What's the Difference Between a Crossdresser and a Transsexual?

I really love this article (not sure about the joke though LOL) - I realized I was just a transvestite/crossdresser on my first night dressed out having spent it with two transsexuals. I was just so different. But for me the difference it's quite simple - the desire and need to dress up is mainly a sexual one for transvestites/crossdressers - if you just look at the type of clothes transevitites/crossdressers wear as they tend to be more sexually overt (short skirts/dresses etc) even when they are too old for the look - and for transsexuals try and blend with what they wear.

Very well said, Vanessa - it's a hard line to draw, and an even harder one to explain to others, but I think you did an amazing job.

While I've always know I was more crossdresser than transsexual, it was a night out with our local transgender support group that provided the ultimate revelation. It was there, looking around at my sisters, that I recognized the difference between 'being female' and 'expressing femininity' . . . and realised the two are not the same.

I been cross dress forever and as time goes on I want to get closer to being a woman but there one thing when i get high it bring the girl out of me big time and then i dont ever want to going back to be man so i say in joy what you have and have fun

Thank you so much for the article, I thoroughly enjoyed reading it, I have always questioned my gender these last few years, and where I fit in.

Even from the very start with cross-dressing, it had to be perfect . I had to be perfect. I wasn't going down this path because I wanted to be some guy dressed up in ladys clothes, there was always so much more. while some dressed to go out to sex on premsises at night I didn't, dressing cheap wasn't what it was about/ I was becoming a woman,

Most things in my life have revolved around this part of me. at the time though it wasn't something even thought about, though little things through life are so obvious now,

Im deff more fem on the inside than male, though does this change things with my gender and how I look at things, will no doubt work everthing out in time

Love

Jenna xx

I think the difference is different for everyone. While I have been a cross dresser and bi-sexual since I was 15 and prefer to be dressed I have never had the feeling that some transgendered have explained to me they have about feeling trapped in the wrong body.

I enjoy the feminine feeling when dressed but I don't have the feeling I should go any further then dressing.

I respect those who have those feelings and support what they decide to do. Just as my transgendered friends support that I won't take it farther then I do.

Very interesting article. I am a mother of a cross dresser. He started when he was very young, three years old. I had concerns and he attempted to hide it for years. I saw his struggles first hand. He has since decided to embrace his cross dressing and is completely open about it. Which is refreshing, as we discussed when he was in his teenage years, be who you are and never live in shame. Anyways, he has explained to me that for him and many other cross dressers he knows, cross dressing is like playing dress up, in a way. He says that the best way to describe his experience is that just like a preschooler dressing up like their favorite super hero a cross dresser dresses up like a woman. He also says that cross dressers have a heightened appreciation for women. He identifies himself as 100% male, never does he feel as though he is a woman, even in dress. He also considers himself heterosexual and has no interest in gay sex. He loves women, very much in every way.
I feel as though with all the interest in transgender, trans sexual, gay rights etc. Cross dressers, like my son, have a lot of preconceived ideas, as the joke implies and it's just not true. Just because a man puts on women's clothes does not mean he is gay, bisexual, transgender, trans sexual or feel as though their identity is female. He doesn't feel the desire to change his name or anything like that.
I did recognize the part Beckie brings out regarding the sexually overt attire. He does wear short tight skirts, dresses and would never wear jeans.

Very good article enjoyed . I feel I fit somewhere in between feel much more comfortable dressed as woman and it's not really sexual. If I been from different decade would have had surgery but wasn't acceptable in the sixties

How true luv feeling fem as a crossdresser, a little on the gay side like making out with men,hard to find men to make out with as a gurl though.

I have always felt that i should have been a girl. And the need to dress has always been there but i want to be blending in not stand out like a beacon. I like to dress my age and yes when i have sex i am always the submissive female but its not only for sex. I want to be female in all daily aspects good and bad.

Honestly, I am a crossdresser.I don't do it 24/7,because for me it is just sexual. I'm actually dating a mtf transexual, so I can understand the difference.

If you're transsexual, that OK. If you're a cross-dresser, that's OK.

If you're an androgyne, that's OK too.

The thing I hear trans women say is that they were born in the wrong body. Some say they reached a point where it was transition or die, they just couldn't go on living as they were.

I don't believe there's a cross-dresser in the world who would get that radical about how the feel about cross-dressing. But what about those who reach a point of not being able to go through a single day without expressing the feminine nature within, but still maintain a heterosexual male body? What about the males who have no issues with the body, only with the lifestyle?

That me, an androgyne. Having nearly equal parts masculine and feminine within the psyche. Here I am, driven to express my feminine nature, and unwilling or not desiring to give up my male body. That leaves me in a never-never land of genders. Never fully feminine and never fully masculine.

According to two well know tests, one scientific and one not so much though still mostly accepted in the trans community I have nearly equal parts masculine and feminine parts to my psyche with only a slight edge toward feminine.

As a result I dress nearly 90% of my time feminine and the time I'm dressed masculine, I do so in masculine cut women's clothes.

