I think cross dressing helps me be a more understanding man and at work it has been said many times by some of my colleagues that I do seem to be in touch with my feminine side and no, they don?t know about my cross dressing
I dress because it makes me feel very nice, yes I feel womanly when I?m dressed, that?s exactly how I want to feel and I love that feeling, I don’t want to be a woman full time but I definitely love being one part time
If you asked any of my friends and colleagues they would likely describe me as a mans man but I just so happens I need both my man and woman time, does it bother me that I feel womanly, no, not in the slightest, I embrace that feeling and for me at least, I am at peace with who I am, it took me a while to find that peace but I?m there
Back to where I started, I think Once I found my inner peace it allowed me to be a more understanding person in life
Bearded, hairy, beer-chugging, truck-drivin', wife lovin' manly man......sometimes in lingerie and heels, and occasionally a cute dress. MIAD 4 life!
I'm sure that many CDers would agree with you. But, the rest of us don't judge femininity just based on clothing.
I don't think this woman looks masculine at all:
http://anninc.scene7.com/is/image/AN...0_9000?$pdp2x$
Reine
I believe most of us are afraid what family, friends and coworkers will think, when they find out. We don't care about strangers. But when you go out or even dress at home, if you're not living alone, it's always a possibility you stumble on someone you know when dressed, not only strangers. That's a problem and we don't want to risk it to often or even never.
All good points. I especially like the idea that "it takes balls" to dress as a woman in public. I truly believe I am a better, more complete and true to myself person but.
I have a teenage daughter. She has always looked up to me as the very strong father figure. It's all well and good to say we don't care what others think but I do care about her. I read about all the members here that go out with their children. I just don't know. Is she ready to see daddy in a sun dress?
Yes, being transgender makes me less of a man. I don’t like being a man. So what? Nancy
hi all, its not the clothing that makes me feel less masculine but to me rather getting older is the reason. Some things that have affected me is less physical strength, other people needing to depend on me less and also the issues with ED, this makes me feel like less of a man. (I have no regrets)
Not to diminish the roles of women's place in society, but I now feel I fit in better being feminine and acting like a woman. I feel SO much better when I am dressed and doing things anymore.
I am married for 37 years without her knowledge of my cd'ing and it would end the marriage if she did find out.
Not sure if this makes any sense to others but this is the best that I can explain it.
Being less of a man is the whole point for me. I know clothing is only symbolic but like a prison inmate reading tropical travel brochures, it offers momentary relief from the reality of the situation.
I think I would be more manly if I didn't cross dress but I'm still a man. OTOH dressing in public takes courage which is an attribute associated with manliness.
"You're the only one to see the changes you take yourself through", Stevie Wonder
The more I dress, the less of a man I become, the happier I am.
Depends on the definition of what "man, manly, masculine" means to you.
I like to think that we become more complete humans, myself.
Before you can love another, you must first like yourself
I Aim To Misbehave
Labels belong on BOXES, not PEOPLE!
@Alice Torn; actually, Alice, there are those in the scientific community that would dispute that:
https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-019-00677-x
I am a vessel of the goddess. Let me express my calling to a feminine life through nurturing love and relatedness.
Here is where we differ. To me, femininity is 100% chromosomal. I agree that the style of women's clothing can be more or less feminine, but nothing will change a person's inherent femininity. It's just clothing style!
I'm working on updating my house. New paint, new floors, new baseboards and casings, new tile. I do all of this while wearing paint-stained and torn old clothes, my hair tied back, no makeup and certainly no jewelry. And I don't consider myself to be one iota less feminine because of this. No one coming to the door would ever mistake me for a man, nor would think that I was wearing men's clothing. They'd just see it as what it is ... a very feminine woman who happens to be wearing old paint-stained clothes because she is working on a project.
When I do dress up, I don't think of myself as more feminine - just more dressed up! Clothes are just different styles. Femininity or masculinity comes from within. But, I do fully understand why crossdressers would feel differently.
To me, an indication that a M2F transition is 100% physically successful is when the M2F can wear old jeans and a Tshirt, no makeup, etc, and no one would guess they were born male.
I know that you'd like to believe this, but experience proves otherwise and researchers disagree. Look at all the single dads out there. They have to be able to multi-task and they can certainly take care of their kids! My brother is a prime example. He raised two kids on his own and today they are remarkable adults! Also, men who aren't single dads can certainly multi-task and take care of kids, risk-taking is not inherently a male characteristic, and ability for language is not superior in females!
I think it's time to stop generalizing. Lumping people together in the same boat by saying one group is better or worse than another at doing certain things, is like saying all crossdressers are perverts just because one crossdresser was arrested for public indecent exposure.
Excellent article, April Rose. Everyone should read this.
And here's another:
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/03/o...ns-mosaic.html
Last edited by ReineD; 11-03-2019 at 02:26 PM. Reason: Added response to April Rose
Reine
For me wearing women?s clothes just reaffirms and compliments me as as a woman who I feel internally.nothing more nothing less
I figure that I have this desire to dress in female clothing. When this urge strikes I believe I do exhibit more feminine traits. But I do not believe that when I am not dressed it changes who I am naturally. So for me, I think I am not less of a man because I have this desire to crossdress.
Teri Ray Rural Idaho Girl.
In answer to the original query "I hope so".
Karen Sue
Isn't the point to be less of a man? No one dons a dress to be manlier
Interesting enough, twice while trick or treating with my kids I was wearing a bo peep costume and got two comments along the line of "it takes big balls to wear that."
Asew you are right. I don't dress up in women's clothes to be more manly, I do it to be more feminine.
I would say that I am very much a man when dressed up in my usual men's clothes. But in a way, I do become less of a man when dressed in women's clothes. That doesn't bother me at all, as long as I am not seen as less of a man when I go back to my male identity.
RainbowDash,
To quote Eddie Izzard again , " they're not women's clothes but mine ! "
I've reached the point where I wear the clothes that I feel comfortable in as Teresa , they are chosen for the appropriate circumstances and how I feel that day . To make Reine's point I have paint stained jeans and Tshirts which do happen to be female items . So do I feel less of a man , to be truthful I'm not concerned because I prefer not to see the man , he has all but gone but it doesn't stop me doing jobs a man would do but I'm also not holding back doing jobs as Teresa . It's so good now not even thinking twice about walking into the builder's merchant to pick the items I need to rebuild my kitchen . At the trade counter I was sorting some plumbing fittings and then went to pick up some tile samples and got into a conversation with a lovely sales lady about choosing foundation colours , she was so grateful when I gave her my colour chart .
Just a PS to Reine , even paint stained I'll still have makeup on , you never know who's going to ring the doorbell !!
Last edited by Teresa; 11-05-2019 at 05:04 PM.
For me I have been able to focus on my wife more since I decided to start dressing. I am able to do my work better because I have a release for the pent up desire to let my feminine out. I am a better father because I can listen better. Aren't all of those characteristics of a good man?