Why Do We Crossdress? For Visibility?
Chanelle
There are many theories as to why many men in the world feel like they should start regularly wearing women’s clothing at some point in their life. There could be a number of reasons: some may do it for the sexual thrill women’s panties, stockings, and high heels give them, some because they decide to be female impersonators or drag artists, and the rest do it because they wish to explore their gender identity, to either satisfy their gender fluidity or gender dysphoria, which most often leads to transition to living as the opposite sex. In a meeting with my therapist, seen to help me learn how to deal with family issues, I connected my extrovert personality to my crossdressing. An extension of personality is something important for us to keep around because without uniqueness, we feel invisible. In this post, I wanted to share my thoughts on this factor of invisibility -– why we express ourselves as the opposite sex.
Most humans want to be visible. We drive cars with graphics and custom rims, we plant elaborate gardens on our land, we wear jewelry, pierce our skin, and embed ink into it -– all to be different, to be visible. Naturally, we are all show-offs. We are all (even the most humble people) flamboyant on some level, at some point in time. Then we find people like ourselves and form sub-cultures that allow us to live more complete lives and be happier connected to people who understand. When we make online profiles on social networks, using the names and images of our opposite-sex alter egos, we are not being narcissistic weirdoes, but we are simply creating second lives for ourselves and at the same time, fishing for people like us. We want other people, especially those who are like us, to see us. We want to be visible. We exchange messages, join groups, forums, and lists, add and follow hundreds and thousands of other people who are also crossdressers. As someone who is very “connected” on social networks, I can only imagine how boring my life would be without knowing the many crossdressers and transgender women whom I talk to on a regular basis online.
Aside from forming networks of friends in the online as well as offline world, we naturally want to show others that we are happy. Outward gender expression is important to many and we could not live without crossdressing. We need it like air. Without expressing our gender-variant identities, we become depressed and we become irritable. Bringing out the girl within us helps us relax and be more at ease with ourselves and the rest of the world. Outward expression helps us keep ourselves sane and happy.
Most humans are very visual creatures. Their emotions are controlled by just about everything they see. In relation to crossdressing, one could feel very feminine inside and think feminine thoughts, while appearing to be and acting totally masculine on the outside. The internal conflict consequently creates bad mood. To make peace with ourselves, we get dolled up and feel sexy and feminine and express it visually. The visibility, the outward expression, helps us be happy with who we are. So to those who are in doubt of their gender identity and to those who feel tense, I strongly recommend trying gender exploration, which could lead to self-discovery and a more enriched and fulfilled lifestyle.
Do you think Chanelle’s theory of visibility is correct? Let us know in the comment area below.
Category: All TGForum Posts
About the Author (Author Profile)
Angela Gardner is a founding member of The Renaissance Transgender Assoc., Inc., former editor of its newsletter and magazine, Transgender Community News. She was the Diva of Dish for TGF in the late 1990s and Editor of LadyLike magazine until its untimely demise. She has appeared in film and television shows portraying TG characters, as well as representing Renaissance on numerous talk shows.Subscribe
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