@Matt85 I'm not really brave. I'm careful not to go to places where being a cross dresser would require bravery. But in northern Europe most places these days are perfectly safe for gender non-conformists. I have been dressing openly in public for about four years now and have had only two occasions where anyone has been openly abusive (one in England, one in Norway), and they were losers who were no threat.
On the other hand I have had numerous compliments.
So wear your hat with pride, hold your head up and look the world in they eye!
@WillaKissing I'm going to come out sooner or later. I've decided that when I get home from my summer holiday this year.I'm not going to change out of my skirt.
@robertsnj I feel perfectly safe. In another response here I mentioned two case of abuse, one in Norway. Well that was a week or two ago so, the first time after at least four years of openly dressing in Norway. And he was drunk, or high or some such, and was already being gently restrained by the shopping centre security people. As I walked away I passed an elderly lady who turned to me and said how dreadful such behaviour was and how feminine I looked. So I count that the result as positive!
Edit: Well spotted, IKEA Slependen again. It's getting to be a bit of a habit to go there for breakfast when I go out to post parcels. It's some distance from home so I'm unlikely to meet anyone who knows me. I'm not sure whether I should try to break the habit or embrace it.
@OlderSometimesWiser The picture with the butterflies? I was struggling to get a picture of the butterflies on my hand in the Stratford-upon-Avon Butterfly Farm a couple of months ago. It was very busy and I wasn't succeeding. A woman in a group of half a dozen people said she could take it for me and that was the result. It's a magical place and I think that pretty much everyone there was smiling broadly.
@OlderSometimesWiser Thank you! I try to take life as it comes, not always easy of course. I think many of us, myself included, allow our concerns for the future overwhelm our enjoyment of the present. When that happens to me I often dip into Marcus Aurelius' Meditations to try to get a better perspective on life.
This one?
You know Jeremy Clarkson of Top gear fame? That picture was taken outside his farm shop in February. Unfortunately it was closed.
If you're still in the closet then it's a closet with glass walls and revolving door! I'm geting braver when I'm awag from home, but not sure I'll ever come out to my family.
@ninalanyon I'm having similar thoughts. I've come to the conclusion that I'm not making ang big declaration. I'm just getting on with my life and if someone in my family, circle of friends, ask me a question regarding how I dress and / or my sexuality I'm not going to lie or deflect anymore. That apart it's nobody's business.
@22Michelle Well yes, that's part of it. What I actually meant that at each moment I can only see so far ahead. Now that I have decided that I'm going to stop hiding my skirts I am now wondering what the next step might actually be. Have I reached the end or are there further revelations. This all started as a lark to liven up a boring evening in a hotel room with some minor naughtiness in an online video chat room. But each step has opened up more of the landscape.
@ninalanyon Who knows? The more I dress, the more I have freedom to dress the I am also wondering where it all leads. I just wish I'd started this journey in my teenage years.
Nina, if feeling like you are in the Closet feels safe for you, then keep that element, OR if you are an out and proud Woman, then i stand with you and am so proud of you which ever you pick, because your beautiful soul is living the way you desire to live as we all deserve to!
@DiegoWolfe I decided a few weeks ago that when I return home after my summer holiday that I'm not going to change out of my skirt and into trousers. That will mean that I am finally out as a crossdresser to my children and neighbours. But still not out to the rest of my family and friends.
Then the next step will be that on the next holiday I will not take any male clothing with me at all.
Of course there's ample opportunity for chickening out!
You look super happy, I wish I had the courage to come out publicly. I really want to dress femme all of the time unless I'm required to be nude of course ♥️💋
@samanthaX You need to ask yourself what is really holding you back. In a way it is easy for me. I am widowed and retired, I have a pension that while not huge is enough to allow me to travel away from home. So I dress where I will not be recognized.
It took a long time to get to this stage. I had been dressing in private of and on for ten or fifteen years before I started to dress while driving my car. Then I pushed the boundaries a little.
You know the story of boiling a frog? If you do it slowly enough the frog doesn't notice it happening. The story is nonsense of course but the principle remains to be something worth considering, so I did it to myself. I just added a little more feminity at a time. Then i waited until it had become ordinary and added a little more.
