Why

[TommiTN]

Nadia,

You and I have much in common regarding crossdressing and our reasons for participating in it. There are some differences, however.

"Varying Quality Level of CDing:", I usually dress completely en femme when I dress. I'm pretty much an "all or nothing" crossdresser. Also, I usually don't do male activities when dressed. It just seems inappropriate to me to dress as a woman then work on my car, do heavy yard work or other such traditionally male activities.

"CDer Presenting Herself as a Man in a Skirt": I also was influenced by the many photos of really beautiful "faux women" to be seen on the web, and realized that I am a mere dilettante. This fact is driving me to want to improve how I present, even if only to myself. I now wear makeup, something I rarely did in the past. I want to eventually be able to pass in public, even if only from a distance.

"A Male Fashion of Pretty Clothes": I am of the same opinion. A kilt is a male article of clothing and a rather poor substitute for a skirt because of that fact. For me, the point of CDing is to be able to wear clothes designed to fit a woman, not something that may appear fem, but is actually for men. And they must fit me exactly the way they would fit a woman of like proportions with little or no alteration.

"Do You Deny Your Male Nature, or are You Globally Accepting It?": Being a realist, I don't deny my maleness, but I do find my fem side to be much stronger than I ever realized. She has really begun to come forward since I joined this forum.

"Coping with Transvestism": All men possess some feminine traits because both sexes share the same hormones. The difference lies in the hormonal proportions between the sexes and between individuals. I believe these proportions can be affected to some degree by the mind. For example, as I have resumed CDing after a long hiatus I find I'm becoming more passive about life, a definite feminine trait.

I also was, and remain to this day, shy and unsure around women when there is a possibility of romantic interest. The women I date need to give me a very strong signal of interest before I'll commit to asking them out.

There were similar environmental influences to yours on me when I was forming who I am. My mother dressed me as a girl several times and later admitted to me that she was amused and somewhat gratified when strangers commented that I was "such a cute little girl". I don't recall these incidents, but they may have had some influence. My mother harbored a lot of anger toward men in general due to her family background and because my father was selfish, unsupportive and mostly absentee. He was not the family type. She was of the opinion that men just want one thing from a girl. Later she wanted me to date, but admonished me to be the "perfect gentleman". I later found that most women don't want a perfect gentlemen. I missed many opportunities because of this. I, too, was waiting on the special lady who would love me for my purity and complete gentlemanliness.

My conclusion is that one reason I CD is because I love women so much I want to imitate them to the best of my ability. There may be other reasons, but this is the main one.

Take care,

Tommi