Let get ready to rumble!!!

There seems to be a lot of confusion about the differences between a transgender woman and a cross-dressing man.  The simple answer is in the question.  A transgender woman is a woman.  A cross-dresser is a man.  I know that there are the opposite, but this is where the issue is at.   But it is a little deeper answer to it.

A Cross-dresser agree with his body.  He only wants to look as a woman some of the time.  Some cross-dress for fetish reasons.  Some cross-dress to enjoy looking like a woman.  None of them want to change their body to match their gender.  They are biologically and psychologically the same. Male

A transgender woman has issues with her body.  She is a woman all of the time.  Some do not think they are either.  She will live her life as a woman.  She knows from a really early age that she is different. She has never been male,  just looked like one for sometime.  She looks in the mirror and is terrified by what she sees.  She sees a male in the mirror but knows she is female. Her biology is not her.  She has a female sole and a male body.

This struggle can be  only alleviated by transitioning.   It is the only way to feel like yourself.  The other option is not acceptable.  There are too many transgender girls are taking their own life.  She cannot see a way out of their situation.  Acceptance is the reason.  She usually not getting the support from their family, friends and/or society.  Shame is at the core of the issues.  The only way to stop this is to educate those who do not understand what she is and what other need to do to support her.

How can you tell the difference?  That is harder to see.

The cross-dressing man will wear the clothes to look like a woman.  He does not take the time to blend in to society.  They usually have facial hair or the 5 o’clock shadow.  He does not put the effort into passing as a woman.  He might wear makeup or not.  It is not critical to his needs. He does not change is mannerisms.  He usually  walks like a man and thinks like a man.  He tends to stand out.

If the transgender woman is successful, you can not tell that she has male parts.  This takes a little time to show.  When she starts her transition she works hard to erase the image of who everyone sees her as.  She may have a deep voice, she may have bad makeup because she is learning.  She does everything she can to not have facial hair.  All of them are expensive and not permanent.  After about a year on hormones,  the hair gets lighter and grows slower.  It is about this time that her old image is gone for good.  You cannot tell a transgender woman or a cisgender ( non transgender) woman.

So when you hear “A man in a dress”  that is a cross-dresser.  Not a transgender female.