I'm Tanya and I live in the UK. I've crossdressed since I was in my early teens, which is a long time ago now. I've never been out, except to my partner - who is an incredibly understanding woman - and to my children. Most of the reason for not coming out is historical and I'm philosophical about it because across my life it would have created many more problems than it solved. No, it's not ideal, but hey, life is full of compromises and a decades old interest in psychology has helped a lot. Plus an ocean of lingerie.
When I first began crossdressing it meant going into stores (no internet back then) where all the assistants were older than my grandmother and twice as crusty. I could write a sitcom about my experiences, ranging between wishing the floor would swallow me up to a memorable occasion when the owner of a shop flipped the sign to closed and rolled out the red carpet.
If I could wave a magic wand and change my sex at birth then I'd be quite happy living as a woman (though my partner says I would have been way too much for any man to cope with) but as my relationships have worked out I'm fine with where I am. One way or another, I have experience to share of what works and what does not and should anyone wish I'm happy to engage and help out if I can. Resources like this forum are fantastic, because when I was growing up nothing of the sort existed, so I'm highly motivated to contribute.
