I think anyone that didn't go through the cross dressing was spared a huge torment. It started for me at 4 and was relentless my whole life. If I would of been able to live as my true gender it would of been one thing , but to deal with the shame and the hiding and the lack of understanding why I was doing this was just one big stress filled bag of pain. Dysphoria is rooted far deeper then the clothes issue.

Had my first thoughts around 5, started crossdressing at...not even sure. It was so long ago. I never played with dolls or wanted dolls, action figures and sports were always in me. Also, My mom's clothes did not fit me at all, yet I still wore them when I could. made no difference to me. I personally don't understand the people who start crossdressing at like mid 20s-40s. Seems odd to me someone would go that long before finally giving in to crossdressing. But then again, everyone differs. I consider my self trans even thought I don't want any SRS, or the likes whereas alot of girls do. My dysphoria, although pretty harsh, isn't as bothersome as it is for other girls. I have tried hormones a few times and I plan to go on them again in the near future, but not exactly transition doses.

Hi,

I never really cross dressed when I was younger. Only when I started puberty did I start wanting to try on my mother's clothes occasionally. It never really lasted long. A pair of panties for a few minutes or a bra the whole time I was using the bathroom, stuff like that. It wasn't until I decided to transition at the age of 28 did I start dressing in female clothing. I'm 32 now. During puberty I was so envious of girls and their clothes, hair and breasts. Around age 14-15 I wanted to have my own set of breasts. Around 16-17 I repressed that desire. It wasn't until after I started gender therapy that I remembered that desire. So no you didn't have to cross dress when you were younger before you started transitioning.

I knew I wanted to be a girl at 4'ish, I didn't even know about GID, was not in the medical books then... As far as I knew. I also cross dressed from around 6'ish... It was my private way of managing my Dysphoria.

So does one include or exclude the other? Don't know; but they were and have been linked for me.

L Katy

For me, wearing girls clothes at every opportunity was a way of venting my female needs when I was young. But everyone is different. What some of us do, others don't.

Quote from: stephaniec on April 11, 2015, 04:22:12 PM
I think anyone that didn't go through the cross dressing was spared a huge torment. It started for me at 4 and was relentless my whole life. If I would of been able to live as my true gender it would of been one thing , but to deal with the shame and the hiding and the lack of understanding why I was doing this was just one big stress filled bag of pain. Dysphoria is rooted far deeper then the clothes issue.

  This somewhat mirrors my own experience.  I was too shy and self-conscious when I was a child to do much though.  It really took off at puberty and while I liked it I didn't understand it at all.  It was horribly embarrassing and kinda terrifying.  One time I quite literally had to hide in a closet in order to finish changing back into my normal clothes because someone came home unexpectedly.  I had to pretend I meant to play a trick on them because they went looking around the house for me.  The closet door was too noisy to open without alerting them anyway.

  Once puberty settled down I managed to push it back into the closet for a while but it would keep springing up every so often.  Beyond societal shame I was scared because I had no understanding of the independence of gender identity and sexuality.  Knowing I had no interest in men but being paranoid that crossdressing meant I must be was pretty effective at burying the issue.

Yep, definitely cross dressed as a child in secret. When I was 13, my mother and I were near the exact same size. We didn't have a lot of money at the time and my mother had a pair of jeans that she gave me as they were a little too small for her. I wore them and love them as they fit me so well. Better than any other jeans I ever had because I always had feminine hips. Even though they looked unisex, it was so nice to wear them.

Quote from: Sydney_NYC on April 12, 2015, 12:22:58 PM
Yep, definitely cross dressed as a child in secret. When I was 13, my mother and I were near the exact same size. We didn't have a lot of money at the time and my mother had a pair of jeans that she gave me as they were a little too small for her. I wore them and love them as they fit me so well. Better than any other jeans I ever had because I always had feminine hips. Even though they looked unisex, it was so nice to wear them.

When I was a kid, my mom's cousin (my aunt) had a pair of tight leather pants. She made one like it for me. I was over the moon. I wore it once and it disappeared. I have no idea what happened. I suspect it disappeared because I liked it too much. Ah well.

I had long hair too. I loved it.

I never crossdressed and never wanted to. I put on my first female garment long after I had decided I wanted to transition, in order to try to be sure.

I've been happily living full time as a woman for more than a year and a half, so the answer to the question posted in the Subject line would be, IMO, no.

Quote from: Violet Bloom on April 12, 2015, 10:19:10 AM
  This somewhat mirrors my own experience.  I was too shy and self-conscious when I was a child to do much though.  It really took off at puberty and while I liked it I didn't understand it at all.  It was horribly embarrassing and kinda terrifying.  One time I quite literally had to hide in a closet in order to finish changing back into my normal clothes because someone came home unexpectedly.  I had to pretend I meant to play a trick on them because they went looking around the house for me.  The closet door was too noisy to open without alerting them anyway.

