Sophie Lynne writes about loss and how secrecy over gender identity can mean that people we know in their true gender often just disappear when they pass away. When family and friends are not aware of of their loved one’s real self obituaries and tombstones only display the legal name of the deceased. Meanwhile their “found family” never gets to say goodbye.
At a certain stage in a crossdresser’s development she arrives at a tipping point. Does she decide that she doesn’t give a damn about what strangers think if she shops for feminine attire while in male mode, or does she just present as she likes? Most who decide that the salesperson at the makeup counter doesn’t give a damn about their gender find that they get treated the same as any other customer. Misha writes about her first time buying makeup in boy mode.
Rabbah Rona Matlow has some thoughts on the recent National Coming Out Day. While organizations promote the idea that all LGBTQ people should emerge from hiding and proudly let everyone know who they are, it’s not that simple.
Linda tells us about meeting up with a group of crossdressers as they each in turn reveal their closest encounter with being ‘outed’ to friends, family and colleagues. Then she invites us to add our closest call.
Linda Jensen has found an unexpected benefit to being isolated at home. She is getting in touch with people she met earlier in her life. They are reaching out to her to comment on her posts here on TGF. One lady she hadn’t heard from in years wrote to comment on one of Linda’s posts and also to wonder how some of the people they both know were able to put their femme side away while quarantining with family that had no knowledge of their femme side. And, Linda’s friend is benefitting from isolation as now her wife is not worried that anyone will be stopping by their house so Linda’s friend is able to dress everyday.
In this time of masking to protect ourselves and others from a deadly virus Sophie muses on how it was that she had been deploying masks for protection her whole life. The mask of shyness in grade school to avoid the attention of bullies. The mask of a cheerful worker wearing a mandated uniform. The mask of manliness she put on every day before the pressure to take it off became too great. All of Sophie masks shielded her from having to be open and visible to the world.
In this time of social distancing and self isolating our normal routines are suddenly gone. Dressing up and going out to dinner, happy hour or a club is no longe possible, or from a health standpoint practical. What do crossdressers who depend on a certain schedule and life circumstances to squeeze in those opportunities to dress up do when they have to stay in their homes with family members who are not aware of their “hobby”? Julie Slowinski had some fun planned during an upcoming work trip out of town. A trip that has been cancled. How is she coping?
Many part time ladies who are not “out” to everyone have found themselves in situations in which they run into someone who knows them from their male life. You’re en femme, walking on the street, and up ahead you see your neighbor, co-worker or your child’s teacher. OMG! Linda recalls attending a support group meeting for “closeted crossdressers” where members took turns revealing the close calls they had that could have left them outed to the world.
Our newest Contributor is Brooke Preston. Miss Preston today presents a story that we are sure many of you can relate to. It’s all about how excited she was to be home alone with her mother’s corsets, bras, dresses and heels. How she was terrified that her mother might notice a cosmetics item or piece of jewelry slightly out of place the next time she was in her bedroom sitting at her vanity. Now Brooke is all grown up and she can indulge her passion for feminine finery any time she wants. Today she, while immaculately attired in the height of femme attire, writes about the thrill of it all.
Have you ever wanted to go shopping for lady’s clothes but were too afraid? This story is about Brittany Chambres’ first experience buying clothes for herself in a lady’s clothing store. Brittany was a contributor to TGForum back in 1996. She wrote this hoping it would alleviate any fears you may have about stepping into a woman’s clothing store. From the TGF Archives, it’s A Beginner Goes Shopping.
Kimberly writes about a time when she moved from the east coast to California. She was only dressing en femme part of the time and that time tended to be very early in the morning. Or late at night if you look at it from another view point. Everyday she would get up and get fully dressed in lady’s business attire. Then off she would go, out into the world. What did she do on these excursions? What adventures did she have? Read her blog post today and learn what she did and to what lengths she went to avoid discovery by her neighbors.
You’ve heard the song Bad Day? It got a lot of radio play a few years back. Well the title of the song only begins to touch on the kind of bad week that our Amanda Steele had to endure. Things started off well and it looked as if a plan to move out of her crazy rooming house was going to work out. She and her cat would be free from the landlady’s immense collection of stray felines and all the confusion. Just a couple of things needed done and soon Amanda would be free. But the best laid plans. . . .
Linda meets up with a long-time friend who says she has some startling news for her. What could it be? Her friend was going to have gender confirmation surgery? But then she would still be the woman Linda liked, and, she had always identified as a crossdresser. Could it be something personal? Linda didn’t think there was anything wrong between them. Why would this be the last time they might see each other?
We all have our dress up routines. Some always “under dress” in lingerie and hose while they present a masculine image to the world. Other’s prefer to dress up all the way and go out for special femme days, or just stay home and take selfies to post on Facebook. While under dressing can give a crossdresser the connection to the world of femininity that they find pleasurable, there are dangers when your usual routine is suddenly interrupted. In Part 1 Porja told you how a medical emergency landed her in the ER while under dressing in lace panties and hose. Today the startling consequences.
