Is this a hobby

[Tracy_Victoria]

Hobby is something you do in your spare time. If I could spend the rest of my like as a woman, I would do it. If’s my way of life, part of myself

You see that were I differ. I have no desire or wish to be a woman. I love my life as a Man, and I love being able to appear to change gender, but have no wish to do so for real.

Therefore thay why I call my dressing a hobby, ie I can deside to do it, or not, as the mood takes me, with the kids being off school I have not been able to dress, but I just accept that and know in a few weeks time the chance to do so will come, if I wish to do so.

ie I control it, not it controls me, but I do all the same have a need to do so, but it certainly doesn't have to be, every day, once a week, or even once a month. Ie I'm happy to wait until I can enjoy it fully!

[Greymancd]

At this point in time I would call it a hobby I do it in my spare time and I do it because I am drawn to it an d it makes me feel good and I have fun. Then again I think of it as more than a hobby because it is something inside me coming out (somedays I wish I could come out). I guess we can put any title on it we want and it does not change anything it is what it is just enjoy it!

[MichelleP]

Hi Philipa,

Ugghh, I really don't the terms "hobby" and "choice" when it is applied to CDing. It's not a "hobby" by any means with me. I realize CDing spans a broad spectrum of people and I am one of those girls nearer to the full transition end of it. I dress because the need to be feminine absolutely overwhelmes me. I really don't like it when people misconstrue all of us with "hobbyists" or say pfffh, it's their choice that they dress.

Hugs,
Michelle

[Joni Marie Cruz]

Hi Michelle-

Hey, hon, how's things going? I so agree with you as far as the "oh, you have a choice, no one makes you dress like a girl" thing goes. Hell, almost everything we do in life, except for basic biologial functions, is a choice of some sort. Life is a choice, for that matter and so is how we choose to live it. We can choose to make pointless, snarky remarks about people and their choices or we can simply let others be how they are.

Speaking only for myself, if I were told that, for whatever reason, I could no longer crossdress, I would be able to live with it, but I would be very unhappy and would feel as though a large part of who I am had been taken from me. In many ways, while these sorts of discussions are sometimes fun and interesting, especially in regard to seeing someone else's take on it, they are also rather fruitless.

Hugs...Joni Mari

[Ralph]

Call it a hobby or whatever you choose to call it. CD-ing is definitely a choice.
It's not something you're physically forced to do, so it's a personal choice.
Yes, I already know this thread will go exactly the same route all other threads like this go.

Not that I disagree with you, Jenny, but good luck with that. Send me some of the more interesting flames you get as a result of that remark :D

Bottom line, as we have learned EVERY time this question came up is, there's no one-size-fits-all answer (just like with clothes! At my size, "one size fits all" means "way too small"). For some, it's a hobby and they can do without as long as necessary due to the circumstances. For others, it's a passion and giving it up would be like going on bread and water for the rest of your life. For others, it's the only thing keeping them from suicide or chronic depression. Others believe they are so hard-wired to crossdress that they are physically unable to stop, any more than they can stop breathing.

That scale also answers the question of "What if your wife would divorce you if you didn't stop" - for some the urge is mild enough that they would rather preserve the marriage than preserve the dressing, and others would rather give up the marriage. It all depends on where you fit on that scale. Me? I'm about a 1.5 (somewhere between "It's just a hobby" and "it's a passion")... I'm content with minimal underdressing and have found a few "male" alternatives (spandex bike shorts, satiny nylon swim trunks) to satisfy the tactile need. I own one pair of tighty-whities just in case, but I've never needed them and I don't know how unhappy I would be if that's all I could wear ever again.

[Jenny Brown]

Not that I disagree with you, Jenny, but good luck with that. Send me some of the more interesting flames you get as a result of that remark :D

I would...but I don't think it would be anything you haven't seen a dozen times before.

Others believe they are so hard-wired to crossdress that they are physically unable to stop, any more than they can stop breathing.

Yes, some do believe that. But, it's all just an excuse. Think about it. In a way, that's why the fantasy of "forced feminization" is so popular. That concept removes all the guilt & shame because you are being coerced against your will and you have no choice. It's just another form of excuse.
Don't get me wrong here...anyone who "wants" to cd, I say go for it. Just don't claim it's "necessary", because it's not - it's a choice.

[TSchapes]

Not Choice.

Search for other threads that have discussed the word "Choice" to death....

[trannie T]

If you sew a dress that could be a hobby, if you then wear the dress it is more than a hobby.

[Vicky_Scot]

Hobby:An activity or interest pursued outside one's regular occupation and engaged in primarily for pleasure or relaxation.

It certainly fits the description of Hobby and so it could be classed as one.

BUT

Crossdressing is not a hobby IMO. When someone takes up a hobby it is a choice. When it comes to crossdressing that choice is not there so I would say in the true sense of the word 'hobby' as most people understand it, crossdressing is not a hobby.

You are born a crossdresser so choice does not come into it. You arenot born a golfer, stamp collecter etc etc.

Xx Vicky xX

[charlytuna]

One can call it a hobby. I use to call dresing a hobby when I could get dress on a ocasion. But as time progress I call it a lifestyle the more you dress the more you want. That what my wife tells ma all the time. With a lifestyle it's all you want

[Veronica Nowakowski]

The definition of hobby is:

"an activity or interest pursued for pleasure or relaxation and not as a main occupation"

I don't primarily crossdress, I go through my working hours in drab, and plenty of the off time too, so technically it is a hobby for me, though I've never described it that way.

[DAVIDA]

If I were to never put on anything "female" again, it would not change the fact that I am still a crossdresser.
Hobby?

[vivianann]

For me it is more than just a hobby, it is my identity as a woman, my feminine side of my personality is quite strong, so therefore it an expression of my true self.

[Jeanna]

Hi everybody.
Here is a word that has been used in a number of posts and it is one that leaves me a little uncomfortable.
Do you regard dressing as a "Hobby"?
I for one do not.
A hobby is some thing you do in your spare time for fun, and yes while I do enjoy what I do it does not fit in the catagory of a hobby for me.
I consider dressing as part of my inner self which I have only a small amount of control over.
Any views on this please.
Philipa Jane

Ya, see a doctor that specializes in trans-gender issues.

[Vicky_Scot]

If I played golf and then stopped and never played golf ever again then I would not be a golfer then. If I collected coins and never collected a coin ever again I would not be a coin collecter then. I use to play golf and collect coins.

As Davida says

If I were to never put on anything "female" again, it would not change the fact that I am still a crossdresser.
Hobby?

Not a hobby IMO. I will always be a crossdresser whatever.

[Jenny Brown]

When it comes to crossdressing that choice is not there

Of course it's there. It's your personal choice to cd.

[Sallee]

A hobby might be a stretch For me it was either cross dressing or collecting stamps LOL

[Vicky_Scot]

Of course it's there. It's your personal choice to cd.

:brolleyes: With respect I think you missed the point.

Xx Vicky xX

[gender_blender]

One of my hobbies is female modeling (photoshoots and fashion shows), but I don't consider the act of wearing clothing of any gender a hobby. I think the distinction exists if you have to travel somewhere else before you are able to crossdress.

[CharleneT]

There are as many reasons to cross dress as there are CD's... I think for many it could be best described as their hobby. Even if they would have trouble giving it up. Although not a CD, I have many CD friends here and they can be a blast to be with. For most of them I think it is their hobby. Now I also believe that they are feeding a need as well. Over time, in many cases, CDing starts as a hobby and grows to be something larger and more important in a person's life.

Me? Nope, definitely not a hobby, but that is just me.

Charlene

[joannemarie barker]

i can't really say if its a hobby or not.like most girls i started very young and never stopped.i enjoy it like a hobby but i'm not sure i could give it up like one

[tricia_uktv]

Not for me. Its my life!

[Rachel Morley]

Is it hobby?......hummm....this is maybe one way of putting it over to someone who doesn't really understand, or you could say it’s kind of like having a gender vacation. But for me I'd have to say it's a bit more serious than a hobby or a vacation. A hobby is what I used to tell myself it was before I accepted what it really actually is for me. It effects me emotionally too much to be a hobby, I'd have to say that (for me) it's an integral part of who I am rather than a hobby. I know I can't be happy without incorporating it (at least somewhat) into my everyday life. :2c:

[Carly D.]

No.. not a hobby.. I think of a hobby as something you can buy the makings for at stores like hobby lobby... and I don't see dresses at that store ever being available..

[Charla McBee]

For me this is kind of like a drug addiction without any harmful effects. I have to do it and I will lose my mind if I dont and it feels so good. All I did was try on a pair of pantyhose out of curiosity when I was 13, just a little taste. Then I tried on some shoes, then a skirt... Now Im buying dresses in crowded walmarts just to get my fix and damn the consequences. It never ends.

I hide it from everyone of course and sometimes go several days without it to keep up appearances but that always makes things worse for my sanity. I'm not seeking a cure though, I like my drug too much.