Running a Club for Cross-dressers

Nobody really knows what percentage of Western men like to cross-dress as women. Some estimates are as low as 1% but range up to 10%. In my reasonably cosmopolitan city of 850,000 that could mean say 8,500 to 85,000 men crossdressing. Of course the definition of cross-dressing will vary from everyday to once a month and so on.

In a previous article I outlined how prevalent it was in London, England but that it was frowned upon by the authorities. Nowadays relatively few people care that there are cross-dressers lurking in the shadows, lol. It may not be illegal anymore, however, it is still controversial. And people sometimes do get shamed and belittled for doing it. Wives who get blind-sided by a newly discovered dressing husband possibly need as much support as does the husband.

I am currently President (for another year as of yesterday) of our local club. It was started back in the late 1990s by a cis-woman who ran a lingerie store but had a sizeable cross-dressing clientelle and she could see the need for support. But this is not necessarily an easy thing to do, even if you are on Easy Street but it can be done. When I look back on my own experience cross-dressing I see that I have blossomed with support from the club. Just over two years ago I was petrified going to my first meeting in drab. In fact, I almost left whence I arrived there. I persevered. I grabbed a shovel and shovelled the sidewalk as it needed to be done. The meeting went well and I went back again in drab to the second one.

Now came a big change for me. I had never been out of the house en femme before but for my third monthly meeting I went en femme (yes, in a very short Spandex red skirt). I was scared again but finally I realised nothing bad was likely to happen. And I quickly realized I liked the people and wanted them as friends. In truth the club was just restarting after the disaster of Covid and there was lots of work to be done. I did get involved and with each passing meeting gained more confidence. But for the several months I declined the others invitations to join them at the local watering hole after meetings. I felt okay going to the meetings attended by a bunch of other cross-dressers but I had trouble going into the wider society. It did take about 6 months until I started joining them for a cool one after meetings. Then when I did start going I wondered why I was worried.

It is so important to have the support of others. I feel for all those guys that just dress en femme for the mirror and miss all the fun of actually going out with others en femme. I now know there are lots of them out there, afraid just as I was. It takes hard work to overcome the fears and if you can't do that you will miss out on a lot. Since I joined, the club has done quite a few things that have been fun. So I urge you to conquer your fears. Mind you, I had help from my wife who has continuously supported me in this hobby. I know this is not the case for many dressers.

So, running the Club as I have done for 1.5 years can be a challenge. Remember that all this work is volunteers doing it. And people have to step up to the plate so to speak. Usually you get a few very dedicated members to form the executive. Fortunately, I have some dedicated old hands who have been with the club for a long time. That helps but it doesn't mean that we agree on everything. Far from it but things do get done. It helps to have one of the old hands very dedicated to the club website and that website does attract new members. It is a very good website entirely due to the hard work put into it.

We have lost a few members in the last year (one died) but we are getting new members too. And I can see in them the issues I faced when I came to my very first meeting 27 months ago. It is a joy to be able to give back and help new members get themselves to a happier place. It takes time and work but we will give them all the help they need. I have implemented an informal policy of having a brief swap meet at each meeting's conclusion to help pass on those items that girls starting out will need. They are also good mixers to get people acquainted. We have had couples even attend and meetings are always open to wives, girlfriends or SOs. We have had some American sisters come to our functions and meetings too as the border is not that far away.

It does help to have a good website for the club. Ours has been around for a long time (1990s) but through Covid it went moribund. I am trying to make sure it is kept up to date so potential members know it is a going concern and will contact us. For new contacts I think it is important to get a response within 24 to 48 hours which I try to do. There are many pictures on the website of meetings and parties and all sorts of get-togethers, playing pool at the pub, movie nights, dinner theatre, other dinners out on the town, etc. Most of us are not shy and agree to have our photos on the website.

We have brought in speakers on various topics like makeup, hairpieces, typical problems encountered by cross-dressers, local police on security issues, etc. It is good to have help on planning events so that it doesn't get stale. Sometimes there are too many things to do. One member said to me recently, “No, I'm not dressing up three nights in a row, it's too much work”! I understand as her makeup is always exquisite. I wish.....

Cheers, gentle ladies.
Brianna