what do u think about crossdressers?

[SarahG]

its one thing to say your a TS its another to say it based upon psychological evaluations, I really dont know a better way to say this but GD, GID whatever you want to call it, is a bunch of BS made up by the medical community for an explanation as to why we are TS let alone its just a bunch of stupid terms made up to please us

Most medical conditions in the DSM, including older versions of the book, are conditions which were made up in the sense that there was something deemed abnormal OR maladaptive (not necessarily both) and thus given a name, possible treatment ideas etc. Certainly some conditions have biological aspects (like schizophrenia) but not all do.

I don't buy that GID was made up to appease the all powerful ts lobby It doesn't take alot to realize that having the opposite gender as your physical sex means something is wrong/abnormal... and you could take that in either direction (being crazy enough to think that such is the case OR the reality that such *is* the case ->depending which mindset you follow).

I should explain what I mean by wrong, I follow the idea that if you need a treatment for something, it is because something requires it (aka something is wrong). Transitioning and all the related aspects of it (say hrt, etc) are treatments to the condition if you will. Does that mean someone who is ts should be discriminated against or be seen as any less of a human? No, not at all.

[peggygee]

At first blush, bigendered has a androgynous connotation for me. A
blurring of the masculine and feminine, but that of course over-simplifies
the case.

I would say it falls under the transgender umbrella, with perhaps an
example being those who are intersexual, or those that change their
gender at various stages of their life.

The novel by Virginia Woolf and the subsequent movie 'Orlando'
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0107756/ comes to mind.

That's a Woolf I haven't read, nor have I seen the movie. (Adds to list.)

I wasn't thinking of androgyny, though that of course is also a form of bigenderism, where the two genders are as you say "blurred." Nor intersexed, which is physiologically quite distinct in any of its forms (though psychologically perhaps quite similar in some ways). I was thinking more of those who change their gender at different times, not so much stages of their lives, but "stations" of their lives: they are female in some circumstances, and male in others.

I don't know. Although I have several friends who I think fit this description, I still don't really understand it very well. Interesting topic, though.

Bigendered is tricky for me to get my head around as well. The gender
continuum can be a difficult pardigm to grasp at times, no wonder 'the
breeders' lump everyone into one basket.

Try to see Orlando as soon as you can, I tend to have a sense of the
movies that you like, and this would definitely fit your bill.

[Ecstatic]

Bigendered is tricky for me to get my head around as well. The gender
continuum can be a difficult pardigm to grasp at times, no wonder 'the
breeders' lump everyone into one basket.

Try to see Orlando as soon as you can, I tend to have a sense of the
movies that you like, and this would definitely fit your bill.

Ah, ye olde multivariate gender matrix (to paraphrase someone we both know elsewhere), very tricky to navigate at times.

Orlando has just moved up my list with that recommendation: time to dial up my DVD vendor and order a copy. Darn, and I was so looking forward to Grindhouse....

[Sherri]

Please don't take this post as being argumentative or bad spirited. I respect most of the points being made here. I've been lurking on the forum for a long time and thought I would finally contribute something, just to add a typical CDs perspective.

I am a middle-aged bi-sexual crossdresser who came to it late in life. I've been doing it regularly now for about 5 years and it is an important aspect of my life on several levels, some prurient, some emotional, some something else that is difficult to put into words.

I know now that this feminine thing has always been a part of me (along with a powerful exhibitionist urge tracing back to prepubescence), and if I had my life to live over, there is little doubt in my mind that I would have started hormones as soon as I got out of high school and made the transition to fulltime femininity. I yearn for that fulltime status even now. That said, I have never had and will never have a desire to relinquish my male genitalia, even though I would love to have real breasts and a feminine physique. As much as I love GG women, there is nothing sexier to me than a feminine body paired with a pretty cock, as is abundantly evident on this forum.

But I didn't make that decision long ago, largely due to an ignorance that wasn't disspelled until a failed marriage and the Internet. Now I have a career, kids, friends and a life history that would all suffer enormously if I made an irresponsible choice. But that's okay, I can live with that as long as I have regular opportunities for feminine expression and a combined male/female sexuality that feels very natural to me.

I may or may not be a typical crossdresser, I dunno. But I have experienced prejudice from gays and TSs, and had enough conversations to know that TSs don't even remotely understand someone like me nearly as much as they think they do. They are not superior beings (most of them live lives of desperate circumstances that force them into prostituition) and they have no need or right to pass judgement on me.

One point that has been made in this thread that I will concede is that compared to a beautiful TS, many CDs look like caricatures, like men in women's clothing, and make a bad impression on the rest of society. For most, there are reasons why they can't go to the extremes TSs do, but some really should put more effort into their appearance. Still, part of the problem is conditioned social expectations, gender stereotypes that are too rigid. I love to see a man with shaved legs, panties and a short skirt. I think it's really sexy. Besides, not all CDs can be beautiful any more than all TSs or all gender straight people can be beautiful.

