Out & About: The Emancipated Crossdresser [Paperback]

The early sections of this book discusses the who's, what's, and wears's of being a heterosexual male crossdresser. It supports the idea of expressing one's feminine side by wearing woman's clothes. Being transgendered is a good thing and an emotion to be proud of and expressed without guilt and shame. But more importantly, it does so without being preachy or too psychological. Some other books concerning crossdressing get bogged down with finding the roots and reasons for crossdressing without exploring the joys of it.

One of the premises of this book is that it addresses an acceptance of the dressing because it is just something one does for fun and a means of expression. The book has a lightness and sense of humor about itself. It almost reads as a how-to book about one's favorite hobby.

As a recent "out and about" crossdresser this book helps smooth over those fears of making that step out the front door. It is clear in pointing out that no matter how good you may think you look that you will always be a man in a dress. Once that is realized and accepted, one can then move on and enjoy the experience. This is something my wife has been trying to tell me for over a year now. She kept asking me if I was enjoying my little ventures out because my fears and apprehensions were showing rather than my slip. My concerns of being clocked never enabled me to be relaxed.

This book is about attitude. It gives pointers on how to develop an attitude that makes it acceptable to be that man in a dress accepted by salesclerks in store, waitstaff in restaurants, and so on. It says, yes I am in a dress, I like who I am and so should you. It says I am not unusual and should be treated as any other customer. Practing this approach has paid dividends for me . I am about over my phobia of approaching salesclerks. It has helped me engage them in asking for help. Some salesclerks have even gone that extra mile on the occasion when I have been read. It has helped in eating out by keeping the walls of the restaurant from closing in on me. There have been no problems to date, just a wealth of better dressing experiences.

This is a great and fun how-to book. Besides any book written by another gal named Lacey has to be good.

Simply put, it is the best book available for those who are or want to be crossdressers. It is also a very valuable work to share with those close to crosdressers who need to be informed about what CDing is (and is NOT) all about. For a subject needing much clarification and accurate information (rather than the tabloid and television nonsense) this book is a refreshing and much needed breath of clean, cool air. I highly recommend it to all readers.

As I see it, the book has 2 parts - the first part dealing with the 'inner' crossdresser, the cause, effects, consequences and joys of being a crossdresser. The second part is about the 'outer' crossdresser - the clothes, make-up and presentation which has lots and lots of helpful information and tips not only about achieving the desired 'look', but also about the manner in which to conduct yourself whilst in public.

I have read other books on crossdressing written by both so-called professionals and crossdressers themselves, but Lacey's book is by far the most well-rounded and balanced I have read on the subject to date.