Stuff: You Are Not Alone

You Have Company

By J.J. Atwell

You already knew this, right? That’s one of the reasons Femulate exists. When I first started dressing, there was very little information available. But luckily, the Internet has made it easier to connect with others. I’ve found that talking to other CDs helps me cope with my own dressing activities. It gives me confidence when I go out and it also gives me more opportunities to actually go out. 

But How to Find Others?

 

Via the Internet, there are lots of ways to find like-minded people. There is the ubiquitous Google search. But the results from that can be overwhelming and might not be helpful. Tread carefully when using this method. Follow the links with some skepticism and perhaps, use a browser in private mode. 

A better method might be to join one of the many online boards that are specifically for people like us? Some popular ones are www.crossdressers.com, www.crossdresserheaven.com and www.tgforum.com. When you join one of those sites, you can search for info about local groups. Just a heads-up: get your girl-self her own email address and use that when you join one of those groups under your female persona. 

And of course, right here on www.femulate.org there are some handy resources over on the right side of the page as you scroll down. Be sure to check out the sites that Stana has included. 

Joining a Group

Using the above suggestions resulted in me finding a local CD group a few years ago. After a bit of hesitancy, I finally got up the courage to contact them. There was a screening interview by phone with one of the officers, which is a good security measure for any such gathering. Once I passed that I was given the location and date for the group’s next meeting. 

So now comes an even bigger hurdle for those who haven’t been out the door: actually getting dressed and driving to the meeting. I remember my first time and I was both exhilarated and scared. I was worried that other drivers were looking in my car window and might “read” me. Well nothing happened other than just dealing with traffic. Hint: that’s the same no matter how you are dressed. 

Stepping out of the car and into the meeting location caused another wave of butterflies in my stomach. But I had come this far and wasn’t going to turn back now. As it happened, the group was very welcoming. I was able to chat with the members and slowly my tension drained away. I was out! 

Going Beyond the Group

By attending regular group meetings, I struck up some real friendships with other CDs and their SOs. That led to invitations to go out to other venues, dressed or not. It also gave my SO a chance to talk to the other SOs about how they deal with a CD husband. There are real benefits to joining a group beyond just the opportunity to get dressed. If you don’t already belong to a CD group, I hope you’ll find your way to your first group meeting.

I’ll Be Back

There will be more Stuff. As always, comments are welcome either here on the blog or by email to Jenn6nov at-sign gmail dot com. JJ is always looking for more stuff so if there is something you would like to read about please let me know!

Wearing Cynthia Rowley

Guy Siner femulating in British television’s ‘Allo ‘Allo!