's Avatar
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    Phili, thanks so much for this additional post on being a MIAD. I too wondered if I would be a good fit here on this forum as that I don't try to pretend that I'm a woman with a wig and full on makeup (except for once so far). So once again I'm glad for these threads and the fact that others speak up and say "me too."

    In reference to being a weirdo, I once saw a bumper sticker that said; "Everyone is someone else's weirdo!" That was about 25 years ago, and it has stayed with me. I told my children while they were growing up that there is no such thing as "normal". It only exists in textbooks.

    I'm almost always in a skirt while not at work. Often with a woman's top, shoes or sandals also. And I love hosiery, stay ups or pantyhose. My acrylic fingernails are always painted, and in summertime my toes too. I have 3 piercings in each ear and 12 small rings on my fingers. And at I'm 6 foot and 260 lbs with a bald head, there is no way anyone is going to think that I'm a woman or even trying to look like a woman. That's OK, because I'm comfortable with being a "gender non-conforming" person.

    BTW; “Gender nonconforming” refers to people who do not follow other people’s ideas or stereotypes about how they should look or act based on the female or male sex they were assigned at birth.

    Keep on keeping on!

    [SIZE=1]- - - Updated - - -[/SIZE]

    Quote Originally Posted by Teresa View Post
    Phili,
    I'm sure you appreciate I'm all or nothing with my dressing so I still can't understand the in between phase.

    So one question do you feel you are truly comfortable in the MIAD state, or is there something that is holding you back from total dressing ?

    I couldn't live with the possibility of being openly called a weirdo, it may not have happened to your face but I'm sure it has behind your back, OK it may have also happened to me .

    From my own dressing history dressing just in the clothes was grabbed moments for sexual reasons and I do wonder if many people would associate your appearance with it being a sexual message , maybe something you should have grown out of .OK you are declaring your identity but what as ? MIAD is something the public will struggle to get their heads round as it's not one thing or the other, maybe lampooning both genders to some people.

    I couldn't do it personally because of my need to be seen and accepted as a woman , but Eddie Izzard does it all the time , apart from I don't recall the last time Eddie was seen in a dress or skirt if at all .
    Teresa, I do appreciate your posts to this forum. But I have to ask why you assume that there is something holding us MIAD's back from "total dressing'?

    I can guarantee you that you've been read many times and have been called a weirdo.

    And you don't think that people think of you "total dressing" as a sexual thing? and struggle with that?

    I hate to be so blunt, but I think your thinking cap is a little askew.

  12. #12
    Gold Member Lana Mae's Avatar
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    Phili, sounds like you are doing well on your journey! From reading your posts, I can see how much you have grown! I am so glad for you! Hugs Lana Mae
    Life is worth living!
    "Foxy lady! You look so good!!" Jimi Hendrix

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    Nylons lover GeorgeA's Avatar
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    Hello Phili,
    An excellent analysis of what we "miads" are or want to be. Like any group we are not homogeneous but have variation specific to a person. Some may use a little make-up or paint their nails, but still present as a man.
    Teresa, nothing is holding me back from total dressing, I'm just not interested in doing it. Just like I am not interested in climbing Mt.Everest. You are one of my favourite posters, your tea episode was fantastic.

    I'm so glad that "miad" terminology is catching on. I always felt the lack of properly identifying those that do not go all the way somehow constricting. Frequently, a reply to a thread could be read differently if it were known that it's coming from a miad.

    After all we are all crossdressers, and our differences are analogous to patriotic citizens of a country yet supporting different political parties.
    GeorgeA
    formerly Salerba

    "a miad" Man-in-a-Dress

  14. #14
    Non-Binary Member Krea's Avatar
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    Phili - I have really enjoyed reading your recent posts & feel that "me in a dress" is a great description of where i feel that i am. I love the look of the fem clothes and the way i feel when dressed, but do not have the desire to present as fully female or to transition. I realise that many members do wish to and that is great for them, each to their own path.

    Teresa - It's not that there is anything holding me back. There is simply not a desire to go any further.

    Perhaps my signature is the best way that i can describe my feeling - "a place that's in-between".
    "The only way is onward. There is no turning back."

  15. #15
    Senior Member phili's Avatar
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    Allisa- Thank you!!! As many have said, here, the Forum is a place for self-discovery and evolution thereby.

    PIAD is much better! I say that because the definition of 'man' or 'woman' is so fraught with suffering for so many people. Just imagine- a child is born, and the delivery room staff yell- "It's a new and wonderful person!" Very freeing, and the right start.

