Q. At what age did you begin to cross dress? Do you remember how or why you became interested? A. The earliest I remember is about age 5. I suppose lots of things made me interested, but my guess is that images on TV portrayed beautiful women as being very popular -- everyone wanted to be their friend. Q. What is cross-dressing all about for those who are unfamiliar with it? A. Cross dressing encompasses a wide spectrum. At one end, there are men who like to wear one or two articles of clothing such as lingerie or shoes; At the other end, there are those like myself -- who enjoy creating the entire feminine image -- complete with all the intricate details. The common thread among all of us is that crossdressing simply makes us feel good. An inner calm. A departure from the traditional male role that so called "normal" men aspire to. Q. Are you straight, bisexual, or gay? A. I have never had any kind of intimate contact with a man. I will say that my femme side is pleased when men find me attractive… kind of a validation that I've done a good job of creating a feminine image. But in reality? I don't enjoy romantic relationships with men. I've been out with a few, but they always knew that intimacy would not be a part of the date. What I find very, very exciting -- is me out with a beautiful gg (genetic girl) as girlfriends, who are admired by interested men. I have not had intimate relations with a woman in over 15 years. I decided long ago, that I would not become intimately involved unless -- the woman knew about, accepted, and embraced my feminine side. Total honesty -- no lies. No deception. Q. Have you ever considered a sex change operation to become a woman or do you identify in life completely as a man? A. I've considered "transitioning" to life full time as a woman, but it's a very, very, difficult and painful transition. Those who do, do it because they simply can't live as a man. I am quite happy with my male side and am content with embracing my femme side on occasion. Q. Do you have siblings? If so, how many brothers or sisters and how do they feel about your cross-dressing? A. Yes, I have three sisters (two older, one younger) and a younger brother. Although I suspect they know, we simply don't talk about it. Kind of like "don't ask, don't tell". The reason I suspect that they know is that I would often borrow (without permission) articles of clothing from my older sister. As time went on, I got kind of careless and although I don't know for sure, I'm almost certain that my sisters and my mother knew what I was up to. Today, I think they think I've "outgrown" it, but as I said, it's don't ask, don't tell. Q. Did you grow up with both parents in the house? If so, were you closer to your mom than your dad? A. Yes, both parents were in the house. Oddly enough, I was probably closer to my dad, since my mother was the disciplinarian and my father was more of a friend. I've heard lots of stories about crossdressers whose feminine feelings were the result of very strong ties to their mother, but that doesn't seem to be the case with me. Q. Are there cross-dressing clubs or organizations and do you belong to any? A. Yes, there is one. It's called TGEA. Transgender Education Association. They have a very informative website, located at: http://www.tgea.net/ Q. What is your line of work? Do you dress as a man or woman at work? A. I dress as a man, but at this point, I won't divulge my profession. I will say that I very often dress in an androgynous manner -- lots of colorful skinny stretchy jeans. And even in male mode, I'm often mistaken for female, such as when the Starbuck's employee asks, "may I help you ma'am?" Q. Do you have male friends who do not cross dress? If so, what do they think? A. I have some male acquaintances, and maybe they've heard through the grapevine that I'm a crossdresser, but they don't talk about it. I know a lot of people, but I really can't say that I have any close male friends. Q. Do you have female friends? If so, do you shop for clothing together, get your nails done together, etc? A. Yes, I have some female friends, and we occasionally go out to restaurants or nightclubs and shopping. We've never gone for manicures/pedicures, but I think that's an excellent idea! Q. You are more attractive than many cross-dressing men. Do your male cross-dressing friends or rivals envy you? A. If they do, they really don't show it. I've known several unfriendly, and occasionally rude crossdressers, but I'm not sure if that was envy or simply their personality. Most are very, very supportive and encouraging. Q. Are you married or ever been married? If so, what does your female mate(s) think? A. I've never been married. I would never want to marry a woman who didn't know about this very important part of me. It wouldn't be fair to her. Q. Do you have children? If so, what do they think of your cross-dressing? A. I do not have children. Q. Where do you buy your clothing, wigs, makeup, and accessories? A. I have a wide variety of sources. The traditional shopping malls, boutiques, consignment shops. I also buy on line. I usually get my wigs from a very nice lady with a wig shop within a mile from my home. I've been very loyal to her over the years. Makeup? I like the Mac counter, but also some of the drug store brands. Q. It would make sense that you would wear a bra, slips, and stockings, but do you wear women’s panties or gowns? A. If by "gowns" you mean nightgowns and not evening gowns? No, I really don't wear nightgowns. I do own several evening gowns. But I have a friend who cross dresses -- a lawyer, and the first thing he does when he gets home from work -- er, I mean the first thing SHE does is to put on a nightgown. That's not to say I don't like them -- they have some exquisite nightgowns at "Secrets in Lace". Panties? Yes, I wear Victoria's Secret panties just about every day. They're just more comfortable. Mens underwear is boring. Q. Do you wear women’s perfume or use women’s facial or body products? A. Definitely a fragrance when I'm in femme mode. My favorite is Chanel No. 5. I use lots of high quality skin care products and body moisturizers, but I don't see them as being specifically for women. Q. When dressed as a woman, do you use public restrooms for men or women? A. A very good question and very challenging at times. Many places I go to -- often places that have a large gay and transgender clientele -- don't have a problem with me using the women's room. More traditional places -- I don't risk it. If they don't have unisex single or unisex rooms, I usually just don't use the restroom. Needless to say, in these places I don't drink beer! Q. Have you ever been verbally or physically attacked by a flirtatious man who mistook you for a woman? A. Fortunately, no. I play it safe and rarely go out alone. I think it's much safer to go out with one or more people. I've been hit on by lots of guys, but they're usually very polite and they usually know that I'm transgendered. Q. Is there anything you would like to add that was not already asked? A. Nothing other than, I realize that most women won't be interested in me, but I'm confident that there exists a unique and creative woman who appreciates and embraces my femme side. At the same time, I'm very much aware that I may never find her. And if that's the case, I am very satisfied with my life as it exists today. Thanks for being interested. I hope I have been informative and enlightening and if you'd like to visit my website where I have over 1,000 pictures, please go to: http://home.comcast.net/~frantastique/ 
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