Manly arts

[Jackie7]

Just as some activities are traditionally considered female or womanly, some also reside mostly in the male sphere. This is not to say that women don't do them, but even in this enlightened age they do remain predominantly male. For example, mechanical work on cars, cabinetmaking, carpentry, hunting. So the question is, does your interest in cross dressing affect your interest in these pursuits? Do you avoid them because of their maleness, or perhaps do you embrace them for relief from gender issues?

I am an amateur woodworker, I was introduced to the craft by my grandfather, I've always kept a fully equipped furniture/cabinet workshop, and now that I am retired I spend quite a bit of time there. I don't wear dresses or heels into the workshop, but I usually do underdress including breast forms. And while I also know how to sew, if given the choice I'd make a table or cabinet before trying to make a dress or blouse.

What's your experience?

[Dianne S]

I've never been good at nor have I enjoyed "manly arts" like woodworking, auto repair, house repair, etc. When I do attempt them, the results are shoddy and the air is thick with my swearing. :)

On the other hand, I'm also not too good at "womanly arts" like sewing, cooking, etc. I can cook tolerably well if I follow a recipe religiously, but I don't really enjoy it.

I am that prized third gender: Completely lazy!

[Zylia]

No, as far as I know CD'ing doesn't affect my other interests in a negative way and I sure as hell don't deliberately avoid doing manly things, save for sports perhaps, but I'm just not really into that. I do plenty of 'manly' (or rather boyish/geeky) things.

[Beverley Sims]

I wear jeans and a top also a wig when working around the house and doing manly tasks.

[Macy4KH]

my manly art is auto repair

[ReineD]

Hope you don't mind if a GG answers.

I don't know about manly or womanly arts. But, I sew only for repair (buttons mostly since my sewing machine has been broken for years), I do cook quite a bit (I love it), and I am rather handy around the house (patching walls, minor electrical & plumbing work, tiling, refinishing wood floors and furniture, etc). I don't like working on car engines but I do enjoy detailing my car. I enjoy mowing the lawn on my tractor. I also draw and paint. And I love any type of music. And I use my laptop to research anything you can think of, more than going to the library (:p). Oh ... and i love, love, love the outdoors: hiking, bike riding, camping although I haven't for quite a while, skiing although it's been a while since I did that too. And I enjoy rousing political and philosophical discussions. I used to love reading although I seem to have lost the focus. I do need to get back into it. I enjoy off-beat movies, the kind you can get your teeth into. Oh, and doing housework is rather a utilitarian sort of thing, like brushing my teeth.

Maybe I'm agender? :D

Gosh, this sounds like a profile on a dating site!

[Kate Simmons]

Hi Jackie, Whatever I do, whether considered a "male" or "female" activity, I do it because it needs to be done. Gender doesn't usually enter into it per se Hon. :)

[Violet-13]

I fix cars, build things, and work with wood

[Tracii G]

I don't avoid doing guy or girl things because of my gender presentation on that day.
I love to shoot and hunt so I do it in both modes.I love to shop for shoes and clothes for Tracii and do it in both modes.
Needed parts for a guitar project I was working on yesterday and ended up at the Ace hardware not giving any thought to the fact I was in girl mode.

[Bria]

Jackie, I work on cars professionally, Like camping although don't get to do it much these days, I work on the house, roofing, plumbing, electrical. I mow and trim because it has to be done and I like the result. As I dress more I am doing more cooking, laundry, general housekeeping things, so maybe the "manly" things are somewhat deminished. Just me, Bria

[Michelle55]

I work with wood! I buy the timber, cut the trees down, skid them out, saw them on my sawmill, dry the wood, and build things from a barn to tables. Gee that sounds a little like the little red hen and baking bread story.

I also farm, do any and all repair on the house and cars that does not require special tools or special knowledge I don't have.

I also try to keep up with cleaning the house, at least part of the laundry, and I love to cook.

Granted the wood and farming part are traditional "manly" things to do, that has nothing to do with why I do them. I just enjoy doing them and I'm reasonably good at them.

Watching sports (THE "manly" thing to do in our society today) is NOT on my list of things to do. I get bored with it mostly. I'd play softball, tennis, or volleyball, but my arthritis limits that.

[Eryn]

I learned to do automotive & household repair tasks because that was what was expected of my gender. In the world of my upbringing a man who couldn't do these things wasn't much of a man.

I still do them since it is what society expects of me.

[Cynthia Anne]

Even though I dress full time now I pretty well do everything for myself! I suppose it's the tomboy in me! If the truck is broke I fix it! If the house is broke I fix it! I have even been known to take out the trash from time to time!:eek:

[Erica Marie]

Maybe I'm agender? :D

Gosh, this sounds like a profile on a dating site!

