Women constantly adopt items from men's fashion including neckties, mens shoes, etc. The difference is that women just do it and don't act guilty and cower in the closet. Many crossdressers are ashamed about what they are wearing and choose to hide in the closet and act like they are doing something illegal. Until this attitude changes and they accept themselves, the situation will never get any better. Most women are individuals whereas most men are pack animals and don't want to seem different from the pack. Unfortunately they were taught this at a very early age. You have to accept yourself and get out there and be proud of who you are and what you are wearing. That is the only way to affect change.


Quote Originally Posted by Violetgray View Post
Hmm... soo much to say.

It's very simple. Many men wish they could wear clothing of "the other gender" and not have to face ridicule. They can't. Women can wear wear trousers and flanel and not face ridicule. It makes sense that the men feel like they're getting the raw end of the deal. By the way FtM cd's do NOT have the ridicule issue to the same extent the mtf's do. Why? Because:

A female in any ol' pair of jeans and any ol' shirt is fine.

A male in any ol' dress or any ol' skirt is NOT fine.

My female friend could select any of my boy clothes and put them on, and no one would give her a second glance. She'd have to have very masculine cues OTHER than the clothes, like a buzz cut or carry herself in a masculine way.

The reverse is not true. If I decided to slip into her dress, that would be all I need to be subjected to ridicule. I wouldn't need pigtails and lipstick.

There IS an imbalance, and it is perfectly reasonable to be displeased about it. Comments along the line of "tough sh-t" or "stop whining" are insensitive, and in no way constructive. The need to vent is a human thing, and "stop whining" has never been a constructive comment, never in the history of mankind.

And by the way, it took a WORLD WAR for women in pants to be made acceptable. It's not like all the women got together and said, "screw equal pay and positions of authority, dammit, we're wearing pants!" If it weren't for the depleted male industrial workforce as a result of a world-changing event western women might STILL only be wearing skirts. So until an international crisis depletes all our women and men NEED to fill those positions that must wear dresses, the argument is not quite valid.

At the heart of the matter here, is that the OP made a controversial, if understandable lament, and women (and some others) felt like they were being blamed for something.

This is not necessarily the Way Things Are, it's just what it looks like to me.