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View Full Version : Does clothing identify your role in society?



GingerLeigh
08-31-2011, 09:43 AM
"BANG BANG!" Wearing his army costume, 7 year old Jimmy shoots at the pumpkin on the porch then jumps out from behind the shrubs. He does a mock leopard crawl along the lawn and takes his imaginary war elsewhere. While wearing his camouflage, Jimmy feels like a real soldier.
"CLEAR!" Wearing scrubs, 8 year old Sarah takes her toy paddles and tries in vain to bring her doll back to life. Failing to do so, she pulls the blanket over her dolls face and tells her teddy bear "I'm sorry, she's gone." While wearing her scrubs, Sarah feel like a real doctor.
"FREEEEEEEZE POLICE!" Wearing her mini version of a policewoman uniform, Tammy chases after Billy who is wearing his ninja costume. She pulls her plastic revolver and shoots towards him, he feigns pain and rolls over on the ground. Tammy puts her little handcuffs on him and searches for his nun chucks. In her police uniform costume, Tammy feels like a real policewoman. Poor Billy feels like he wants to go home. Tammy is too rough.
"YES! I'D LOVE TO DANCE" Blushing and wearing a short black cocktail dress, wig, makeup and heels, David is pulled away from his table by a woman wearing a cat costume and goes dancing on the dance floor. He gyrates and moves like a woman in an exaggerated way, much to the embarrassment of his buddy John who is also in drag waiting at their table. David feels like a woman, and emulates one all night. However, John wishes he never let David convince him to dress as a woman for this party. John feels like a woman too, and doesn't like it.

When we wear costumes, we feel like we ARE what we emulate. You don't have to be a policeman to feel like one or to have others perceive you to be one. You don't even have to be a child. You don't have to be a crossdresser to feel like a woman when you are dressed as one. A non-crossdresser in drag will probably not like the feminine role they've assumed unless they can mock it and downplay the femininity bestowed upon them.

When a crossdresser dresses, it isn't the clothing itself that's what attracts us to it. There are men's clothing out there that are reasonably feminine, there are silk underwear for men etc... but it's for men. It's how we feel when we wear women's clothing. Much like how Jimmy feels like a soldier when he wears his costume, we feel like women when we wear their clothing. Other people's perception of us further enhances how we feel (as long as we are reasonably passable). The more we do to feel like a woman, the more we want and the further along the "continuum" we go. Only restraint stops it.

Now I'm not speaking for everyone, there are transexuals that dress because they ARE women, and there are some of us that simply like how it looks on them or how it feels. I'd say that for the most part, most regular run-of-the-mill crossdressers do it because they want to feel like women, albeit temporarily.

Oh, what am I talking about...I am having a hard time conveying what I'm thinking here...I think I just had a brain fart and I can't say what I mean...can you see what I mean through this convoluted posting?:doh:

Karren H
08-31-2011, 10:09 AM
Exactly..... I used to dress up like Dilbert when I was little... But wished I looked like Alice... Rather than Wally or Dogbert...

StarrOfDelite
08-31-2011, 10:20 AM
Ten year old Billy, in his charcoal gray 3-piece suit from Brooks Bros. young men's department, looks into his Dad's video camera, shakes his head wisely, and says, "Your son is not a crook." He feels just like Richard Nixon. Will Billy wind up being raped in prison like John Dean? Should we be jealous of him if he is?

sissystephanie
08-31-2011, 12:25 PM
I wear feminine clothing simply because I like to!! There are no other reasons that would apply to me! I have no idea what the reasons were back when I was 6 years old, that is way too long ago!! I do know the feminine clothing does not identify my identity at all, other than to maybe make me look strange! Since I am a man wearing a skirt and blouse!!

NicoleScott
08-31-2011, 12:37 PM
I have and on occasion wear a maid's outfit and a Japanese schoolgirl sailor uniform. It's fair to call these costumes even though they are uniforms. I just like the look of them - they are so cute. But when I dress "normally", wearing women's clothing is not a costume. It's just women's clothes.

carhill2mn
08-31-2011, 02:48 PM
Oh, I know what you are trying to say!

Tina B.
09-01-2011, 10:55 AM
Yes I think I know what you are saying, and I think you are on to something. As a child I played dress up a lot, I was a cowboy, it was a big thing back in the fifty's. Just maybe that's got something to do with my dressing today, I do try to emulate a women when I am dressed, and at times I can almost convince myself I've made it, at least to a degree. If it wasn't for that fact, I don't think I would cross dress at all. It's like being a method actor, you have to find the motivation, and then really get into character, to pull it off. But then sometimes the clothes just feel good, and why bother with all the rest.
Tina B.

Miss Maxine
09-01-2011, 11:04 AM
I used to want to dress up as female superheroes, when I was little. I was always too afraid to, understanding that my gender role did not allow for that. So, instead, I just pretended I was my female dolls and action figures. It got really interesting when I started stuffing their shirts with tissue, to give them huge boobs. My mother would give me strange looks concerning the new curves I'd give my ladies, but she never seemed to suspect that I was creating my ideal image, out of them.

BlondeFarrah
09-01-2011, 12:17 PM
When I dress up, Im trying to be the woman I'd like to be. Some women clothes are simply magic. I actually love wearing them. As GingerLeigh says, "when a crossdresser dresses, it isn't the clothing itself that's what attracts us to it"...and I agree....for me, dressing up is the way to make a sexual identity.

docrobbysherry
09-01-2011, 12:18 PM
How about THIS, Ginger?

Whether I'm dressed as a housewife or Wonderwoman, I feel like I'm wearing a COSTUME! While many here only wear fem costumes to parties or at Halloween. The rest of the time they're dressing fem to present who they feel they r. But, usually whenever I dress fem, for me it's a costume!

When I dress and look like a woman, do I feel a bit like one? Often times, YES! Do I feel like a cowboy wearing my guy jeans, boots, and sombrero? I can't say I have!

Chickhe
09-02-2011, 12:29 PM
First off, I like the comparison. Could we be caught in a loop from our childhood's desire to discover who we are?

I notice something about the type of costume:
1. If it is to pass/blend the costume is the most authentic it can be....equals satisfaction because for a short time you feel like a woman. It doesn't really matter what type of woman, business, casual, sexy, sporty...
2. If it is a female costume (like for halloween) I feel less satisfied and I feel like a guy in a costume.