Dressed up as a man...

[Ruth]

Bear with me girls: I think this post is in the right forum.
I was outside yesterday, doing some heavy duty garden work. I was in work boots, reinforced trousers, a heavy jacket, gauntlets, hard hat, ear protectors and a face-guard: I was wielding a 3 h.p. chainsaw that was going through tree branches like a knife through butter. Make no mistake I was focused on the job – you can’t mess around with a chainsaw. But part of me was detached and thinking this was a sort of role play – I put on the clothes and I was acting the part of a macho man. I reflected that I could get into the part OK, but it was by no means my favourite role. I call him Chainsaw Charlie, and I was quite glad to leave him behind when the job was done.
As a CDer, I can realise more than most people that by putting on the clothes you step into the role. And of course the roles that I most like to get into are female ones. I think the one I do most is the respectable middle-aged lady who wants to look just a little glamorous, but not ****ty. It’s funny what thoughts cross your mind when you’re waving a chainsaw.
Anyway, just thought I’d share. Do you think in terms of different roles when you dress?

[Rachel Morley]

Do you think in terms of different roles when you dress?
Hi Ruth, welcome to the forum.

I don't exactly think of different roles when I dress, but like you and "Chainsaw Charlie" I do think of roles for myself when I'm not dressed but doing things a guy might do. I just can't seem to think of myself as a "man" these days. I don't think of myself as a woman either though .... meaning I know I'm not TS.

I'm just not very comfortable doing things that are more associated with "guys work" (like felling trees etc). That's not so say I can't or won't do them because (when it's absolutely necessary) I will. It's just that I'd rather not, and when I do, I usually have to "invent a reason" in my head as to why I have to do it so that I don't hate myself for being what I consider "manly".

[Kate Simmons]

Like Rachel, I don't consider it taking on roles so much as I do activating a different aspect of my overall self, Ruth. It's always just me one way or the other no matter how I am dressed.:happy:

[tammie]

Hi Everyone: More and more these days I think of myself as a "girly man" a sissy but I don't feel bad about it. I am more and more womanly in feelings and dress.

Or I could be described as a very manly woman perhaps. All I know is I like being in a bra and slip with stockings and if I could I would wear lipstick and eye makeup with a dress or skirt and heels if I could.

I still am attracted to women, but I think I like the role of woman because everyone of them is offered sex almost every day. They don't have to be the initiator of relations and risk being rejected or accused of harassment.

I have been hit on while dressed and I liked the attention. Since I had been penetrated by my X with a strapon and liked it I figured why not try it and I liked it even more. Not many gay men want sissies but there R a few who enjoy dominating a sissy man who is theirs to spank strip and penetrate.

[Angie G]

Just the role of a girl that a bit of a vamp:hugs:
Angie

[kittypw GG]

Like Rachel, I don't consider it taking on roles so much as I do activating a different aspect of my overall self, Ruth. It's always just me one way or the other no matter how I am dressed.:happy:

Sal you have such a healthy perspective on yourself. I will never understand why some would hate themselves for being manly because that is ultimately what you are if you have an X and Y chromosome. If you arrive at acceptance for both the male side and the female side you become a well balanced person and quite frankly you are able to achieve more personal satisfaction with life in general. Why fight what you are. Embrace it, integrate it and spend that wasted energy towards making this a better world. :love: Kitty

[Tree GG]

Why is running a chainsaw "man's role"? A woman living on her own, without a man, is perfectly capable of trimming brush w/ a chainsaw; or renovating her kitchen; or fixing a leaky pipe; or chopping wood; or changing the car oil. Makes her no less feminine to do what needs to be done, why should those tasks make a man more "manly"?

Why do CDers seem to have an exaggerated or overly-stereotypical view of male vs female roles in every day life? This is an honest question, not meant to criticize or chastize anyone. It just seems to me that if CD's stopped drawing such hard male/female lines, perhaps their TGness would be less "shocking" and more easily accepted by the people in their lives.

[Kate Simmons]

You said precisely what I was thinking Tree.:happy:

[Di]

Why is running a chainsaw "man's role"? A woman living on her own, without a man, is perfectly capable of trimming brush w/ a chainsaw; or renovating her kitchen; or fixing a leaky pipe; or chopping wood; or changing the car oil. Makes her no less feminine to do what needs to be done, why should those tasks make a man more "manly"?

Why do CDers seem to have an exaggerated or overly-stereotypical view of male vs female roles in every day life? This is an honest question, not meant to criticize or chastize anyone. It just seems to me that if CD's stopped drawing such hard male/female lines, perhaps their TGness would be less "shocking" and more easily accepted by the people in their lives.

