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How do we Spread the Word?
by Dixie
There are many ways that each of us in our own way can spread the word. It starts with "coming out" and not being afraid to say "This is me, it is who I am" and letting people realize that crossdressers OR their partners are not freaks. Believe it or not, there are those that think the wives/partners of crossdressers are "sick" as well and need help. Coming out of the closet is a BIG step, because until you yourself believe there is nothing wrong with these feelings it will be hard to convince others of that as well. And coming out of the closet does not necessarily mean "publicly" in your own town, especially if it is a small town such as ours, but most all of us live within driving distance of a larger town where this part of you can grow and explore for a weekend. If you are "read" look them in the eye and smile, don't feel embarrassed or guilty, as there is NOTHING to be embarrassed or guilty about. YOU are who YOU are! By showing embarrassment or guilt you are only conveying that to others, and they may perceive that you believe you may be doing something "wrong", which you are not, where is it written that it is illegal or wrong for a man to wear a dress?
Here are some of my thoughts, as the wife of a crossdresser, on how each of us can help "spread the word":
1. The "closet" crossdresser can work on emerging from that closet. The first step could be joining a local support group. The result in this would be twofold, one you are stepping out of the closet and are amongst friends and two most support groups have some type of "outside" activity in which to expose the public to crossdressing.
2. Once you feel comfortable with yourself, start letting family and friends know "YOU", the you you have hidden for so long. The YOU inside is the same person you have always been, the same person that family and friends have known all these years, they just did not realize that what makes up YOU is a truly gifted and Dual-Gendered person. Let them get to know this other person from the outside now, as they already love and care for the person inside.
3. Start doing OutReach. This can be done in several ways,
A: If you live in or near a college town contact the GLBT counselor about doing a seminar or talk on the Transgender person.
B: Contact your local library and see what books they have on trangenderism, such as "My husband wears my clothes" or "Coping with Crossdressing", if they have none suggest they get them or even offer to buy them and donate them to the library.
C: For those of you that are out and fully enjoy and feel comfortable with yourself, do as one of our friends does, about one weekend a month she picks a small town in our state and visits for the weekend as her female self. Going to restaurants and little shops and actually talking to the people there. When she is "read" she just looks them in the eye and smiles and says "yes I am a crossdresser, I would love to answer any questions you may have" (be prepared at this point with good honest answers because you will most likely be bombarded with questions) One on one in this type of situation will do wonders to increase the awareness of crossdressing, not only will that person learn a little they will also pass on what they learned to others. I mean, WHO could resist saying "I met a man in a ladies dress today" and then go on to explain the positive feelings they got from that. You will find that it will be for the most part the women with the curiosity, but who knows in some small way you may be indirectly helping that woman's husband/partner who himself is a closet dresser, and giving him the opportunity to come out as well!
D: As I mentioned above, join a support group in your area, not only for the support but to expose the public to the Transgender community.
4: When programs such as MSNBC "The Secret Wardrobe" come on, write the producers thanking them and telling them you would like to see more programs such as this, that put crossdressing in a positive light. The more programs the networks do, the more the public becomes informed.
5: For the wives/girlfriends that support their mates crossdressing, go out with "her", show the public that you are not afraid or embarrassed to be out as well.
6: Build a website, you would be surprised who may stumble across it and just maybe learn something if they take the time to explore it a bit. And I don't just mean those interested in crossdressing. I check my stats daily and two things that recently came up as a search were "bread" and "salsa", now don't ask my HOW they ended up on my site but they did and all I can hope is they took a bit to read some of what was there.
Each of us in our own small way can help to educate the public, I would love to hear your thoughts and what you have done to do this. Please feel free to post them in the Guest Book on this page for myself and others to read. Please reference your post to "Spreading the Word"
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