Michelle, your story tugged at my heart strings.
Michelle, your story tugged at my heart strings.
2008 when I joined here.
I guess we all saw the vaudeville acts where Milton Berle or Bob Hope crossdressed as part of their act. I also remember Flip Wilson (aka Geraldine) on TV. But, they were always caricatures of women.
In New Orleans once, I went to a strip show, where the "female" strippers were actually men. But they were performers.
In the early 80s, I lived in Mountain View, CA, a short ride from San Francisco. Somehow, I heard about the Halloween celebration in the Gayborhood on Castro Street. My wife an I went down together. It was a festival of LGBT people all expressing themselves in their own way. However, all of the men that I saw were dressed in some flamboyant outfit, and didn't look like regular girls.
Around 2005, , when I was over 50, I went to a Girdles and Lace convention, and I saw this really beautiful girl wearing a skirt suit. When I looked closer, I figured out that she was a crossdresser, but one that wanted to blend in. I was entranced by her, but too afraid to talk to her. But, I consider her my first sighting of a crossdresser in the wild.
A few years after that, I found this forum. There was a girl drom DC on the forum. and we arranged to meet at the only gay bar in Northern Virginia.
Hi, I'm Steffi and I'm a crossdresser... And I accept and celebrate both sides of me. Or, maybe I'm gender fluid.
You are probably thinking of Jim Bailey https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_Bailey_(entertainer)Originally Posted by kimdl93
He did wonderful impersonations of especially Barbra Striesand and Peggy Lee. As a young teenager I marvelled at the fake cleavage he created and thin eyebrows, long nails etc. and subconsciously I think that is where I started to want every little detail of my transformation to Danielle to be perfect. Like you I was always a little worried my parents would notice I was paying a little too much attention to his performance. Many years later he was character on a couple of episodes of the show Night Court with John Laroquette and could still transform into quite a passable woman with a feminine voice.
I remember my grandmother singing to me. I might have been three or four.
I think that’s when I became aware that other people existed.
When haters hate, I celebrate!
I saw an ad for Michael Salem’s in the back of a Penthouse magazine and could not believe it. It showed a young guy dreaming of being a beautiful girl. I’m thinking, that’s me. I called the next day and went into NYC and walked past the store and looked in but was too afraid to go in. I left and the next week I went back to NYC and did get the nerve to go in and I bought my first panties, garter belt and stockings. I was in absolute heaven and could not wait to go home and try them on.
I can remember that with great fondness. Some fun for sure.
Crissy
LOL. Sober 7 months after 30 years of drinking, sadly. And I'd love to complain it's been hard but apart from the occasional twinge it has been fine. I quit overnight and have stayed that way. And despite the passing of my mother-in-law, my wife being diagnosed with breast cancer, losing a very beloved cat, and suffering some health setbacks myself, not to mention a lousy birthday, I've really not been tempted. Again, I chalk it up to the fact that coming up with a femme name was important enough that it resolved so much for me, even though I didn't realise it at the time.
Oh the trouble I could have saved were it 30 years sober. Still thank you very much.
I remember seeing Christine Jorgenson on Johnny Carson and realized that there were others like me out there. Around that same time I heard the word "transvestite" and went to the library to look it up and learned that what I was experiencing was not unique. This was all back in the early sixties. We've come a long way since then.
When I first entered into the use of the World Wide Web was when I really discovered and began to understand that there are many more of us than I imagined and found new ways to express myself and find acceptance.
Molly
I suppose my first inkling was when I heard of Christine Jorgensen as she returned from Sweden after surgery.
I was still too young to fully appreciate the moment. I was dressing and hiding and fearful, but not really cognizant of it all.
I think the WOW moment came much later when I was old enough to enter an adult bookstore and saw all the magazines and papers like Female Mimic and such. That's when I truly realized that this was not a solo act and that it had a cast of thousands. After that I came to contact others and found just how diverse we are as a group and discovered my path in the woods. Over the last 20 years that path has become my trail to somewhere and I'm still following it not knowing exactly where it leads.
But ... I know I'm not alone with the wolves.
I don't wear women's clothes, I wear MY clothes !
