How young is "young," robbiegirl? Some of us start young and some of us don't--like me. (And some are very late starters.) "Girly girls" and "ballet tutus" suggest very young!

Had I been six years old, for instance, I doubt I would have found much to interest me in a girl's room. Maybe not even her books, fond as I was of reading. You know how the saying goes: "Girls will read boy books, but boys won't read girl books." I've never been into tutus at any age, but your post did remind me of a couple of amusing stories. One was very embarrassing!--and instructive besides.

When I was maybe seven or so (give or take a year), my school class was putting on a play to be performed in front of parents and everyone. The teacher asked who would like to play this part or that part. Hands shot up, and she'd pick a suitable child for the role. I was keen to perform, so I stuck my hand in the air for this role and that role. But while other children were chosen, I kept getting passed over. I couldn't be the Hero. I couldn't be the Villain. I couldn't be this guy or that guy, and I was getting despondent of ever being chosen. Finally the teacher got down to the Also-Rans--the Extras, the Walk-Ons, the Chorus and whatnot. I was so desperate by this time that I just shot my hand in the air the instant that any part at all was called. Then I suddenly became aware that other kids in the class were looking at me--and laughing! I was bewildered--until the teacher spoke up. "I don't think Larry quite heard me," she said. "I was asking how many of the girls have ballet dresses and would like to be fairies."

Oops! As it turned out, I need not have worried. The teacher had a particular role in mind for me. I was to be the Narrator, which I enjoyed. However. it does go to show how we're aware at an early age that a boy dressing as a girl is going to be laughed at and ridiculed--fears that certainly haunted me as I started to crossdress later.

So in my earliest years sleeping in a girl's room would have done nothing for me; but at fourteen or so it was quite another matter. Had I been put in a girl's room then, I'm sure I would have been exploring excitedly--given the privacy to do so, naturally. For instance:

Quote Originally Posted by Karren Hutton View Post
...got to sleep in my older step-sisters room while she was away for the summer. She had some amazingly pretty clothing and my step-mother didn't help! Half the time she was running around the house in a bra and girdle "getting dressed' after my Dad had gone to work! Many days I was left at home with nothing to do but watch TV, read the latest Sears Catalogue and try on my step-mother's and step-sister's lingerie and clothing.
Apart from the family breakup, that's what I'd call a "privileged upbringing" by way of compensation! In that situation I'm sure I'd be into my stepmother's bra and girdle the moment she was out of the door, and everything else besides. I'd be "getting dressed" just the way she did!

But the other story... When our daughter was not yet six, we relocated to another state. We bought another house there, but the housing market was in a slump that year. It was a good time to buy, but not a good time to sell. So we kept the old house for a time and rented it out instead. An agent took care of the rental for us. She rented it out to a couple of guys who were roommates. Everything went well, but she said the tenants had one request. Would we mind if they changed the wallpaper in one of the bedrooms? One of these guys was sleeping in what had been our daughter's bedroom. The wallpaper featured clowns, balloons, and gaily colored ribbons galore. Our daughter loved it, but I guess not everybody likes to sleep in a "girl's room"!