I've dressed to some extent since i was about 6 .. Yes in my mothers things and yes that is weird but where most of us start off curious how these things feel on and substituting yourslef for the woman youd like to have wearing this stuff even at a young age with a crush on a teacher or a girl at school etc.

So its not a mid life crisis for me as always crossdressed so its a part of me something i do nothng to worry about still want to be a man no intention of being a woman still occassional dressing for fun relaxation and escapism and as Anthea says a hell of a stress reliever.. Even better now sharing this more openly with my wife our girls nights in and working from home etc but it wont escalate into something to aid a mid life crisis.

I can safely say cross dressing has been part of my life since I was a very Young child. The urge to dress has never gone away . They’ve been suppressed on occasions but when the stress levels increase the high heels 👠 always come out.

It's the fact we stop (or at least temporarily) when T levels rise (20s) and start again when they fall (midlife crisis time). It strange but those crossdressers late to the party 40+ when they start seem to go all the way to transition. OK not a scientific survey but the two late crossdresser who started at crossdressers.com at the same time as me both went all the way but those of us who dressed young didn't.

It seems to me most in here have been dressing since young

I would think it more rare for men to start later in life?

I think of that Steve Martin film when I think of mens midlife crisis how he dyed his hair black and bought a red sports car lol

Em x

It's another theory which some may relate to but I can't relate to this having cross dressed all my life the urge hasn't changed its always been there at times of stress or opportunity and for the same reasons.

We can add this into the pie chart of why some men might cross dress later in life but I still find most started young and continued.

interesting article, Katie. Certainly explains the over represented older men on crossdressing forums losing the plot. How many times did I have to read of yet another husband declaring at age 50 plus that his crossdressing was actually so much more and he had to find a way to get his wife on board him dressing full time.

Women take HRT in order to limit the impact of menopause on not just themselves, but the people they care about. Marriages do end over menopause. I actually know a couple of them. I sort of think, if this article holds truth, that men should take the HRT if they desire to keep their family together. If not, they can do what the guys online do and push things until their wife throws them out and they end up living out their days on the fringes of society, alone but at least they can crossdress when they want. Yay for them.

Would taking testerone increase the fetish aspect though? If its sexual in nature you could be damned if you do and damned if you dont. You either crossdress too much because your low testerone makes you feel more feminine. Or you crossdress too much because your high testerone makes you feel more horny lol.

We wives are sort of screwed, either way, aren't we. Maybe we should counter this male midlife crisis with one of our own and swap our crossdress obsessed husbands for hot toyboys lol. Men do this all the time. Fairs fair. :-D

How do you know you're testosterone levels have risen? Have you had a blood test to measure it? The male 'menopause' is more gradual and not as drastic but there is evidence that a steep drop in testosterone can cause problems such as weight gain and depression. You are right that exercise and diet can help to nullify the affects.

I'm 41 I'd not say my testosterone levels have dropped, if anything I'd say they've increased.

The reason I stopped dressing in my early 20s was my gf became my wife sex life was a daily thing and sexy lingerie, short skirts and high heels was something shed wear back then.

It was following her dressing me up for a bit of fun and a stressful event that started my cross dressing off again with the event leading to me chasing promotions leading to more responsibilities and frustrations and stress and probably a bit of depression which cross dressing temporarily helped.

I don't think there's a male menopause but our metabolism does slow down and we have to exercise abd watch what we eat more so maybe our self image when we don't exercise and put on a few pounds affects us like it affects women.

I thought that this was an interesting article.

https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/attention-please/201008/sex-hormones-and-identity

I know that testosterone levels in men starts drop around 2% per year between the ages of 30-40.

So the question is if HRT reduced your deisre to crossdress would you take it despite the potential side effects or do you use your crossdressing and other natural measures to counter the problems of low testosterone levels.

I dunno, I guess this works for some? From what hubs has told me, he didn't really start dressing regularlh until puberty. Before that, it was just a couple of times as a kid. I actually think the increase in testerone makes him dress more and as it drops, he's less involved.

Just my observation though. I think he's been doing this for so long that he will never stop no matter what. Sigh.