  Once puberty settled down I managed to push it back into the closet for a while but it would keep springing up every so often.  Beyond societal shame I was scared because I had no understanding of the independence of gender identity and sexuality.  Knowing I had no interest in men but being paranoid that crossdressing meant I must be was pretty effective at burying the issue.

our experiences are quite similar , I also almost got  caught by my father when I was in high school because he came home unexpectedly

I don't think it's required we are all different, but I used to when I was little, but that's also because I was able to, since I have a sister to play with dolls and stuff like that, actually my sister didn't even like dolls anymore because she is older than me, so I would force her to play with me, and I would use some of her stuff sometimes and pretend to be a girl with her. even though my mom didn't want me to play dolls and such, but since she worked a lot, I would hide that from her... Actually even when I was in middle school I attempted some steps toward transition by getting earrings (I did them myself, and it was really painful lol), and getting longer hair, but then my mom would force me to cut them... ugh I wish I had a supportive mom like one of those in tv about trans children.

I mean if you actually had all brothers it's not like you can do that, but some people don't feel the need until after transitioning.

Quote from: Serena ♡ on April 12, 2015, 10:24:33 PM
I don't think it's required we are all different, but I used to when I was little, but that's also because I was able to, since I have a sister to play with dolls and stuff like that, actually my sister didn't even like dolls anymore because she is older than me, so I would force her to play with me, and I would use some of her stuff sometimes and pretend to be a girl with her. even though my mom didn't want me to play dolls and such, but since she worked a lot, I would hide that from her... Actually even when I was in middle school I attempted some steps toward transition by getting earrings (I did them myself, and it was really painful lol), and getting longer hair, but then my mom would force me to cut them... ugh I wish I had a supportive mom like one of those in tv about trans children.

I mean if you actually had all brothers it's not like you can do that, but some people don't feel the need until after transitioning.

I did mine myself too! but that ish didn't hurt. You're supposed to ice it first, girl!

Hmm... played barbie dolls, read fashion magazines, sometimes but rarely crossdress as a child, worn a wig before, make up, shave my arms as a child, pluck my eyebrows, played girl avatars, first album I bought "Metamorphosis" by Hilary Duff follow by "In the Zone" by Britney Spears. I love Paris Hilton, Lindsay Lohan, and Britney.

Then it pretty much died off around 2003. I had to act like a guy.

Not necessarily. Technically the only thing I've worn a couple of times was one of my mother's dresses (around 13-16 years old probably, can't remember exactly), but wanted to wear "girl" clothes. I was too chicken to buy my own clothes and was also fighting it.

Quote from: TransSasha on April 12, 2015, 10:33:09 PM
I did mine myself too! but that ish didn't hurt. You're supposed to ice it first, girl!

My mom and her cousin pierced mine and they did but after a while I think my dad said let it heal back. When I was little, like 4 years old.

I crossdressed when possible. Over the years, I started thinking I was doing it less, but then I realized that instead of doing it every now and then, I was flip flopping between all the time and not at all. It's still taken up at least 50% of my life, but now I only consider myself crossdressing in guy mode.

Haaa, I've self pierced my ears, umm a few times, ice first time or 2 then bought surgical spirit... Worked a treat... But couldn't keep the piercings open as only wore earrings at nights... Just kept getting messy.
Never did the same with belly button piercings, twice done professionally, Twice infected 

L Katy

My piercing experience was, I think, uncommon. I just slid a sharp needle through my lobes when I was about 20. I only wore earrings occasionally, in private, but the holes have always remained. They close up ever so slightly, but 26-years later I can still push jewellery through them with ease and without mess.

 never really cross dressed when I was younger.. I always loved playing the girl when I was younger. I was 14 the first time I experimented wearing a female clothing was a pair of black pantyhose. I would wear the pantyhose maybe 30 min at a time in secret of course.

I tried on a panty at 15 maybe 16,  I know shortly after that got a cheerleader skirt... I dressed in secret for short period of times...

At the age of 19.. I dressed fully up as a woman for the first time.. a huge jump from what I was doing. I remember that night.. that changed my life. I wore a blue winter dress, black pantyhose with black bra and panty.  I shaved my legs for the first time that evening. I wore makeup and nail polish for the first time that night.. I had a good female friend help me. I remember how alive I felt, how right it felt.. all those years of wanting.. After the evening I started wearing woman's clothes a more regular basis, which lead to a gender therapy and HRT. I got my first holes pierced into my lobes a few weeks after that first night.