How do I know if I'm a transsexual? I'm not because the idea of sexual reassignment surgery is totally foreign to me. That said, I'm also not a cross-dresser, because I dress to blend in and just do thing any other woman would do. Did I just say "any other woman" and include myself with those women? I guess I did. But dealing with this in my life for the better part of 70 years (I didn't start really dealing with it until I was 25) I don't think another two years is likely to put me in the TS camp, especially not since I like it right where I am now.

With all due respect to my many transsexual friends, you beg the question with this constant barrage that it's all about the clothes for the crossdresser. For some it may be admittedly, but for many of us, it's just an expression of femininity and that doesn't mean overtly sexual or just blending in either. Of course feeling feminine is good and exciting, but in case you haven't noticed, what the heck do you think genetic women are doing. Some of the outfits they wear are hardly meant to blend in and in fact, I don't think that should be our objective either. Check out my Stylish Crossdressers on Sister House http://www.sisterhouse.net/dressingroom/ These women are style icons of our community because their outfits are put together. They take the time to be womanly, not sexual, in their appearance, although I would argue that a stylish woman is very sexy too.

I have a good TS friend that has been female for 20 years now and she loves to dress sexy, for work, for her boyfriend, and in everyday life. So differentiating yourself from crossdressers based on the clothes you wear holds little water unless you enjoy looking dowdy or like a slob. In fact, psychology tells us that we are most often judged by first appearances. and we get treated accordingly. I dress well and am treated well. What about you?

Well after reading this article I'm not sure what I am anymore. I have a man body but inside I know that I am a woman 100% woman 100% feminine , I been cross dressing all my life I always wanted to change my body to look like a real woman but I never had the opportunity or the money to do it and to be honest I never had the courage either so I just be happy to cross dressing living in secret and in fear. I might have a man body dress like a man pretend to be a man but in my heart I'm 100% a woman and 100 % feminine and no bodies can get that away from me when I cross dress I don't dress to look like a sexy girl I dress to be pretty and cute it makes me feel so happy feel alive. My dream is that one day I'll become a beautiful princess like a Disney Princess or a barbie princess I believe there is life after death and I know that my dream will come meanwhile I will have to be patient live the rest of my life as a man and cross dress every time I can. So I don't know how you call that but this is who I am.

Very interesting article and comments. I am very new to crossdressing so I really don't know which direction I am going at this point. As far as the type of clothes I wear, heels, panty hose, bra and panties, and a dress. I think I might dress less extreme, but that's all I have for now. I recently separated from my wife because of my crossdressing. Since I am now living alone in a hotel (for now until the divorce moves further), I dress every day and can't wait to get home from work so I can dress. I don't think it is a sexual thing though. It just feels good and it relaxes me. In this short time, I have been doing a lot of thinking but I still just don't know where I am going. I have often wondered if I was transsexual. Would I go through HRT? As far as living my life wishing I was a girl, I can't say that I did. I do remember as a child thinking that, but as I got older, it didn't really cross my mind. I remember at about 10, trying on mom's panty hose and skirt but I never did that again until very recently when I decided I wanted to try my wife's panty hose. I was never the macho guy. I am somewhat strong due to my size but I never thought myself as one of the guys and never had the desire to go drinking with the guys or be interested in sports. I tried some sports in school, but I was horrible at them all. I did band and theatre instead and did pretty well I those. I am fortunate to be living in a large city so the support resources are plenty. I have gone to meetings designated for crossdressers and meetings designated with transgender or transitioning. I felt very uncomfortable at the crossdressing meetings but felt extremely comfortable at the transition meetings. Even though I cannot say I have wanted to be a woman all my life, I have identified with the people in the transition meeting much more than the crossdressers. No offense towards crossdressers (I am one for now) but I felt the people in the crossdressers meeting were acting and the trans people in the transitions meetings were real. Somehow I just felt more at home with the transitioners. I felt like I belonged there where I felt like a visitor at the crossdressers meeting. So what does all this tell me? I don't know. I think I would enjoy being a woman. I am jealous of what they get to wear on a daily basis, casual or dress. I want to be like them. The strange thing is I have only really been thinking of this for a very short time. My wife has always said that I have kept everything inside and never expressed emotion what so ever. When I was young, I was the cry baby. At about junior high somewhere, I decided to stop crying and to do that I cut out emotion and basically did what everyone said I should in life. However, when I came out to my wife as a crossdresser or gay or who knows what, it was an uncontrollable urge to say something and if I didn't, I felt like I would explode. Now, after the fact, I understand that I did it wrong and should have seeked counseling before I said something but I fear if I did, I might have never come out. Even though my life has been flipped upside down, I am glad I did come out. I feel like I am finally realizing who I am. Still not sure if who I am is a woman, but the thought has crossed my mind a lot in the month since we separated after 21 years of marriage. I am 52. I said at the transition group that I wish I would have come out earlier and pretty much everyone said they wished the same thing. Well, I have rambled enough here so I will stop typing. If anyone has any advise for me, I would be greatly appreciative. Thanks for listening (reading). Jenny