Tease The Season

More Males Are Crossdressing In Public

Walk through a downtown shopping district, a college campus, or a music festival today and you’re likely to notice something that would have turned heads a generation ago: men confidently wearing skirts, heels, makeup, or traditionally feminine silhouettes—not as costumes, not in secret, but as everyday public dress. This shift is especially visible among younger adult men, and it reflects a broader cultural rethinking of gender, fashion, and self-expression.

From Subculture To Sidewalk

For decades, male crossdressing existed largely in private spaces or niche communities. What’s changed is visibility. Social media platforms have flattened the gatekeepers of style, allowing individuals to experiment publicly and find affirmation instantly. A young man can post an outfit, receive encouragement from thousands, and step outside the next day feeling far less alone. Visibility begets confidence, and confidence normalizes what once seemed transgressive.

Fashion Has Loosened Its Rules

Designers and retailers have played a decisive role. Runways now routinely feature men in skirts, sheer fabrics, and heels, while major brands market makeup and handbags without rigid gender labels. When luxury houses and fast-fashion chains alike present these looks as stylish rather than shocking, the street follows. Younger men, raised on fluid playlists and algorithmic feeds rather than fixed categories, are particularly receptive.

Generational Attitudes Are Shifting

Younger adults tend to hold more flexible views of masculinity. Strength, success, and self-worth are less tied to stoicism or uniformity and more to authenticity. Crossdressing, for many, isn’t a rejection of being male—it’s an expansion of what being male can look like. Wearing a dress or eyeliner becomes a statement of agency: “I decide how I present myself.”

Public Space As A Personal Statement

Choosing to crossdress in public is also a quiet act of courage. It tests social boundaries and invites conversation, sometimes scrutiny. Yet many who do it describe a sense of relief and ownership over their bodies. Public visibility turns private desire into lived reality, and for some, it’s a step toward mental well-being—less hiding, more honesty.

Not Without Pushback

This trend isn’t universally welcomed. Backlash still exists, ranging from stares to outright hostility. But younger men often respond by building community—friends who go out together dressed how they please, allies who stand nearby, online networks that share advice and support. The presence of these safety nets makes public expression more feasible.

What It Signals Going Forward

The growing number of men crossdressing in public doesn’t signal the end of traditional menswear; it signals choice. Suits and sneakers still exist alongside skirts and stilettos. The real change is that clothing is becoming less of a rulebook and more of a vocabulary.

As younger generations age into cultural leadership, this visibility is likely to feel less like a trend and more like a baseline. Public crossdressing by men—once whispered about—has become a visible, lived expression of a society renegotiating its comfort with difference. And once something can be seen openly on the street, it’s very hard to push it back into the shadows.

Wearing Bebe

Alan Sues femulating on television's Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In.

Interview with Stana

A reader suggested that I be interviewed again since my previous interview was about five years ago. I was willing and asked AI to conduct the interview. Here it is.

AI: Femulate has a distinctive voice and focus. What is the core idea behind the blog, and what inspired you to start it?

Stana: The core idea is to encourage crossdressers to escape from their closets and go out among the civilian population. I started the blog because I successfully escaped from that closet—and if I could do it, anyone could do it.

AI: Many crossdressers describe intense fear about being seen in public. What do you think is the real obstacle holding most people back—is it external danger, or something internal?

Stana: Sure, there are external dangers, so a crossdresser has to be careful about where she goes. But I believe it’s something internal that holds most people back. Fear is the biggest obstacle. FDR was right: there is nothing to fear but fear itself. Once I pushed myself out of the closet, I realized my fears were mostly unwarranted, and I regretted all the time those fears kept me hidden.

AI: Your writing treats public crossdressing almost as something ordinary. Why is it important to normalize it rather than frame it as transgressive or sensational?

Stana: Crossdressing is fun. Why mess with the fun by making it transgressive or sensational? Crossdressers just want to fit in and experience life as women.

AI:. Femulate spends a lot of time on presentation—clothing, grooming, posture, behavior. Some critics might call that “trying too hard to pass.” How do you respond?

Stana: I’ve known hundreds of crossdressers over the years. The ones who don’t pass aren’t trying too hard—they just aren’t putting in the work. If you want to pass as a woman, effort is essential. I live by those words, and I’m meticulous in my presentation. As a result, I pass more often than not.

AI: Your advice often comes across as tough love. Why do honesty and rigor matter more than comfort when helping someone leave the closet?

Stana: There’s nothing worse than leaving the closet unprepared and failing. You’ll go back, and you might never leave it again. I remember one of the first crossdresser meetings I attended—someone asked if I was the supportive female spouse of a crossdresser. That moment proved to me all the work I put into my presentation had paid off.

AI: You’ve gone from hoping not to be noticed to expecting to be read as female. How did that psychological shift change your relationship with fear?

Stana: Practice, practice, practice. The more you go out among civilians, the less fear you feel. One day, there is no fear at all.

AI: Many readers are older men with established lives. What’s your message to someone who feels they’ve “waited too long” to leave the closet?

Stana: Better late than never! Never should never be an option. If you have the desire, you owe it to yourself to try at least once, no matter your age.

AI: Was there a moment when you realized Femulate was influencing other people’s lives?

Stana: Yes—the first email I received thanking me for helping someone leave the closet and experience the world as a woman. Since then, I’ve received many emails expressing the same gratitude.

AI: If you could speak to a first-time reader still in the closet, what’s the most important thing to understand?

Stana: I once said, “Crossdressing is hard work, but I love my job.” In other words, you must be willing to invest the time and effort to succeed—but it’s all worth it.

AI: Looking ahead, what do you hope Femulate accomplishes, not just for individuals, but for broader society?

