More Cross Dressers?

Our Cyrsti's Condo comment today comes from Paula Goodwin  and concerns two recent posts including "Psst, There are Cross dressers Here":

Paula GoodwinDecember 6, 2017 at 6:33 AM

"I refer you to my comment on Sunday's post! Of course we were all cross dressers at some point, and they are very definitely amongst us ~ I suspect many more than we suspect, they should be welcomed into the "Trans Community" if there is such a thing, as in many ways they are the pinnacle of divergent gender expression!

In some ways I rather miss my days as a cross dresser, the excitement of going out, the glee of preparation, even the fear of being "found out" added extra spice to my outings. On the other hand I do now feel comfortable with myself."

As do I! Thanks Paula.

Yesterday marked another trip to my Veterans Administration Hospital therapist in Dayton, Ohio. I wore my new green sweater, black leggings and knee hi boots. Even the hospital  was decked out very festively for the holidays, complete with a touring group of carolers. Personally, my trip was very uneventful as no one mis-gendered me except for one guy in a wheel chair who wouldn't stop staring but never spoke.  He made me feel very unsettled. I thought I looked very nice, but I can't vouch for him!

Going back to Paula's comment, I too sometimes miss the sheer (no pun intended) excitement of cross dressing all the way up and going shopping, or whatever. On the other hand, I have gained the pride that any cis-woman has when she dresses nice and does a good job at it.  Yesterday was a great example of being comfortable in my transgender skin...and beyond.

Psst! There are Cross Dressers Among Us

This Cyrsti's Condo post comes from 2012 but is still very relevant today:

Over the months and years here in the condo, we have labored over many different labels. Out of pure simplicity I have just decided to stay with a couple main ones such as transgender and transsexual. To take the whole step further the terms "culture and community" have come into discussion too.

Having said all of that, I wonder where all the semantic babble we indulge in leaves the cross dressers who often exist like the "elephant in the corner". First of all, here are some of my ideas of a cross dresser:

In the most basic sense, we are all crossdressers. If you came out of the womb as a male and dress as a female (or vice versa) you are a cross dresser. All the tons of information, ideas and theories why don't matter in this discussion. Where I'm going here is where being a crossdresser may take us-or not.

For a fact I know more than just a few of you who are content to be just a cross dresser  You may love the feeling of the clothes-physically and or sexually. You may not have any desires to experience the world as a female in any sense and t

hat's all good. Then, comes a much bigger cross dresser segment.

I use the term "transition crossdressers". You are the ones who are not certain what all this means. Is a sex change in your future? What about your life as you know it now? The bottom line is you know this is so much more than just putting on women's clothes in the privacy of your home. Exploration begins in so many areas  ranging from attending meetings to going public as a member of your chosen gender. (No matter how successful)

I was a transition crossdresser. What ever sexual thrill I initially experienced from women's clothes went away quickly and I was left wondering what was missing here? Like so many of you, I dug a hole, jumped into it and tried to bury that part of me. I was the crossdressed elephant in the corner of the room.  Silent and largely ignored by the rest of the transgender community and invisible to the transsexuals.

For the most part nothing has changed in our culture for the transition crossdresser except for the enormous amount information available today.

The only positives I can offer here are I know you are sitting in the corner and I remember the enormous struggles I have gone through to arrive at this point in my life. Referencing you becomes the problem because in some senses I believe you are the "silent majority" in the transgender culture because of necessity. Some seem to think if you have not made the blind leap of faith into absolute gender transition it makes you less of a person. I of course do not believe that and in many ways write this blog to provide any insight and help and can provide.

Yes Virginia, there are cross dressers among us!

Progress?

As I read over many of my old Cyrsti's Condo posts over the years, I wonder if we as a transgender community has progressed much at all.

Many times I believe it has since the "T" in the LGBT logo is not nearly as silent as it used to be. I remember the day when I was discriminated against in a gay bar and had a hard time even getting a cocktail.

It could be the HRT working for me, but today I don't think I am mistaken for a cross dresser or drag queen as much. Although I have nothing against either. Or, it could be society is more "used" to the idea of a non binary transgender type person.

Or perhaps, I just don't care what society thinks and the freedom gives me a better chance to lead whatever life I choose, which happens to be a feminine one.

Even with the current administration which at times seems to foster a particular dislike for us, a certain amount of society has used the time to accept us and even vote for transgender in the LGBT political tickets around the country.

So, I guess times are better. We now have established organizations such as Lambda Legal which can fight for our basic rights in courts. Plus as more and more people are lucky enough to meet or know a transgender person, the less foreign we seem.

Certainly progress is slow and even uncertain in the current times we live in, but our tribe has proven to be tough and resilient for the battles for trans equality ahead.