Today Linda reacts to a recent TGForum column in which the writer proposed steps to help ‘non-transsexual transgender’ people to reduce their stress. It turns out that Linda, a self described “closeted crossdresser” loves the stress. As she has gotten older it has become harder to get that adrenaline thrill she used to get from simple things like wearing a bra. Linda is seeking new challenges that create the stress she loves, so please don’t try to take away her stress.
We all have our dress up routines. Some always “under dress” in lingerie and hose while they present a masculine image to the world. Other’s prefer to dress up all the way and go out for special femme days, or just stay home and take selfies to post on Facebook. While under dressing can give a crossdresser the connection to the world of femininity that they find pleasurable, there are dangers when your usual routine is suddenly interrupted. Today Proja tells you how a medical emergency had her worrying about how the hospital staff would react to her black pantyhose and pink toe polish.
A group of crossdressing “girls” have banded together to rent an apartment where they can store their femme attire and accessories, keeping their “secret lives” hidden from their spouses. With their “sacred sanctuary” as a place to gather and dress en femme the group has established a regular “girl’s night out” on Fridays. One Friday night the worst thing possible happens: one of the ladies is suddenly stricken with debilitating pain. The only thing for the crossdressed crew to do it take her to the hospital. Where there will be questions to answer.
A group of crossdressing “girls” have banded together to rent an apartment where they can store their femme attire and accessories, keeping their “secret lives” hidden from their spouses. With their “sacred sanctuary” as a place to gather and dress en femme the group has established a regular “girl’s night out” on Fridays. One Friday night one of the girls didn’t seem to be her usual self. After dinner she collapsed in pain. The only thing to do was take her to the hospital. But how will that go when everyone is dressed as a woman?
Holiday times are when Amanda takes out her memories of past adventures and relives them. Today she tells us about some of the good times, en femme and totally feeling it that she had in the ’90s. Sadly the photos of the early days of that trip to the mall, after the meticulous planning and attention to every detail, were lost in a purge. But the memories are still available and Amanda has some photos from the 2000s that you’ll want to see.
A group of crossdressing “girls” have banded together to rent an apartment where they can store their femme attire and accessories, keeping their “secret lives” hidden from their spouses. With their “sacred sanctuary” as a place to gather and dress en femme the group has established a regular “girl’s night out” on Fridays. One Friday night one of the girls didn’t seem to be her usual self while everyone was getting ready to go out. Then after dinner . . . We’ll let Christine tell you what happened in Part 2 of It had to happen. . . .
A group of crossdressing “girls” have banded together to rent an apartment where they can store their femme attire and accessories, keeping their “secret lives” hidden from their spouses. With their “sacred sanctuary” as a place to gather and dress en femme the group has established a regular “girl’s night out” on Fridays. One Friday night everyone was getting made up and dressed but when they were almost ready to go out — one girl noticed someone was missing. How would that affect their evening plans? Find out over the next four Mondays as we present “It had to happen. . . .”
Due to the nature of the trans/crossdressing community over the past few decades people often don’t learn that a friend from their crossdressing life has passed away — one day they stop seeing their friend at the usual places, the local TG-friendly club, or at the annual crossdresser weekend getaway. Many in the community separate their two lives and never reveal their male self to their female self’s friends. Today Cate O’Malley talks about a trans friend who passed away. Cate was fortunate to learn of her passing and attended the funeral — only to find a strange man’s body in the casket.
Those in the trans community who live a “double life” having a male identity with male friends and associated and their other female identity with her friends can often find themselves in an awkward place when their male self is having a conversation with someone who knows nothing about the other life and begins to make biased and ignorant statements regarding “trannies.” Our contributor Proja Braga had a situation like that and she writes about the final straw.
In her current series of articles Linda Jensen is telling you the stories of crossdressers (persons who crossdress, if you prefer) who have each handled the self-revelation issues of when, who, and how to tell in very different ways. Linda’s aim in revealing how these people “came out” is to show that there are different strategies and each can work for the individual. These methods may not work for you but could help you formulate a strategy. Today she talks with Amanda who is totally open about he crossdressing with her family, neighbors and even her dentist.
Cate O’Malley has a few friends who have decided to give up expressing their true selves and go back to living as males 24/7. None of them are doing it willingly. They fervently wish they could continue to be who they really are, but circumstances in their lives have forced this decision on them. Cate shares her thoughts on how hard it must be to deny your true nature after being able to express it, at least part time, then going back to expressing your gender facade. She has advice for those faced with this decision and advice for others in the community who may not look at these people’s decisions kindly.
In her current series of articles Linda Jensen is telling you the stories of crossdressers (persons who crossdress, if you prefer) who have each handled the self-revelation issues of when, who, and how to tell in very different ways. Linda’s aim in revealing how these people “came out” is to show that there are different strategies and each can work for the individual. These methods may not work for you but could help you formulate a strategy. Today she talks with Lucille who has kept her dressing a total secret from her family.