Stana: The more crossdressers get out of the closet, the more it encourages others to do the same. Crossdressers are more visible today than in the past, and I hope Femulate has played a part in that.

Wearing Marina

Martin Weiß femulating in the 2004 German film Agnes and His Brothers.

Crossdressing In The Mid-20th Century

Tami’s Adventures In Crossdressing, Part 4

By Tami

My last chapter related how I was first exposed to another crossdresser who was trying on high heels in Frederick’s of Hollywood’s flagship store on Sunset Boulevard in LA. He was dressed in drab except for wearing stockings and having bright pink polish on his toes.    

That was the first time I had solid proof that there were others like me who enjoyed wearing clothing intended for females. Of course I knew that there were drag queens and female impersonators, but I considered them professional actors, not males who wore female attire for non-professional reasons. As far as my untrained radar could tell, the male in Fredericks did not appear to be a drag queen or female impersonator; he seemed to be trying on high heels just because he wanted to wear them.

I returned home from Tinsel Town with a renewed interest in wearing ladies fashions. This was before the internet existed, so the only sources of information on crossdressing were in printed publications I discovered in a shop specializing in men’s magazines. Within the pages of magazines and newspapers like En Femme, TV-TS Tapestry and LadyLike, the world of femulation began to reveal itself to me.

Thanks to online digital archives, you can still look through the pages of these treasure troves from the past (see links below). 

It’s easier for crossdressers and transexuals to find resources and information today thanks to the internet. Before the internet existed, information wasn’t easy to get; it was limited to those lucky enough to have local support groups or access to the few publications that catered to our interests. In those pages I read about other males who transformed themselves into females, often with amazingly genuine results. The photos of many of these gurls made them look like they were born and raised female. 

In addition to the stories and photos, there were listings for local cd/tv/ts support groups all over the country, plus ads for other resources I didn’t know existed. Makeover services specializing in male-to-female transformations were the first to draw my attention. There were actually stores that sold women’s clothing, but were focused only on male crossdressing customers.

There was an ad for a store near enough to me in New York City, Lee’s Mardi Gras Boutique, which offered everything a boy needed to look like a girl: wigs, corsets, girdles, panties, bras, lingerie, stockings, large-size high heels, pretty wigs, gaffs (at this point I didn’t even know what that was), breast forms, jewelry,  everything! There were professional voice coaches offering their services to help you speak in a feminine voice, services offering hair removal by waxing and electrolysis, even psychological counselors, and pages of pages of personal ads from crossdressers and transexuals. 

Within these publications I also discovered that there were conventions for crossdressers, like one in Provincetown on Cape Cod, where men wearing dresses, stockings, heels, makeup and wigs could walk the streets with no problems, right alongside the regular folk. Stana has often written here about her adventures at this annual event, previously known as Fantasia Fair, now known as TransWeek. 

This was beyond unimaginable to the young adult version of me and I dreamed to dare participate one day. An entire ecosystem for crossdressers existed, all laid out in a few very select magazines and newspapers. There was no Google search to find anything and everything, but there were plenty of resources, much more than I ever imagined.

The first thing I did after this sudden education was to visit that store in the Meatpacking District of Manhattan. In my next installment here on Femulate, I will relate the experience of shopping at Lee’s Mardi Gras Boutique, where I actually tried on girdles and all sorts of lingerie, plus high heels, wigs and dresses. From those first steps wearing female clothing other than my older sisters’s and mother’s apparel, other further adventures in crossdressing followed, thanks to my education on the wide world of crossdressing.

   https://www.digitaltransgenderarchive.net/files/fx719m53g

   
https://archive.org/details/ladylike25unse/mode/2up

   
https://archive.org/details/enfemmemagazine1990unse_1/mode/2up

If you click on the cover of the various issues, the magazine will open and you can digitally flip through the pages or in some magazines, you can just scroll down. 

I hope you enjoy time traveling back to the olden days of crossdressing as you peruse these publications!

Wearing ModCloth

Kenneth Williams and Charles Hawtrey femulating in the 1960 British film Carry On Constables.
Click here to view this femulation on YouTube.

Stuff 100: Can You Believe It?

By J.J. Atwell

How Did I Start?

One Hundred? Yes, this episode of Stuff is number 100. Stana published what would become Stuff number one back in July 2023. Some of you have been reading from the start. Others are new to my Stuff. I want to thank all of you for reading. 

I’ll take a moment to say that “Stuff” was just a name I pulled out of the air when I sat down to compose a continuing column. It was purposely vague because I wasn’t sure just where the endeavor was going to lead me. So I cast a wide net as they say. In hindsight I’m glad I did because I’ve covered many different things over the previous 99 installments. I’ll also admit that some of those installments might not have been my best work. They also wouldn’t necessarily be of interest to everybody that follows Stana’s page. But hey, that’s how Stuff goes. 

Your Comments

I’ve gotten many comments through the link at the bottom of the page and through emails. I try to read them all. Even if I don’t get a chance to acknowledge your comments, I do take them to heart. I’ve gotten inspiration from you that has, or will show up in subsequent installments of Stuff. 

I’ve also stuck up a kind of friendship with some of you. I recognize several regular commenters here and through emails. I also follow the writings of other contributors here on Femulate. 

My Progression

I thought it might be interesting to take a look at how JJ has evolved over the time I’ve been writing Stuff. You can see my most recent incarnation in the upper right of this page, but these are a few notable looks over the years. I think I’ve aged well. (The numbers refer to the installment of Stuff in which the photo appeared, e.g., #1 refers to Stuff #1.)

I’ll Be Back

There will be more Stuff, hopefully including some topics you have suggested. 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 Avon

Bruce Watson femulating on a 1981 episode of television’s Charlies’ Angels.
Click here to view this femulation on YouTube.

Sunday is Someday, Too

Saturday is Someday