sexual feelings

[MarinaTwelve200]

Interesting observation, LilsissyStevie. I have a touch of that myself,and often fantacize about either forcefully being dresed or being physically turned into a woman---it gets me "excited" and serves as an "Aid to mastribation" and afterwards "dissipates."----Yet I DO NOT (really) want to become a woman---which makes me think there is also a "masochistic" element also involved. Otherwise, I am a heterosexual Male, but have a low "libido" little real interest in physical sex. After years of my own self anayliss, I have discovered that my Primary reason for CDing is "Escapisim"---That is to take a "Vacation away from myself"---becomming "not me". And no one is more "Not me" than The "woman", Marina Twelve..-----All my worries, responsibilities and cares melt away from me when I am dressed. I do not have to worry about doing anything "not masculine" ---I feel "free" and "liberated" and cantotally rest and "Unwind".

Yes we are ALL very "complicated" I doubt many of us have just ONE reason for CDing. CDing does us good in many ways.

[DIANEF]

Not a sexual thing for me at all, well, not since my early teens anyway. It is all about how well I can present as a female, and how good that makes me feel.

[Pat]

Many males start crossdressing because of sexual arousal, but most seem to lose the sex connection over time while the crossdressing persists. My personal theory has always been that the extreme motivation of male sexual arousal is needed at first to push through the societal taboo of crossdressing (we all know aroused guys do crazy things) but the choice to turn to crossdressing as opposed to some other behavior is because that's a built-in preference, not a random choice. Here's a cool quote on the subject:

Sexual arousal is actually a learned phenomenon that involves classical conditioning, sometimes called Pavlovian conditioning. Classical conditioning theory also predicts the extinction of learned responses with repeated unreinforced exposure to the eliciting stimuli. TSTG behavior persists even after extinction of learned sexual arousal responses to opposite-gender clothing and presentation, indicating that sexual arousal and fetishism are not causal factors in TSTG. Surveys of transgender people also indicate that they cross-dress for relaxation not for fetishism.

Bevan, Thomas. The Psychobiology of Transsexualism and Transgenderism: A New View Based on Scientific Evidence (p. 9). ABC-CLIO. Kindle Edition.

[Rayleen]

Interesting info Pat, tks for posting.

Rayleen

[Emma S]

It's def still there for me but when I start dressing they are usually homosexual thoughts and urges whereas in my everyday life I would say I'm mostly straight with the occasional guy on guy thought.

[Robbiegirl]

Yes I definitely have sexual feeling wearing frilly lingerie !

[jeniinnylons]

This explains it:

http://www.minddisorders.com/Py-Z/Tr...fetishism.html

[candice.aihara]

My feminine wardrobe continues to give me sexual feelings. Although it can get a bit awkward at times, I somehow manage. This is especially true during the warmer months. Hehe!

[Alice B]

Stillthere, but at my age it is very limited

[Pat]

This explains it:

You're referencing an obsolete version of the DSM. In the current DSM (DSM-V) paraphilias are not considered a disorder unless it causes a problem. Cool quote from the people who re-wrote the section:

The Paraphilias Subworkgroup is proposing two broad changes that affect all or several of the paraphilia diagnoses, in addition to various amendments to specific diagnoses. The first broad change follows from our consensus that paraphilias are not ipso facto psychiatric disorders. We are proposing that the DSM-V make a distinction between paraphilias and paraphilic disorders. A paraphilia by itself would not automatically justify or require psychiatric intervention. A paraphilic disorder is a paraphilia that causes distress or impairment to the individual or harm to others. One would ascertain a paraphilia (according to the nature of the urges, fantasies, or behaviors) but diagnose a paraphilic disorder (on the basis of distress and impairment). In this conception, having a paraphilia would be a necessary but not a sufficient condition for having a paraphilic disorder.

[Barbara Jo]

Let's be honest and realistic here..
Most females feel sensual and yes. sexy (to one degree or another) when wearing certain female clothes.... if what women have told me is true.

So what is wrong or unusual for us to have those feeling also?
The difference is, when we are aroused it, presents its self with a much more physical display of arousal.
The end feeling might be a bit different but the cause is much the same IMO.

Of course, the sensual feelings about any given item can can diminish over time as familiarity with it increases ..... for females as well as us.

[--Nina--]

At first It might have bin sexual but now it more sensual. I don't get aroused when I get dressed or when dressed just love the feeling of it all. Feels right..

[Sashauk]

It may well have been for me many years ago but these days it's more to do with comfort - both physical and mental.

[SaraLin]

I'll try to throw my two cents' worth in...

Like many of you have said - in my teen and early adult years, getting dressed would be sexually arousing for me. I found myself wondering if this was some kind of fetish and not an identity thing.