    The troubling confusion everyone feels when they see a crossdresser, no matter how well done up to mirror a particular norm, is exactly because we are trained from that first instant to think our biological sex anatomy is our permit to exist, be part of one of the two teams, and compete from then on by a bunch or rules for all the benefits of life, from recreational to employment, to mating and companionship.

    My subtext is man in a dress means person in a dress, and it causes everyone to rethink the meaning of dresses and the underlying reasoning that led to rules for eligibility. Or just to ignore me because it is easier than doing all that! I do my part by asserting this mostly in generic public venues, where it is easy to ignore me, yet go on their way with the message that perhaps WIAD is not a biological and cultural imperative, and there might be a good benefit from renegotiating rules for PIADs.

    There is so much that is un-, sub- or semi-conscious about what humans do, that we need conversation to bring it out and ripen it properly, and we do need to be cautious in the sense of preventing those things from harmfully distorting our more conscious actions in our relationships. Both the crossdresser and the observer are busy communicating some subset of all that we feel, and it is bound to be confusing. Hence I think we are inevitably forming our own norms= the closet CD, the fully dressed CD working to pass, the blatant MIAD, the mysterious and evocative celebrity like David Bowie, the serious and well-resourced Caitlyn Jenner, and we desperately want to avoid being the hopeless loser who can't find any support and collapses, thus proving the need for the norms!
    We are all beautiful...!

  16. #16
    Nylons lover GeorgeA's Avatar
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    Phili,
    It's a very good description of the Miad philosophy. I just wish I were as free as you, but I am slowly making gains.
    I hope your mother is OK. Hug her for me.
    GeorgeA
    formerly Salerba

    "a miad" Man-in-a-Dress

  17. #17
    New Member Whinlatter's Avatar
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    Thank you for this thread. I've been a member here for about a month now and have been struggling with quite a bit of what I've read as the underlying, almost unspoken, assumption across the forum appears to be that cross dressing is about passing as a woman.
    The miad label is one I really identify with and it's great to hear a few other similar voices.

    Stacey

  18. #18
    Junior Member karenph's Avatar
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    Phili thank you for these posts. I like the philosophical premise that you share "just wear what you want when you want" and be who you are/want to be.
    (ps - I hope your Mom is doing well)

  19. #19
    Member Lucy23's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by phili View Post
    My happy report that the world is safe for MIADs is to encourage all who are interested to go forth, since to others we will look more or less as one group, despite the internal differences we may feel. My most wonderful discover was that completely owning it makes all the difference. I feel and act exactly as if I am perfectly normal and that is magical and helpful for everyone around me too.
    Reading this thread, I just wish I could as open as you are, Phili, to the world. Maybe one day. Anyway, thank you for this and wish you luck on discovering more about you.

    I really like you underlying message about being who you are. For one, I wish that all the burden that comes with being a man or a woman would just vanish and be gone forever. As I've said numeroud times, I don't have slightest problem with being a man, it's just there are so many things that are imposed on me, that I am expected to behave in a way that is not me. Why is it like, "You want to be a man? Okay, this is what a man is supposed to be like...", and not like, "You want to be a man? Great, find your own way, be who you are and show me what a man can be!"

    Finally, Teresa, in regards to your original question to Phili, allow me to echo what has others have noted. There is really no need to go further with this, nothing is holding me back. I am satisfied with the way it is, I don't feel like a woman at all and don't need to be seen that way.

    Like Whinlatter, I too thought that the only way to go about this was present as womanly possible, with padding, make-up and wig. It is really nice to hear more about MIAD and to learn about their experiences.

  20. #20
    Nylons lover GeorgeA's Avatar
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    Lucy23 wrote:
    I really like you underlying message about being who you are. For one, I wish that all the burden that comes with being a man or a woman would just vanish and be gone forever. As I've said numeroud times, I don't have slightest problem with being a man, it's just there are so many things that are imposed on me, that I am expected to behave in a way that is not me. Why is it like, "You want to be a man? Okay, this is what a man is supposed to be like...", and not like, "You want to be a man? Great, find your own way, be who you are and show me what a man can be!"


    Let's hope it will happen one day.
    GeorgeA
    formerly Salerba

    "a miad" Man-in-a-Dress

  21. #21
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    Would like to explain to my wife that my wishing to wear skirts is just because I would like to be a PIAD. Thanks for your excellent thoughts

  22. #22
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    Wow, that left me in tears.
    I am so happy for you!!!
    You give hope to the rest of us.
    Lace and Smiles,
    Lisa

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