Omg, where have you been all my life. Lol

Ok, sorry. On a serious note. I dont think sex or gender has anything to do with what we find interesting as far as arts or hobbies. I know plenty of ggs who can hunt and do the outdoorsie stuff just as well or maybe even better than alot of men. And we men (well on the outside) can cook clean and sew right along side with the girls. Its just what we do. Being who I am, undefined as tg or cd, has never made me think any different about my hobbies.

[michelle45]

Hmmmmmmmm, Lets see! I take the kids hunting and fishing, and of course I like the outdoors. I maintain my own cars, truck, and boat! I do all my own yard work except for my office. And I am presently taking a bathroom down to the studs due to wood root from faulty plumbing!! Let's just say I am learning how well they built homes in the 1940's! They did not use my drywall back then, they used plaster on wire mesh which is really 1" concrete! It's really kickin my buttock!!:(

[julia marie]

Wore a skirt most of today. Going out looking for Bambi (not the movie) tomorrow.

[AlyssaS]

I'm really good at sitting down and watching football on Sunday. Does that count?

[Danni Renee]

I don't think my interests are affected by my crossdressing but my crossdressing does enhance some of my favorite activities. I have always liked to go shopping but before I was more accepting of myself it was more of the traditional get in, get what I need, get out where as now I could shop all day! I still love the outdoors and exercise and would choose to go fishing over most other activities. When I can wear my female workout clothes I feel motivated enough to run a marathon. I can't really think of anything that I avoid more because I dress. I hate getting greasy so I never work on cars and I am not motivated to do much home improving, though I am a neat freak and I constantly clean the house - dressed or not!

Danni

[BLUE ORCHID]

Hi Jackie, I've became very proficient in many manly skills, Automotive, welding, woodworking, metal working, machinist,
building & construction, plant maintenance, master electrician, rigging & lifting just to name a few.

On the other side cooking, sewing and dressing to the nines.

You are never too old to learn something new.

[Mssusan]

Another GG here; my list of skills and accomplishments is not as impressive as Reine but I agree that I do cross traditional gender lines sometimes. When I was married and living in a single family home, I mowed the lawn and shoveled snow, and this summer I helped my SO reset edging around his trees. I have done some room painting and minor household repair. I am a runner and a gym rat. I have a teen son who still can't gross me out. I have been the head of my household for all but 7 years of my adult life.

On the other hand, one of the things I truly value about my SO is that he is good at fixing things, knows about cars, and enjoys yard work. I am totally ok with cleaning, and I thoroughly enjoy cooking. I'm not a sewer or crafter though.

On a side note, it's refreshing and comforting to read posts from those of you CDs who are firmly planted in being a guy; especially the posts about being husbandish, boyfriendish, and fatherly. I'm still a newbie SO to a CD, and there's always a tiny little concern in the back of my mind that my guy might want to transition one day. Your posts reassure me that some guys are happy being guys....and like to throw on a skirt every so often.

Goes without saying (but I will) that I support everyone's right to live their own authentic life.

[ReineD]

Let's just say I am learning how well they built homes in the 1940's! They did not use my drywall back then, they used plaster on wire mesh which is really 1" concrete! It's really kickin my buttock!!:(

Tell me about it! lol I remodeled my SOs bathroom some months ago. We demolished one of the plaster walls, to replace with drywall. Gosh that was a chore!

[docrobbysherry]

Manly skills used for fem results!

I'm a tinkerer like my dad was. Lite wood working, metal forming, plumbing, electrical, mechanical, I do it all. Plus, I used to make surf boards so I'm familiar with mixing chemicals, resins and silicone. When I began dressing, I made a number of breast forms out of all sorts of things. Also, my own suction devices for breast expansion.

I spend a lot of time in my shop now. Making and repairing masks, prosthesis, and various foam hip and butt pads. I sew enuff to modify and repair Sherry's clothing items. But, I sew like a man!

[Helen Grandeis]

The gentlemanly arts used to be things like horsemanship, fencing, boxing, ball room dancing.
.
Robert Heinlein in the Notebooks of Lazarus Long had a detailed list of things that included delivering a baby and conning a ship.
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Although woman and man can learn to do all the same biology independent tasks, the order of neuron firing observed in brain scans is often gender unique.

[rorylm]

Well let's see....I've been working on cars since I was 12 years old....so that makes it "OMG I'm 63....51 years"...I'm not a certified auto mechanic but I do know my way around them. I'm an engineer, mechanical type, have worked on, designed, modified them. I can do light electrical, plumbing, carpentry, yard work, and just about fix anything. I'm a model builder from plastic scale models to radio control cars, boats, airplanes, and I'm currently a model railroader HO scale. So I guess I'm manly....but I still like the look and feel of something feminine and pretty. BTW when I was in business for myself doing equipment repair, installation and modification my wife worked with me and was one of the best mechanics I've had the pleasure to work with.

