Hello everyone, this post will be a little long and I might be telling my life story here, but I've been keeping this inside for a while and I feel I finally need to speak to others about it. This welcoming community seems like the best place. ^___^ I am a 23 year-old straight biological male and it has been only recent that I started to question my own identity. To start, I never once considered I was trans, I'm pleased with the gender I currently am. However, I can't deny how feminine I've felt throughout my life. Through my whole life, I was always happiest with having long hair. I always enjoyed hanging out with women, only a few being romantic, and I was usually intimidated by men. I'm never afraid to cry and express my feelings openly, and I never felt the need to be or look "manly" - contrary to what my Dad always told me to be. I never wanted to look manly, I wanted to look...cute. I identify more with female characters in stories and I feel more... "me" playing as them in video games. I love how impossibly beautiful women are: how beautiful of a structure they had, how lovely they look in skirts, dresses, and long flowing hair...and how I sometimes wished I could look the same instead of just dressing up in boring mens' clothes (no offense to anyone who prefer them by the way). A few months ago, I developed an interest in cross-dressing. I knew that there are plenty of cis men out there who like cross dressing, but I thought I might be different than them. When I cross-dress, I want to see a woman in the mirror and not a man dressed like a woman. I only then start to worry how my hips aren't wide enough, my chest and shoulders are too broad, and well...the other anatomical differences men have that get in the way of looking womanly. This is where I feel confused. I like being male and having a penis, and I have no desire to have a vagina or female breasts. I don't mind being called "he" and "him." ...But I also don't mind being called "she" or "her." And I have days where I feel very feminine and want to dress feminine and act feminine. I want to walk out in broad daylight in a beautiful skirt and nails nicely painted. I want to spend says just sorting through and trying out womens' clothing and accessories to see if they look nice on me and express me more... I'm sorry this has gone on for a while, but I really want some clarity and help to understand myself better. If you read through all this, thank you.
Hi there, I'm also a 23-year old. Nice to meet someone the same age. From your description, you aren't a transsexual. Transsexuals like me identify as female, and have a strong feeling of being a girl trapped in a male body. You said you are fine with being a male or and being identified by others as one. Transsexuals, on the other hand, are very unhappy being seen as male, because we know that deep inside, we are female. I would say that you are just a feminine man, and a transvestite. That's my opinion. Hope this helped!
It sounds to me like you're a cross-dresser. Unless you get aroused by womens clothing, you're not a transvestite.
No need to be sorry! Welcome to EC - hope you find what you are looking for here. If you have always had these feminine feelings, but only just recently started cross dressing, I wonder if this is more than just being a cross dresser? Any reason you can't just continue to try feminine things out and explore how you feel about it for a while and see where it takes you? You're young - you have all the time in the world to figure things out!
That helps a lot! Thank you so much. ^___^ I've had a bit of trouble with making the distinction until now and I didn't want to label myself just yet without knowing for sure. My girlfriend asked me if I was trans the other day and I didn't know how to respond to that; I guess the answer I was looking for was right there, huh? ---------- Post added 21st May 2014 at 12:45 PM ---------- I'm in a point of my life right now where I can't openly express myself more femininely; I haven't gotten my own place yet. My mom and sisters go out every week to get their nails done, and I always wanted to tag along with them. I crossdress mostly in secret, but I wish I could walk around in a cute skirt every day. I'm not sure if I'll ever tell them about it, it's been so long; but I don't want them to find out the wrong way and think it's a fetish. I only ever express my femininity and crossdress openly when I'm with my girlfriend. She calls me "cute" and "adorable" and I can't help but blush a bit and smile. ^___^ I appreciate your support very much, thank you!
Oh, I can appreciate that - I have limited opportunity to present the way I would like to as well. It's great that you have such a supportive and understanding girlfriend - they are not always so easy to find! I think you will find that there are a good number of people here who share much in common with you. I would really just try to be patient and not worry too much about labels for now. Take care!
