Freddy, as always your post is thoughtful and articulate. Long, yes, but I would have it no other way because of the quality of its composition. Your elegant writing always makes me consider things that I haven't before, and it is a pleasure. It had not really occurred to me that GGs might feel threatened by CDing. It makes sense though, and I think the reason some GGs feel threatened is the same reason that so many men feel threatened.
"Cross dressing" (and I have really come to dislike the term) challenges the old notions of binary gender roles. Men are strong, protective, emotionless, while women are soft and caring, blah blah blah. While many exist who do fit these stereotypes, either by cultural conditioning or honest expression, the stereotypes, as you well know, are not all-inclusive. For example, I wish to present myself as soft, empathetic and gentle, not because I am trying to fit a stereotype, but because that is what I feel on the inside. I am not trying to divest myself of male expectations - I have been like this since before I knew about such things. Does this mean I want to be a stereotypical woman (I do, after all, wish for a female body)? Not in the slightest - the stereotypes are meaningless to me. I can only be myself. I should also mention that some things I do are also more associated with men than women - my chosen career path, preference for dark beers, my nerdiness on certain subjects, whatever. There are plenty of women and plenty of men who like all the things I like, and so the stereotypes fall away into oblivion when you look at them closely.
Anyway, if a man sees one of us gender-benders in public, he may lash out by calling names, using violence, etc., trying desperately (if unconsciously) to reinforce the gender roles. He hasn't considered that men do not have to be burly and cold-hearted like himself, and he feels threatened. There is nothing as frightful to a "tough guy" as someone who is confident in their softness, which of course he sees as weakness. Similarly, a woman may feel threatened because we are intruding into what they believe is their territory. People hold their stereotypes so dearly because they have tried so hard to fit them. Rather like one of us MtF dressers or transsexuals trying to squeeze ourselves into a dress that's way too small.