:yt: I was a single parent for many years...never thought in terms of ...manly roles of things I had to do. It was just ....ME.... TCB.

[arani5879]

Why is running a chainsaw "man's role"? A woman living on her own, without a man, is perfectly capable of trimming brush w/ a chainsaw; or renovating her kitchen; or fixing a leaky pipe; or chopping wood; or changing the car oil. Makes her no less feminine to do what needs to be done, why should those tasks make a man more "manly"?

Why do CDers seem to have an exaggerated or overly-stereotypical view of male vs female roles in every day life? This is an honest question, not meant to criticize or chastize anyone. It just seems to me that if CD's stopped drawing such hard male/female lines, perhaps their TGness would be less "shocking" and more easily accepted by the people in their lives.

Not all of us think that way. My mom is quite the woman and while my dad was physically there for a good portion of my childhood it was my mom that did most everything. My mom fixed the pipes mom did all the heavy duty yardwork until I was able to it was mom that taught me how to change the oil or fix a flat. It might just be the women in my life but most all of them are very independent strong women. If you told them that something was a mans job you would get an earful and then probably get shown up. Even more so with sports. Its one of the reasons I admire women soo much, their seemingly infinite inner strength.

[Fab Karen]

Not all of us do, Tree. Many of us prefer dresses rather than jeans/pants, but that's a clothing preference, different from gender stereotypes in general.
Or as one GG said once, there's no such thing as "being lady-like" ( meaning it's not innate ).

[Satrana]

Ruth, you just hit upon one of the important aspects of crossdressing, namely how we feel a need to put on a "uniform" to grant ourselves permission to behave in certain ways. This is true of most people, ask them to perform a certain task and they will usually change into clothes that are appropriate for the task - appropriate not just in the practical sense but in the societal look sense.

There is a strong association between the aesthetic look and the task. We can all imagine a "uniform" for a car mechanic, plumber etc even though these jobs usually do not have an actual work uniform.





Why do CDers seem to have an exaggerated or overly-stereotypical view of male vs female roles in every day life? It is true cds are overly sensitive to gender roles because in essence that is what crossdressing is all about - the wearing of the female uniform to perform feminine tasks. Men's roles in society are sooooo rigid that all feminine behaviors and roles are out of bounds for men. Men feel inhibited to undertake any feminine tasks so cds get around this mental block by dressing in the appropriate uniform.

This does still reflect how society works in general. Most women, even with their more relaxed gender role, do not use chainsaws, fix pipes, chop wood etc even though they do not have the mental inhibition men have. My wife will not even learn how to change a car tire which drives me nuts! If society did not still divide tasks between men and women then maybe the crossdressing need would diminish.

[Tree GG]

... My wife will not even learn how to change a car tire which drives me nuts! If society did not still divide tasks between men and women then maybe the crossdressing need would diminish.

:heehee: Personally, I don't think that has anything to do with gender. It can take creativity & effort to be incompetent. Ask my teenagers - ignorance of "how to" can get you out of alot of dirty jobs. "I don't know, I'm just a girl..." will usually get a disgusted look while someone else is doing the work. :D

[Kate Simmons]

:heehee: Personally, I don't think that has anything to do with gender. It can take creativity & effort to be incompetent. Ask my teenagers - ignorance of "how to" can get you out of alot of dirty jobs. "I don't know, I'm just a girl..." will usually get a disgusted look while someone else is doing the work. :DI know Tree but that "ploy" never worked with me. I used to be a Chemical Operator for 26 years. Over the years, I trained a number of people, including many women. The job sometimes required heavy lifting and getting dirty to load base tanks and even though we had company uniforms, some hesitated. I made them do it anyway because it was part of their job and expected, even if it took longer. Most of the gals jumped right in and did it but a few balked. One of the jobs was especially dirty and required loading about 50 100 Lb. bags of cornstarch. Everybody looked like the Pillsbury Doughboy after it was done. I told them I didn't care how you do it or how long it takes but it's your turn. We all took turns. Eventually, they all thanked me for doing that and learned how to manage the job and I was proud of them. Knowledge and experience give you power and they all became very competent Chemical Operators.:happy: Sal

[Tree GG]

Salandra,

Absolutely, I hold anyone wanting to do a particular job responsible for all the duties involved - regardless of gender. I work in industrial hydraulics & pneumatics - make hose assemblies, identify components, drive the fork lift, etc & so on.

I find it humorous, sometimes, to goad the arrogant maintenance guy or engineer using the "I'm just a girl" thing. Drives the current co. owner nuts when I drive the fork truck (woman driver?) :happy: So I say, OK, you do it. Now that's humorous - a salesman in a suit trying to maneuver the thing.

Gotta take those giggles where we find 'em :heehee: