Now that I have been visiting both the (en)gender board and this one for a while, I have a better sense of where the two are similar and where they are different. The two are remarkably similar in their emphasis on support. Both are helpful and encouraging towards CD’s and SO’s, and both have forums where only SO’s can post.
As for where they are different, the (en)gender board encourages some kinds of discussions that are discouraged here. Notably, there is a significant amount of concern with
transgender advocacy ( ← link). Both Betty and Helen are active in the National Center for Transgender Equality (NCTE), a social justice organization dedicated to advancing fairness for transgender people through advocacy and collaboration with allies (such as lesbians and gays).
Another area of discussion encouraged on the (en)gender boards is
sexuality ( ← link), which for many people may be the single most important CDing topic. As Helen Boyd wrote,
“There is an ongoing debate in the crossdressing community: are crossdressers straight or not? Often this is a wife’s number one question, and she can find plenty of evidence either way. Crossdressers’ sites proclaim heterosexuality, but there are plenty of online groups where so-called straight crossdressers post photos of themselves in next-to-nothing, and are available for chat with men” (Helen Boyd,
My Husband Betty, pages 172-173). Regarding those groups whose members are adamant that they
not sexually unusual (typically proclaimed while wearing a wig and a dress), one is reminded of what Queen Gertrude said to Prince Hamlet, remarking on another woman’s denials: “The lady doth protest too much, methinks.” At the very least, this is a significant subject.