When I was about 7 or 8 my parents had a party, and one of their friends was a nurse. I was sitting at the top of the stairs listening to all that was going on, when they start talking about sex change surgery. I was totally intrigued. But at the time there was no way to real research these kind of things. I did realize after much thought while it might be fun to be a girl for awhile, I just liked wearing their clothes Back in the mid 70's on All in the Family they had a female impersonator. This was the first times I realized there were men who dressed as women. Then on Donahue in the late 70's was the first time I heard of transvestites. I was a tween or early teenager when I figured out that is what I was.
Sara
When you go the toilet at the dead of night not switching the light on, hitching your nightie up and sitting down and then your partner/so also comes in and sits down on top of you! then you know you are not alone!!
I started life a lost man now I am a found woman
There was a time when I thought that I was the only boy in the whole world that was wearing his mother's lingerie. A friend of mine loaned me some of his magazines. In back of one of these girly mags, I found the advertising for Michael Salem of New York. I was about 13 at the time, this was a time of relief, to know that I was not alone. Then through looking I discovered that there were many others, but they kept their world hidden for the most part. Surprisingly the library was helpful in getting more information about "transvestites", than any other sources. I spent many hours trying to figure out a way to order something from Michael Salem's without anyone finding out, but I never did find a way.
I like myself, regardless of the packaging that I may come in! It's what is on the inside of the package that counts!
For me it was when I discovered the book Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex (*But Where Afraid to Ask) by David Reuben hidden in my parents' room when I was about 11 or 12. It opened by eyes to many things.
I had that book but it disappeared out of my dresser drawer. Busted by mom.. LOL I was about 13.
Molly
If we were to vote on the best post in this thread I think this would win! Just too funny Bobbi!
Crissy
I totally agree with Crissy. Thanks Bobbi. I also had a pet ant I named Spot.
Good question. Unfortunately, I do not have a good answer because up until a few short years ago I spent most of my life trying to run and hide from who I am.
Mine was when I saw the ad Michael Salem's in the back of various adult magazines.
Please call me Jamie, I always_have crossdressed, I always will, "alwayshave".
Great one Bobbi ! But you should also tell people you have numerous power cuts in the storm months and also some very interesting friends but I understand not all wear nighties !!!
I knew quite early on that men dress up as women in movies, theatre and in music industry as part of performances, but I only realised how wide spread this is among ordinary men as well, when I saw it on the internet. I assumed I was not the only one doing that, but I never thought crossdressing is so common practice among men, because you rarely see crossdressers in public even today and 25 years ago were even less common sight in our country.
I knew about Renee Richards, but when I first heard David Bowie's song "Rebel, Rebel" in the mid-70's I realized that crossdressing was a lot more common than I had ever known!
These were the pre-Internet days, and the libraries I had access to had little to nothing on the subject.
As a non binary person. I feel alone most of the time. I don't feel like I fit in the crossdresser or trans spectrum. Its too complicated to explain here.
I suppose subconsciously I knew others existed from an early age but that was more to do with drag acts/female impersonators on the TV than anything else. Once I entered the world of work at 18 it was the sexist, homophobic "work place banter" that let me know that dressing wasn't something you admitted to. Not if you wanted to be in with the crowd.
It was getting that first 286 processor powered PC that gave me an insight into what was out there but even so the internet was a limited commodity and real information scarce.
I'd been going out for drives at night, changing in the car in a quiet layby, wearing my SO's jumble sale cast offs for many years until my work alowed me to work from home and that allowed me to dress for extended periods.
So by now the internet had grown, photo sharing sites such as flickr were a treasure trove of pics of many many dressers and at that point I knew I wasn't techically alone in what I did. However it was finding this site that truly opened my eyes to the true scale and scope of our community.
It's been said many times but it's worth repeating, this site and the good folk here were a revelation and without the support given I wouldn't be where I am today.
It's that enabling that promts me to once a year offer to meet up with anyone who cares to join me for a drink and a chat. I want to give something back and help anyone struggling to make that first step out. It's meeting your first other dresser face to face that really really lets you know you're not alone.
Thank you Helen for you comments about this site I agree with everything you have said. I have so many people here that I want to meet someday. i have met only five girls from here but hope to expand that in the coming years.
Stephanie,
Wow reading the responses takes me back, way back. The first indication that I had that I was not alone were probably the scandal (rag) papers that covered TV stories on the front page. I lived very close to a combo news agency gift shop. Then it was the Playboy and Penthouse Magazines; and talk shows such as David Frost and Donahue. Finally, I discovered on-line CD communities about 1996.
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