But - I remember that I was dressing even as a little kid, long before the sexual element kicked in. and even after the erotic thrill of dressing has passed, the dressing continues.

So what's going on??

Well, in my case I think I've figured it out. As a male I've always felt about as sexy as a dried out lump of silly putty. The body parts are wrong. the body hair is ugly. All that.

But put me in a dress and I can begin to feel desirable. the more feminine I can get myself looking, the sexier I can feel. Couple this with the raging hormones of early adult life and the results are obvious.

For me at least, it isn't so much the clothes themselves that are the turn on. They are more like a key that opens that carefully locked-away part of me - and over there is where a large part of my sexuality lies.

[LilSissyStevie]

Sexual arousal is actually a learned phenomenon that involves classical conditioning, sometimes called Pavlovian conditioning. Classical conditioning theory also predicts the extinction of learned responses with repeated unreinforced exposure to the eliciting stimuli.

If this were true then conversion therapy would work. It is much more likely that sexual arousal is the product of genetic predisposition + imprinting early in life before the end of puberty. There is not much you can do about either of those because they are permanent. But conditioning can play a part on top of of that. For example, someone with a "fetish" for blonds might be conditioned to also like redheads but it's unlikely that a diehard heterosexual can be conditioned to be gay. The more likely reason that CDs lose the ability to be sexually aroused by CDing as they grow older is that just about everybody suffers a loss of libido with age. They continue to CD for the same reason that married couples stay together after they quit having sex - there is just more to the relationship than sexual desire even though that is what drew them together in the first place. It's just that I've never developed any of those other reasons to CD. As my libido declines with age, so does my desire to CD.

[Kate Jennings]

Very sexual for me.

[Mandy T]

I have never thought about dressing up for a guy. Yes I am Bi but the dressing up was always for me. I want to create an alter personality and make it a real as it can be.

Mandy

[Girl]

Dressing doesn't cause sexual feelings for me but I love having sex when dressed, wearing lingerie and knowing that it's causing sexual feelings in the other person. That's really exciting!

[JennyBee]

Very sexual for me...

[Shely]

Teresa, I have to agree with you. I was out shopping yesterday dressed as in the picture and it was a pure pleasure to shop for dresses in a dress. I went to all the ladies departments and looked at everything. It felt wonderful all over. The best part is no one, not one person gave me any notice at all. I have only been shopping a few times and I am getting more confident every time I go out. the only problem is I want to go out in some of my sexiest dresses, not old womens clothes like shown here. Here's the third shopping outing photo. I had the young lady at the kiosk take with my phone.at Gateway 1.JPG

[BrendaPDX]

Hi Glynnis, Yes there is a sexual aspect of it for me, but not just that, it just feels right.

[phili]

Pat mentioned that sexual attraction is a learned behavior, and I discovered sexual self gratification long before I learned how to appreciate and chase females as the appropriate outlet. But sexuality is also complex. I spent most of my life with a very simplistic view of it- 1. experience some kind of erotic feeling from almost anything - a smell, a picture, even just a pleasant physical sensation 2. discover erection forming, and 3. circumstances permitting, have orgasm, and get back to neutral activities. I never learned anything about myself, about what sexuality might be, or even to experience it very deeply.

After expanding my crossdressing to living ordinary life, I started to feel all sorts of new things. More emotions, more sensations, more complexity, more interplay with various strands of masculinity and femininity. And that sexuality is not always associated with sensuality.

I enjoy very much just the tingling of faint sexual arousal now, for whole days. That for me is fulfilling the promise of feminine clothes for me. But even when I am totally preoccupied with some task and not aroused at all, my clothes are very sensous and enjoyable, a nice serene pleasure, like a good meal. I feel both feminine and masculine sexuality at various times, and I just let it happen and observe!

Nice getting to know myself at last.

[Sherri_Christopher]

I must admit to getting aroused while dressing. It's not all about sex by any means, but it is an element when I'm en-femme and I have fantasies of being with a guy and he's treating me like a woman. It's been like that since my twenties. When I'm in guy mode, I'm only attracted to women. It's just the way it is for me and I've come to accept it. BTW, I haven't acted out my en-femme fantasy in real life... yet.

[Ressie]

I was out shopping yesterday dressed as in the picture and ...no one, not one person gave me any notice at all.

No one seems to notice me when I'm shopping for dresses in male mode either. Of course, I've learned not to check to see if anyone notices. Checking might cause suspicion.

[Sara.Blue]

Dressing in itself rarely gets me aroused.

Now if Im dressing in something sexy or looking at sexual things in the internet Ill get aroused, but really need the outside influence. I consider myself straight with a mild bi-courisos side. I am not attracted to males and have never been with a guy. However when watching porn sometimes I wish I could be on the female side to complete her experience.