Well, it must have been a *really* long time ago that it was only just about the clothes.

Because I remember back in the late '90s (over 20 years ago, for the math-impaired ), being on the "high-speed" 56K dial-up internet & checking out the West Hollywood "neighborhood" of GeoCities... You know, where the CD'ers & TS's hung out online, each with their own little personal website. Heck, I had one, myself!

And yeah, from what I remember, pretty much *all* the girls there had pics of themselves completely dolled-up.


Anyway, I believe part of it, is that many here (and perhaps elsewhere) are in "pretty deep." Otherwise, why bother to spend more than a few minutes, at best, sharing any of it?

Take, for instance, a simple thread on Reddit. Some regular hetero vanilla guy admits that he once tried on his GF/wife's yoga pants -- and discovered for himself why so many GG's wear 'em... Because to his pleasant surprise, they're comfy as all heck! And now, apparently he wears them behind closed doors, just chilling out while watching TV or something. Heck, he likes them so much, that his GF/wife even bought him a couple pairs of his own!

And... That's it. End of story. He's not going to ruminate about it online all day, every day. Why? Because he's just a dude who sometimes wears yoga pants in the comfort of his own home. Does he consider himself a crossdresser? Probably not. Is he going down some sort of "slippery slope," only to find himself transitioning in a couple years? Again, probably not.

After all, he's just a regular vanilla dude who sometimes wears yoga pants in the comfort of his own home.

Just a guess, but I bet there's a lot more of that kind of stuff that's been going on all over the place... Only that you or I or anyone else, for that matter, probably ain't gonna be hearing much about it.



Personally, it stopped being just about the clothes, when I was 13 years old... As that's when I started getting into make-up (thanks for letting me steal your stash, Mom! ). And I wasn't just goofing around -- I was taking it seriously. What else is a young teen with little money in his pockets going to do while dressed in home-made chick-clothes & stolen pantyhose with a fully made-up face, as the rest of the family was out for a few hours? Why, throw on a make-shift wig (black, brown or tan t-shirt ) and "style" it up! BOOM! Just crossed the divide (as crude as it was, LOL). Again, I was 13 years old... Which was a long time ago, well before the public internet & latest trans-craze.

And here I am today! :wave:



That said...

I kinda agree with you, at least in part, as I do believe a good chunk of what we see out there, especially among some of the younger crowd, is sorta a "competition" to them, if you will. Who can look the prettiest, the most legit, etc. "Oh, she had laser hair-removal? Pfft... What a little bitch! Well, I'll see your laser, and raise you some HRT. What do you think of them apples, hon!" And it only escalates from there.

One way to liken it, is as a dramatic bidding war at an auction. Participants get waaaay too caught up in it, in the heat of the moment. Gotta out-do the other gal, after all... Can't let her beat you! Otherwise, they probably wouldn't have gone half as far as they have, without that. Can they even truly "afford" it? I do believe that at least for some, they may very well be heading down a path that's ultimately not the correct one for them, in the long run. And should that be the case, will they even recognize that somewhere down the road? Maybe, maybe not.



Finally, I still love getting all dolled-up -- from time to time, that is. Years/decades ago, I used to do it a *lot* more... And I took it to more "extremes," for lack of a better word. But nowadays? I can take it or leave it. Never goes away completely forever, at least for me. But at the same time, I can also sometimes be content simply by throwing on a pair of girly running shoes while otherwise presenting as a guy... Plus it's a lot less effort!

As others have already mentioned, there is a wide variety here, believe it or not, when it comes to all this. So, feel free to make yourself at home!