Dressing is ok at conventions but not outside??

[Sakura Kinomoto]

Hi girls,well,I must say that I am happy because for me,it is dressing time.

You see,there is an anime convention going on where I live,and I did some cross dressing before.What I dont understand why it is ok to dress up at the convention (when I did,people start taking me pictures,well it felt really great!) I was the only one wearing a cute red dress....and I must say,
I felt very good about it.People liked my dress,specially girls.

So I wanted to ask,why is it ok to dress in such places,and outside,
it doesnt?

If you dress outside,say,in the street,poeple will look at you as if you were
doing something wrong.

I always wanted to go out dressed like a girl,but here where I live that is very hard to do.I even want to try some make up,but I dont know if doing that outside or at the convention.

Well,tomorrow is anime convention time,so I will dress up like one of my anime favorite characters,Sakura Kinomoto from Card Captors....


Why to some people it is so terrible when you decide to dress up???
Why cant they handle it or even reject you?
I think that it doesnt make sense,you are free to do what you want with your body isnt that so?

I dont like to do boy s stuff and I really love to cross dress....

Too bad that today,in the 21st Century to some people cross dressing is such a terrible thing.

Anyway at least I can do it at conventions.....

So,why do you think that to some people,cross dressing it is such a terrible thing? (Even to your parents?)

Anyway I hope some day being able to be my girl side...

She is stronger than my boy side!:rolleyes: :rolleyes:

[Kaye_martin]

Hi Sakura:

All your questions are good ones ... I'm sure most of us around here have the same questions. I for one don't have the answers, but I can tell you that my wife crossdresses every day (wears pants) and guess what no one bats an eyelid.

21st century ..... and the world at large still has a hang up with what folks like us want to wear :confused: I think we all need to fast forward to the 22nd century. Just my .02

kaye_martin

[robinLynn]

do what ur thinks honey

[Wenda]

I lived in Celaya, Gto for 6 months in 2003. I was not dressing at the time, but even in this relatively small and rural historic Mexican city, there was a trannie bar, Charlottes. I became a friend of the person who styled most of the wigs. D.F. is enormous, culturally sophisticated and diverse. I would think there are lots of opportunities, if you seek them. good luck. wenda.

[TGMarla]

Hi, Sakura.

Hmmm....it's a very good question you pose here, but I think at least part of the answer is simple. At the convention, when people see you dressed, they see a valid and ready reason behind why you are dressed this way. They know that you are emulating a known and popular character. It's similar to Halloween, when so many CDs come right out of the closet and dress up. The average Joe thinks, "Oh, I get it....it's a costume!" And in the back of that thought, is the additional "He's not that way in real life." Everyone loves the numbness that comes with sticking their collective heads in the sand, because what's out of sight is out of mind. That which presents itself to us during the normal course of the day can mess up our pleasant and tidy little worlds.

When you dress and go out among the public, you mess up those pleasant and tidy little worlds in a way that you can't when you dress at your conventions.

[Marlena Dahlstrom]

When you dress and go out among the public, you mess up those pleasant and tidy little worlds in a way that you can't when you dress at your conventions.

Exactly. Halloween is one of those "socially acceptable" occasions where one can bend the rules.

OTOH, as I've been out and about I've been finding the people are a lot more tolerant than we necessarily give them for -- at least here in the Bay Area. (Obviously, things may be different in your particular area.) As long as you're presentable, my experience is that people will treat you like a lady even though they realize you're a guy in a dress.

[miss_billy]

The Scott’s men have been dressing in skirts ( sorry Kilts ) for years and women appear happy to put on male orientated clothes without being pulled to pieces so why should the average Joe worry?????? I think it's ok as long as you don't look ridiculous
Any way I hope my wife will buy me some bits & bobs for Xmas & I’ll see if she will take a piccy to post up, blouse :)

[Lauren_T]

It's what Marla and Darla said; at a convention, or at Halloween, there's an easily understood motive for crossdressing. But without a readily acceptable reason, then people fill in the blank with whatever little bit of (mis)information they have on the subject.

"Hey, didja see that guy done up like a chick at the convention?"

"Yeah! Really did a good job, didn't he? Looked just like a real chick! But didja see that guy back there at the bus stop wearin' the dress?"

"Yeah, I saw 'im. One o' them preverts..." :(

[melissacd]

it is all about context

[Jodie_Lynn]

Well Sakura, I hope that you will post a pic or two from the con. I bet you looked adorable.........

[Corin]

Interesting...

