Levels of Crossdressing

[Lacey New]

I probably would have made a great spy since i am pretty much "Secret Agent Man" about my crossdressing. Even though I have purchased and tried on a dress at a Dress Barn a ways from my home, I have never otherwise outed myself to any of the SAs. Although, based on the sizes I purchase might be a give-away. I always pay with cash (small un-marked bills) , refuse to give a name or phone number. And, I have several rather secure (I think) hiding places for my stash.

[nikinylons]

Hi Janet,

Great post! We are all on our own journeys, at different places, and in different environments. I've been CDing for 30 plus years and have reached the pinnacle of my journey where now it's all about the enjoyment of doing it. I went through the OMG these pantyhose feel amazing sexual dominance part, to sharing it with a girlfriend, to purging, going through a marriage where she didn't really accept it but rather patronized it, to now where my wife and I share a pantyhose drawer. We've been out a few times and it was exhilarating to say the least, but living in a rural area, those opportunities are limited. We are fortunate to have a large piece of property so I can go outside at will and do what I want when I want. (except when I see the FedEx guy driving up LOL) Everyone gets their fix by different things in different ways. Some girls crave going out dressed. Some like pink lipstick and some like dark red. Some like to smoke VS 120's and to others it's repulsive. Some girls like panties and not pantyhose. Some SO's know, some don't. Some are bi, some are straight. Etc. The beauty of the individuality of CDing just fascinates me to no end. Reading about all of our failures, victories, questions, discoveries on here reminds me how proud I am to know both sides of me equally and the bold steps I have take to confess and explain to my closest friends both male and female. Btw, this forum is filled with good people who all share the same passion. Some get offended easily and some don't, so don't hesitate to ask questions, just take it all in stride. Strut on girl and enjoy the journey.

[Jodie_Lynn]

A nice concept in that there ARE so many different types of crossdressing experiences ranging from "I occasionally like to wear ______" to "I am living full time and in Transition".

With that in mind, I think a classification chart would have a lot more 'levels' and each level would have a large subset of qualifying categories, with a lot of (ahem) cross over with other levels and sub-levels. I think it would be more complex than mapping the human genome!

[Micki_Finn]

My only issues is with the use of the word “levels”. This implies that one person’s dressing is “better” or “more evolved” and assumes everyone has the same goal of “becoming a woman”. I think if you had referred to them as “categories” and hadn’t associated graduated degrees with each your post would have been better received.

[Janie Jane]

As intelligent humans we seek to be able to understand things, and perhaps most often, ourselves. Society tells me I'm wrong to love wearing skirts, but it feels great, so I seek answers. No dysphoria, no cognitive dissonance, just a "need" to understand what's going on, especially a late bloomer such as myself.
No one wants to be categorized by others, at least in a negative way, but categorizing ourselves along what is really a spectrum can help me to understand who I am. JanetM's categories helps me feel that there are others a lot like me, and keeps me from feeling alone. The problem would be if I had the inability to change that self-categorization as facts and feelings change. I want to know more about myself and that's why I'm here. Broad categories help me do this.
Jane