Please Read, Couldn't Have Said it Better!
Quote:
Originally Posted by
ReineD
I don't mean to be flippant, but the solution is to do what women did in the 60s and 70s. They just went out and wore pants and the fashion industry responded with dollar signs in its eyes. When such a large volume of females also wants to wear pants, there is very little society can do other than accept it. But, women wore pants because they were tailored for their bodies and they looked attractive. Excepting transmen, they do not want to buy their pants in men's stores nor do they want to express themselves as men.
I gather from threads I've read here that if skirts and dresses were designed specifically for men the majority of CDers would not want to wear them, especially if the majority of GMs did, since it wouldn't satisfy their desire to express femininity. There is no comparison between women wearing pants designed for women to men wearing dresses designed for women.
I bet if you asked the guys in the transmen section, they would tell you they've also suffered societal bias over presenting as men.
I agree it is frustrating, but the issue is not about men wanting to wear dresses. It is about men wanting to express femininity. And TGs will have to come out in droves for society to be able to begin accepting it. And still it will take time, if you compare the issue to general acceptance of homosexuality; it is much better now than it was in the 60s, but still there are large segments of our population that are staunchly homophobic.
:iagree:
Love, Tracy
Men's clothes when in girl mode
One of my FAV outfits is an oversized man's shirt over jeans, capris or leggings. Or alone for wearing around the house.
Look for something about 3 sizes larger than your guy size. You should get a similar look to what your SO has when she wears your shirt.
If you and your SO happen to be the same size, you may have to fight her to get to wear the oversized shirt.
I wear an 18.5x35 men's shirt so I get at least a 21/22x37/38 men's shirt for the oversized look. These are very inexpensive at many off-price stores.
Yes, Tamara, I get the "tough love" lecture...
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Tamara Croft
Well that's absolute rubbish, but even if it was true, who's fault is that? Y'all come on this board complaining and whinging like a bunch of 5 year old brats, instead of going out and wearing what the hell you like... oh.. woe is me, I can't wear a dress.. oh woe is me, women can wear trousers... boo fricking hoo, get the hell over it and do something about it, or stop whinging!! :Angry3:
...and while I can't speak for the others here, I for one have gone out in public en femme over the last 2 years including dining out, shopping for women's clothes, shoes, lingerie, and make up, trying out clothes in women's fitting rooms, interacting with other female customers and SA's etc. and generally having a great time of it while being treated like "one of the girls".
That's great as far as it goes, and I'm loving every minute of it, but at the same time I feel as if this also forces me to be in disguise (as it were) to both express my feminine side and be accepted in this manner. In other words, I can't help but think that these GG's are so focused on the visual image of a woman that I present when I interact with them that they subconsciously treat me as some sort of honourary "girl".
This is quite different from them actually making the mental connection that, hey, there's really a guy underneath those femmy duds, which somehow I don't think they do. Probably the same type of mental NIMBY compartmentalization that will allow the average GG to be O.K. with the overall concept of M.T.F. cross-dressing as a means of gender expression for people like us, but when it hits closer to home and affects her son, husband, brother, or SO etc. - well, not so much then.
Like it or not, there is also still that ingrained cultural bias in the Western world that when a girl acts like a tomboy or favours male clothing, educational pursuits, or prefers more masculine sports, that is seen as a "good" thing as she is viewed as trying to emulate males i.e. to "better" herself. Sure, that's a bogus mind-set and not one I personally subscribe to, but it is what it is. A boy, however, who openly expresses his feminine side in the same manner and dresses in "girly" or androgynous clothing is still seen as being a "sissy" i.e. that's a "bad" thing, so not much societal support there. One only needs to read some of the postings here by our fellow CDer's who were accidentally discovered wearing girls' clothes by Mom or Dad while they were teens or pre-teens and how well that went over. I don't recall seeing too many complaints along those lines from young girls who prefer wearing boy's clothes because they are allegedly more comfortable and lower maintenance and being called to task for it as harshly.
And let's not forget that minor little detail commonly called "hate crimes", which the GLBT community is all too aware of, having been exposed to these far in excess of its actual numbers as compared with the general public. This alone acts as a very strong deterrent for a person who is openly and unashamedly male from wearing true women's clothing while presenting as a male.
Personally, I wouldn't want to meet a hairy, bearded, tattooed, and pierced 300 lb. biker with the requisite beer gut and who is O.D.ing on testosterone (and possibly liquour-fuelled as well) on a darkened street or in an alley while presenting as a male but wearing a frilly, lacy dress and 4' "f&%k me" pumps. Call me crazy, but, somehow I doubt that his first inclination would be to wish me a good evening seeing me dressed like this.
Somehow, I also don't think that a GG wearing a "boyfriend" jacket, a man's plaid shirt, dungarees, and construction boots etc. would elicit a similar response from said biker. More than likely, he'd actually offer her a ride on his "hog" instead.
No, this is not about whining and not having the b&lls to wear what we darn well please the way those courageous, pioneering pants-wearing GG's did before us. It is about the very real danger of flaunting society's "rules" and being beaten into a bloody pulp by some Neanderthal whose perceived masculinity we might appear be threatening simply by being ourselves.
