Quote Originally Posted by sandra-leigh
Remember the difference between gender and sex: gender is usually defined in terms of "roles" -- and "roles" imply interaction with other people. Thus, dressing more strongly in public becomes more important to me because doing so is (amongst other aspects) a mechanism for signaling my desired interactive roles and interpretations of me. But when I'm alone at home or deep in thought in my computer work, I am not interacting with other people (at least not in a way in which what I have on is serving as a signal of anything.)
[SIZE="2"]This may explain why I dress to remain somewhat invisible in public, no matter what gender I’m putting forward on any given day. To me, dressing is a private act, and I dress for my own pleasure in an environment of my choosing. As soon as I go outside, however, everything becomes problematic. I wish to be dressed and carry my feminine “shell” with me, for reasons of personal comfort and well-being, but I never think about “signaling” my interactive gender roles to others. I know I’m different, so that is good enough for me – my femme camouflage allows me to blend in just enough to enhance any experience out in the world at large. I would prefer to be at home, however, where I don’t have to worry about the intangibles at all. Luckily, I interact with people chiefly through my artwork, so my crossdressing can remain somewhat hidden and chaste, even when I’m deep in thought in my computer work…

PS – Sandra, I love your well thought-out threads and posts… [/SIZE]