A Fun Experiement You Can Try...

[MonctonGirl]

After seeing a comment in a washroom/change room thread
--- "when out in women's clothing but not presenting as a woman"

I wondered if we M2Fs would more easily pass if we

- were presenting as a woman ( shaping, hair, makeup )
but wearing men's clothing? ( aka drab )
That could be anything from jeans and hoodie to a suit.

Thoughts? I think I might try it.

[CarlaWestin]

I've thought about this one, too. As primarily a fantasy dresser, this certainly sparks the imagination. Lately I've been starting early on the weekends. Three AM cause wifey sleeps till 10:00. This gives me time to get mad at makeup but persevere enough to at least fake out the camera. Hmmm? Full formal suit with fabulous lingerie and heels. I'm doing this one! Thanks for the idea.

[Nadine Spirit]

Is this just a different sort of twist on the standard "women dress like men?" It sort of sounds that way to me.

Now, if your question is one of, would more cross dressers pass if they didn't wear the formal gown to WalMart, then yes, I think they would.

Okay, so... taking the question at face value... no I don't think anyone would have a better chance of passing while wearing a female wig, makeup, padding, etc., and wearing a men's suit.

I really believe that the most the vast majority of us can hope for is to blend. Meaning you "pass" the glance test. From my experiences out and about most people will only look at you for a few seconds at most. More likely they will only glance over you and scan you which takes about 0.5 of a second. If something looks interesting, or out of place, then their eyes will linger. If it is truly very interesting of very out of the norm then they will out and out stare. So... to me, passing means folks scan me, see nothing all that interesting or out of place and quickly move on. Thus if you are presenting as a woman but wearing an obvious male suit, you will be stared at as that would be quuite out of place.

[Paulette]

Nadine you are spot on! People are busy with themselves and only spend a split second checking their surroundings to make sure it is safe. If you present enough visual clues that you are female and you are not wearing a ball gown to the grocery store you will become just like all of the other people they see, either a male or a female who pose not threat to them. Like the old saying goes; if it walks like a duck, and looks like a duck it must be a duck!

[phylis anne]

monctongirl ----- luv the post I am a tomboy type so I would fit right in to your thoughts here course would have to lose the cookie duster first:tongueout
hugs phylis anne

[kimdl93]

Not an experiment I'm interested in undertaking. If I go out, I want to look my best.

[docrobbysherry]

I've actually done this. Only taken it a step further. No figure, makeup, or wig. And, added some facial hair.

I've found I'm ALWAYS ignored by all the men and boys in the rest room!:D

[Sarah Doepner]

Sounds almost like a Victor/Victoria scenario. I'm sure it can work with the right combination of attributes, but it doesn't sound like something I'm likely to try. Good luck if you do.

[Jackie7]

Go to YouTube and search "Campari ad"

[ReineD]

I wondered if we M2Fs would more easily pass if we ...

Do you mean pass as in blending in like a woman? Or pass as in being accepted.

You will not blend in as a woman if you go out in your regular guy clothes with shapewear, while wearing wig and makeup. The wig and makeup do not alter your features from male to female. And the shapewear will make you look like a man who is wearing shapewear. (Most) crossdressers need all the gender cues available to them (clothes, hair, jewelry, makeup, forms, nails, accessories, walk, talk, plus a dose of confidence) in order for others to not notice they are not GGs.

But, if you mean being accepted, it depends on your age. If you're young enough, you might get away with an edgy look as a guy with a bit of makeup on; as someone who gender-bends in an androgynous way. I'd leave the wig and shapewear at home though.


... but, there are two realities. There is the way that people perceive you when you go out with all the associated judgments or non-judgments if they are open-minded. And then there is the way you feel. If you think that others take you as a woman, and if no one says anything to your face, then this can be your reality and you'll have a good time.

[Marcelle]

Hi Moncton Girl,

Interesting experiment. If you try it, please do let us know how it goes.

I am with Nadine on this one. If you are talking about dressing in casual clothes which could either way (gender wise) then it is likely you would stand a chance of blending in (passing the glance test as Nadine stated) because people might just process "woman in comfy casual clothing". However, if you are going to put on overtly "male clothing" such as a suit . . . you will most likely get noticed. Humans are cognitive processors in that we process the salient and fill in the blanks. When it comes to viewing people we are the same in that we give a quick scan and then our mind fills in the details. Think about the last time you were a busy mall and passed people. If I were to stop you at the exit and ask you to describe the last three people you passed, you might get some clothing and gender that is it. So, if you pass a person and see long hair, make-up female style clothing (or clothing that could go to either gender) and nothing stands out you are more likely to process girl. However, if something stands out such as long hair, make-up and men's suit, your cognitive markers get confused which causes a deeper cognitive processing (i.e., you don't pass the first glance test and get a second look). I posted a series of dressing field experiments here early in my journey out in the Vanilla world regarding this phenomenon.

Hugs

Isha

[sarahcsc]

Hi MonctonGirl,

I can maybe shed a little light on this experiment of yours. :)

I've grown out my hair out and normally tie it up in a pony tail at work to look tidier. My hairdresser also gave my hair a feminine style under my request but it isn't obvious when my hair is being tied up. As for makeup, I get a natural blush and red lips sometimes when the temperature gets a bit too warm (it is embarrassing sometimes when people point it out in public).

So on a hot day with my hair down, I do come across like a woman from the neck up, except I'm in a man's outfit from the neck down.

People at work still address me as "mr" or "that man", but I tend to confuse the older patients who are slightly visually impaired and confused. They sometimes refer to me as a 'she' until they hear me speak. haha.

So there you go. Unless the general public is old and confused, they can generally tell that I'm still a man, albeit feminine. :)

love,
Sarah

[sometimes_miss]

If you're slender, preferably young, you might slip past anyone noticing that you don't quite fit all the signals that tell someone you're female. Might. Some may simply ignore you; this is most likely to occur when you're old and ugly, and no one wants to look at you anyway (if you're ugly, homely and old, people prefer to ignore you, don't confuse that with passing; this is the 'Mrs Doubtfire' stage of crossdressing). The 'younger to middle aged and extremely unattractive' category is occupied by those who resemble 'Big momma' and 'white chicks'. Again, no one wants to look at you. I fit into something between those two; and, wearing juniors styles, makes me more like Petunia Potomus; basically a hippo in a tutu.
Do the best you can. If you really think you can pass, then post some pictures on hotornot.com. They're brutally honest.

[Tracii G]

Pretty much me some days.
If I'm in a guys t shirt,girls jeans that look like guys. Had a guy tell me yesterday you need to cut your hair because you look like a girl from the back.
He said that as I was talking to a female friend who had her hair in a pony tail too.
He said you two look a lot alike and it can be confusing LOL.
I told him thanks but were you checking my ass out? We all had a good chuckle out of it.

[Krisi]

You think you would pass better if you wore male clothing? Why in the world would you think that? It makes no sense.

Want you best chance of passing? You need a wig or natural long hair cut in a female style, beard cover and makeup appropriate for the place and time of day, breast forms and padded panties, women's clothing appropriate for the place and time of day and women's shoes. You need to either shave your legs or wear hose that conceals the hair or jeans or women's slacks. You need to shave the hair on your hands and at least trim it on your bare arms. Jewelry appropriate for the place and time of day helps. You need to walk and carry yourself like a woman. And carry a purse.