Some CDs do behave rather scandalously sometimes, I'll admit. I'm as guilty of that as anyone. I am a very sexual creature - very. I hate wearing skirts longer than 10" (although I do if I'm going to the mall etc.) When I'm out clubbing I dress a little slutty, and sometimes I behave that way, too. I also go to adult theaters sometimes simply because it is so difficult to find a real relationship. But 90% of my exposure to TSs is tied to the sex trade, this forum being a perfect example. So how can they possibly say that my behavior reflects badly on them?!? Of the crossdressers that I know personally, they are all far more conservative than any of the TSs that I have met or otherwise been exposed to.

One thing I'll never understand at all -- how can an individual or group that endures such social prejudice and ostracism the way gays, lesbians and TGs do justify in their own minds treating crossdressers with the same judgemental hatefulness? I have no patience for it. The prejudice thing hurts doubly bad because, while I may not understand TSs any more than they understand me, I think they are attractive creatures to whom I am naturally disposed to like, befriend and defend --- if they weren't so condescending, even hateful.

[handsumjack]

Anyone with a COCK that looks like, feels like, looks and feels like, etc.... a woman is the One.

[Gillian]

I am a middle-aged bi-sexual crossdresser who came to it late in life.

Welcome to the club ...

One thing I'll never understand at all -- how can an individual or group that endures such social prejudice and ostracism the way gays, lesbians and TGs do justify in their own minds treating crossdressers with the same judgemental hatefulness?

It's the TERF wars that baffle me ...

[Nick Danger]

Wow, 11 years. What is the necropost record for this site?

[ReynaRolandKiss]

Please don't take this post as being argumentative or bad spirited. I respect most of the points being made here. I've been lurking on the forum for a long time and thought I would finally contribute something, just to add a typical CDs perspective.

I am a middle-aged bi-sexual crossdresser who came to it late in life. I've been doing it regularly now for about 5 years and it is an important aspect of my life on several levels, some prurient, some emotional, some something else that is difficult to put into words.

I know now that this feminine thing has always been a part of me (along with a powerful exhibitionist urge tracing back to prepubescence), and if I had my life to live over, there is little doubt in my mind that I would have started hormones as soon as I got out of high school and made the transition to fulltime femininity. I yearn for that fulltime status even now. That said, I have never had and will never have a desire to relinquish my male genitalia, even though I would love to have real breasts and a feminine physique. As much as I love GG women, there is nothing sexier to me than a feminine body paired with a pretty cock, as is abundantly evident on this forum.

But I didn't make that decision long ago, largely due to an ignorance that wasn't disspelled until a failed marriage and the Internet. Now I have a career, kids, friends and a life history that would all suffer enormously if I made an irresponsible choice. But that's okay, I can live with that as long as I have regular opportunities for feminine expression and a combined male/female sexuality that feels very natural to me.

I may or may not be a typical crossdresser, I dunno. But I have experienced prejudice from gays and TSs, and had enough conversations to know that TSs don't even remotely understand someone like me nearly as much as they think they do. They are not superior beings (most of them live lives of desperate circumstances that force them into prostituition) and they have no need or right to pass judgement on me.

One point that has been made in this thread that I will concede is that compared to a beautiful TS, many CDs look like caricatures, like men in women's clothing, and make a bad impression on the rest of society. For most, there are reasons why they can't go to the extremes TSs do, but some really should put more effort into their appearance. Still, part of the problem is conditioned social expectations, gender stereotypes that are too rigid. I love to see a man with shaved legs, panties and a short skirt. I think it's really sexy. Besides, not all CDs can be beautiful any more than all TSs or all gender straight people can be beautiful.

Some CDs do behave rather scandalously sometimes, I'll admit. I'm as guilty of that as anyone. I am a very sexual creature - very. I hate wearing skirts longer than 10" (although I do if I'm going to the mall etc.) When I'm out clubbing I dress a little slutty, and sometimes I behave that way, too. I also go to adult theaters sometimes simply because it is so difficult to find a real relationship. But 90% of my exposure to TSs is tied to the sex trade, this forum being a perfect example. So how can they possibly say that my behavior reflects badly on them?!? Of the crossdressers that I know personally, they are all far more conservative than any of the TSs that I have met or otherwise been exposed to.

One thing I'll never understand at all -- how can an individual or group that endures such social prejudice and ostracism the way gays, lesbians and TGs do justify in their own minds treating crossdressers with the same judgemental hatefulness? I have no patience for it. The prejudice thing hurts doubly bad because, while I may not understand TSs any more than they understand me, I think they are attractive creatures to whom I am naturally disposed to like, befriend and defend --- if they weren't so condescending, even hateful.

Seriously! More people need to read this reply!!! Perfectly said!