[Marcelle]

Can't say I have given up the "manly arts" in favor of dressing because the things I need to do which I typically did "en boy" still have to be done. I normally dress male but this is for practicality over aesthetics. Clearing brush with a chain saw in femme cloths and a wig would be difficult, the same would hold true for major renovation projects around the house. But day to day handyman/woman jobs I have done en femme. Not much of a mechanic so Isha normally takes the car to a licensed mechanic.

my true passion "computer modding" has been done both en femme and en boy. I also love to cook and have for most of my adult life and do so en femme and en boy depending on how I am presenting that day. I like to shoot (not hunt - I know, odd given my past occupation) and do belong to a local range. Have not gone down with my handgun "en femme" but am seriously thinking about it. A part of me would like to see the reaction of some of these 6 foot plus behemoths getting outshot but 5'6" gal in a skirt and heels :) - and believe me I would make the outfit as girly as possible just for the added effect.

Hugs

Isha

[sometimes_miss]

Although woman and man can learn to do all the same biology independent tasks, the order of neuron firing observed in brain scans is often gender unique.
My neurons stopped behaving, so I fired them all.

I learned 'the manly arts' growing up because my dad insisted that I do so; I know his dad did the same. So I became one of those guys who you can drop somewhere and know how to build, well, basically whatever is needed. Kind of like a 19th century settler of somewhere in the west. Lay a foundation, building a house, plumbing, roofing, carpentry, electrical, whatever it takes to fix anything in the house. Then moved on to engines & vehicles, more complex electronics as I got older. Guys learn how to do a little of everything so we don't have to pay someone else to do it; I guess, basically because years ago, there simply wasn't any money to farm out the work.

One of the odd things I don't understand is why so many women downgrade their own 'arts'. A guy who can cook, decorate, take care of all the domestic stuff women traditionally did (and those women complained about how hard it was) look down on a guy who can do all of that instead of the 'manly arts' that we're supposed to do, even if we do them poorly, those man's chores are still considered more important for us by women.

[bobbimo]

What are my favorite things to do???
And how do I dress for them???
If I am working the garden, Tilling, digging pulling weeds plants etc, basically they rough stuff. I'll be in full boy attire. Sometimes I'll dress in denim skirt or shorts, bra, forms and a cute Tee that I can afford to get dirty. But if going to get dirty and sweaty Its boy clothes!
I tried wearing my bra and forms a few times working on my cars, but they seem to get in the way and I hate to get stuck while I'm on my creeper under the car! So Its boy attire out there. If I'm just working in the shop fixing furniture or making wind-chimes, its a toss up.
Cooking, Cleaning and all other time its Bobbi all the way. I just love to be the girl about the house.
Bobbi

[daviolin]

My main manly art is woodworking. I am in the process of building a cabinet for all my unmentionables. Can't wait. Daviolin

[Tina B.]

I thought I had some Manly arts, but after reading ReineD's list I don't feel so manly. If you added NASCAR fan, and shooting, our list would be much the same.
Gardening, love cooking (mostly I love to bake) I would rather pay some one to work on a car rather than do it myself, spent a childhood doing it, gave up when I got where I could afford to pay someone else to do it. I'm also an avid nature photographer.

[reb.femme]

As with the music thread, I'm still into the same things whether drab or fab.

I love my computers and techie stuff (PCs or MAC) and all the time I have those, I'm a happy girl or boy.

Rebecca

[GeorgeA]

No, I'm not going to write about my technical and repair work. I hire people to do it for me. My proudest achievements are to change a lightbulb or put a nail in the wall and come out of it without a sore finger.

On a serious note, it is always said that cooking and sewing are women's jobs. But look at all the best chefs and tailors. They are mostly men. Somebody once wrote that women do it it is because it is expected of them, and often they hate it. When men cook or sew it is for an artistic expression.

Don't blame me for the last sentences, I'm just paraphrasing what I read
.

[CynthiaD]

I've tried most of the "manly arts" but I never enjoyed them much. My father did woodworking, but it never interested me much. I found I'd rather bake cookies instead. I liked fishing, but I hated killing the fish afterward. I liked hunting as long as it was just a walk in the woods, but I couldn't stand to shoot anything. (I swore off guns completely after I left the army.) I was pretty good at auto repair, but once I had enough money to hire someone else to do it I stopped. I'm good at home repair too, but I found its much easier to start with a new house and leave the fixing up to someone else. I tried all sorts of sports, including the manly art of boxing, but I got tired of getting beat up. Even when I won. The only other sports I really liked we're skiing and ice skating. Unfortunately, I also despise cold weather and moved to the south. There's not much skiing or ice skating in Texas.

I've always preferred more womanly things like cooking, baking and embroidery.