Quote Originally Posted by Violetgray View Post
I refuse to believe it when people say they love their closet. The only time I love restriction is when it's around my waist. Seems to me like you've weighed the options and the risks outweigh the benefits. That's perfectly logical. Divers that go down into the waters in a cage do so because there are sharks in the water, not because shark cages are so awesome that you would rather stay in them than swim around free.
To continue your diving analogy, do you not think that the caged divers "love" their cage whilst it prevents them from being eaten by the sharks?

The divers may wish that they could swim around freely but in the hostile environment of the shark-infested waters at least they are able to indulge in their love of being underwater in safety.

In the same way, Anne has already said that there are things that she wishes she could do, but in the hostile environment where she lives, it is better to have the protection of the closet and for this reason she "loves" the closet for the fact that it allows her to indulge her cross-dressing in safety.

Going back to the OP (although I don't quite fit either of the two audiences that Anne was addressing), no-one has the right to bully another member into going out or staying in. We may share our experiences to try to encourage you, but we do not have the right to insist that you copy us.

There is a place for those who act as advocates (well there had better be or I have wasted my life) but those of us who take on such a role have no right to look down on those for whom we claim to be acting as advocates.

In the other thread, someone stated quite baldly that you were hiding because of your fears but then quite correctly went on to say that it is your choice whether you do this or not.

All through our lives we weigh up the possible consequences of whatever we are thinking of doing, then if we fear the negative consequences more than the apparent benefits, we decide not to act on that desire. Sometimes, our fears may be unfounded, or at least exaggerated, but only we have the right to make that choice for our own lives - no-one else.