Are gender identity and gender expression the same thing?

Well, if you don't FEEL like a girl, it's probably just an interest in cross-dressing. From what you said, I doubt you're male-to-female transgender. You could be genderqueer, or you could simply be a cisgender guy who likes to dress like a woman at times

 

No, gender identity has to do with you feeling like you are a woman. Gender expression doesn't really have anything to do with it. There are trans women who are masculine (or tomboyish) and there are cis men who are feminine and wear women's clothing.

 

Gender identity is how you identify gender wise i.e. male, female or non-binary

Gender expression is how you want to express that. i.e. do you want to express yourself as a feminine man/woman/person or a masculine man/woman/person or maybe a mix of the two.

 

ex :Kathy Lee dressed and expressed herself as Wayne(played by Micheal Myers) from Wayne's World this morning.
If I dressed as Kathy Lee(and expressed and dressed myself as Wayne(played by Micheal Myers) for Halloween....
I would look and sound and act like a male "Wayne" with the additional feminine presentation of breasts.
But I don't identify as a male who looks, sounds, and acts male with breasts.
I identify as a woman....and no matter how I look(even if I bound my breasts for the role of Wayne which I myself wouldn't do), sound, or act at a specific moment in time I am still a woman.

 

You might have a look at this:
Breaking Through the Binary: Gender Explained Using Continuums
and this:
http://emptyclosets.com/forum/gender-identity-expression/153243-androgynous-something-else.html#3

 

You sound probably either Agender, Androgyne, or a Demigirl. This is a post that I found somewhere, I think it was here on EC that I found it.

jay777 says this a lot in most of her other posts, do whatever feels comfortable to you. You don't have to confine yourself to a label, sometimes when we think we have to conform to someone else's idea of what a certain identity should be we hurt ourselves. When we conform like that, it causes anxiety because we are fighting ourselves, what you portray on the outside doesn't match your inner self. We should always strive to find what gives us the best sense of inner peace. Lastly I'll leave you with a bible scripture that even says we shouldn't conform to another human being idea of how we should be. We have our own identity and our own way of expressing it.

Romans 12:2(Living Bible Translation) Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but be a new and different person with a fresh newness in all you do and think. Then you will learn from your own experience how his ways will really satisfy you.

 

You can be a guy with an androgynous gender expression.

For example, my gender identity is Androgyne but my gender expression is Manly.

 

No, they aren't.

You mentioned that you always identified as male, but do you actually feel comfortable with that? If no one judged you based on appearance, would you still feel uncomfortable about being male, or is that the only reason?

Your gender identity is what you truly feel inside, regardless of what others think.
Gender expression, however, is how you choose to present yourself, as others have said.

Personally, I have a effeminate gender expression, even though I'm a trans guy. It's not about wearing the dress. It's about being seen as a guy in a dress, not a girl in a dress.

 

^This.