Hello from a new old member.
Posted: Thu May 10, 2012 10:02 pm
After reading of some of your experiences I find that, once again I'm fairly typical, and once again my story is quite different. Regardless, I'm quite happy to be here and hope I'll be able to help others. I've already gained insight and encouragement from this forum, and know there will be more.
First, I'm a very active and healthy seventy-one, and am just now coming out. My new wife (Jan 1st) has known from our second date, a year before we married. My 43yo son has known for about ten months. And some of my friends have found out from casual conversation in the last year, or at gatherings where one of the group has a large collection of female dress-up clothing and costumes which most of the men try on at her parties.
My wife has always been very supportive, to the point of enthusiasm and active assistance in shopping and make-up. Previous wives were grudgingly accepting at best. (Keep in mind that acceptance of alternative life styles may have been touted in the sixties, but was not really the rule for the majority of Americans until very recently.) The first marriage lasted about 2 years, and the second lasted for 40 years, until she died in 2008.
Like most cross dressers I think of myself as decidedly male with a strong female aspect that periodically insists on being recognized. And like most cross dressers (as opposed to gender changers and drag queens), I get quite excited when dressing up. I know people have strong preferences in the terms they prefer, so I use these titles quite without bias or prejudice, simply to explain myself and not to categorize anyone else.
My introduction to CD was around age ten. Around age 12 I was caught, first by my parents with my mother's underwear, and then by the police with lingerie looted in the night from many neighborhood clotheslines. The result of this was my being put in a locked ward for the mentally disturbed and being given electroconvulsive "therapy" treatments for several months, at first twice weekly, and then once a week, then once every two weeks until I was discharged after about 6 months.This was the generally accepted best treatment for my "disorder" at the time. Thank the FSM that times have changed. I hope no one else here was subject to that treatment, but if anyone was I'll be glad to share experiences and coping strategies with them, privately or on the Board.
I'll stop here and give everyone a moment to recover from my life-spew. I'm a writer, editor, and publisher, as well as an enthusiastic blogger and habitue of Usenet and now Facebook, so I usually rattle along too much and too easily. My apologies in advance, and my anticipation of what I hope will be a long and happy residence here.
First, I'm a very active and healthy seventy-one, and am just now coming out. My new wife (Jan 1st) has known from our second date, a year before we married. My 43yo son has known for about ten months. And some of my friends have found out from casual conversation in the last year, or at gatherings where one of the group has a large collection of female dress-up clothing and costumes which most of the men try on at her parties.
My wife has always been very supportive, to the point of enthusiasm and active assistance in shopping and make-up. Previous wives were grudgingly accepting at best. (Keep in mind that acceptance of alternative life styles may have been touted in the sixties, but was not really the rule for the majority of Americans until very recently.) The first marriage lasted about 2 years, and the second lasted for 40 years, until she died in 2008.
Like most cross dressers I think of myself as decidedly male with a strong female aspect that periodically insists on being recognized. And like most cross dressers (as opposed to gender changers and drag queens), I get quite excited when dressing up. I know people have strong preferences in the terms they prefer, so I use these titles quite without bias or prejudice, simply to explain myself and not to categorize anyone else.
My introduction to CD was around age ten. Around age 12 I was caught, first by my parents with my mother's underwear, and then by the police with lingerie looted in the night from many neighborhood clotheslines. The result of this was my being put in a locked ward for the mentally disturbed and being given electroconvulsive "therapy" treatments for several months, at first twice weekly, and then once a week, then once every two weeks until I was discharged after about 6 months.This was the generally accepted best treatment for my "disorder" at the time. Thank the FSM that times have changed. I hope no one else here was subject to that treatment, but if anyone was I'll be glad to share experiences and coping strategies with them, privately or on the Board.
I'll stop here and give everyone a moment to recover from my life-spew. I'm a writer, editor, and publisher, as well as an enthusiastic blogger and habitue of Usenet and now Facebook, so I usually rattle along too much and too easily. My apologies in advance, and my anticipation of what I hope will be a long and happy residence here.
from a fellow blogger, how about a link to your blog?