I recently went to Reactor in Chicago (another anime convention), and not only did noone look strangely at me, but someone told me I had nice tits ;)

My Response: "Paid good money for em"

[Bonnie D]

I've been thinking about it since I read your question yesterday and the only thing I can come up with is that when men look at women and they see whatever they're particular interests are something happens. Let's say a man likes bottoms and a girl walks by with a nice bottom and a walk to go with it something sexual happens to the man, no matter how slight, it makes him feel good. If a man in a skirt, dress, slacks ... walks by, the same man does not want to feel the same way he did about the girl. He very well might feel the same way but he doesn't want to. He's afraid that he might be attracted to men too. This is frightening to them so they get upset with crossdressers in general. However, if it is at an event where men dressed as women are acceptable it no longer threatens their sexual image. So it's okay and fun.

When women see men dressed as women their sexual image is not usually threatened so they are more accepting of it, especially when the crossdresser is interested in other men. If the crossdresser is only interested in women then they may keep on guard but still not feel threatened, maybe confused.

Just something to think about.

Bonnie

[iseiai no okama]

You have to also understand when people crossdress in conventions, it's not always universally accepted, for example the infamous Testosterone Scouts and, the even worse Man Faye. And also, outside of conventions, people tend to look down on cosplayers in general as weirdos, and people who wish they were Japanese. For an example, take a peek at Something Awful's front page, and look under the "demons of the internet" and "Kawaiizon".

[byrony]

I dunno myself, I live downtown in one of the biggest cities on the west coast, so I have never really had a problem going out... The only things that are really awkward are when I try hitting on women en femme... lol that doesn't really work too well. ;)

Oh and the other interesting thing... Well I am pretty sure I don't pass, but the funny thing is I have only been hit on by men in straight bars... I went to a gay bar a few times with friends, and it never came up... Go figure. :p

[Sakura Kinomoto]

Well girls I am back.Just wanted to say that I went to that convention and did what I like:I dressed up and I used 3 dresses in one day.
I must say, it felt great to wear them,and people seemed to liked them.

One of my dresses was pink....I felt like a princess because people were taking me pictures all the time!

It s funny how people react at the conventions and how they do it outside.
Here I was able to be my true self,no one told me anything,hey,I am now in a
Cosplay magazine...

At my age, (29) it feels great to be a woman!

Gosh I wish people were the same outside as they were in the convention!

You could say that thanks to my dresses I am famous now....

Dressing is fun!Regular people should try it often!
I will post pictures of myself later...

Hugs,Sakura!

[sadiechan]

The sad truth Sakura is that people can't see past contexts. It is actually perfectly valid for you to ask why there's a difference for as far as I can see there isn't. We just percieve one. If one human being can wear a set of clothes why can't another? The idea, logically, that crossdressing is wrong is outrageous.

Sadly we don't live in a logical world - we live in a world where black-skinned people, women, Muslims, athiests, homosexuals, transvestites and transsexuals are persecuted because they're different.

Makes me honestly wonder what's the point sometimes it really does

[Sakura Kinomoto]

I did enjoyed wearing those dresses,I love to cross dress.I dont care what
"normal" people think about me,I think I been dressing since I was 18.

My mother caught me once,but,some time later,she seemed to had forgotten all about it.Little does she knows that I still dress up....

Anyway,we have the right to be who we want right?

Hugs,Sakura.:o :o :o

[Noel Chimes]

Well girls I am back.Just wanted to say that I went to that convention and did what I like:I dressed up and I used 3 dresses in one day.
I must say, it felt great to wear them,and people seemed to liked them.

One of my dresses was pink....I felt like a princess because people were taking me pictures all the time!

It s funny how people react at the conventions and how they do it outside.
Here I was able to be my true self,no one told me anything,hey,I am now in a
Cosplay magazine...

At my age, (29) it feels great to be a woman!

Gosh I wish people were the same outside as they were in the convention!

You could say that thanks to my dresses I am famous now....

Dressing is fun!Regular people should try it often!
I will post pictures of myself later...

Hugs,Sakura!
Now with your exposure with the magazine you can live your life completely out in the open. With your picture in print people will only recognize you dressed.This could be the start of something many of us have only dreamed about.

[Sakura Kinomoto]

Now with your exposure with the magazine you can live your life completely out in the open. With your picture in print people will only recognize you dressed.This could be the start of something many of us have only dreamed about.

So it is now in the open,you say?Hmmmmm you know it feels weird to look at myself in the magazine dressed up.However people liked my dresses,and sure it felt very nice to be Sakura.

Although now I have no idea what else to wear,I love dresses,but I know that there are many other female clothes to get.

Trouble is,women clothes here are expensive....
Still,I love to cross dress and I am looking forward to do it again!