I won't comment on the whole of this because most of it would just come down to the two of us having different viewpoints. But I find the comment about dresses and skirts "signaling accessibility" to be very problematic. It seems to disrespect both men and women.Originally Posted by ReineD
Gosh I knew this would devolve into "women can wear pants and so why can't men wear skirts" again.
I agree with the other GGs. CDers wear women's clothes because they want to, not because there isn't variety and color available in men's clothing ... because there is.
Except that women have hips bigger than their waists, which men don't, making men's pants unsuitable for women's bodies. And if dresses for men were a part of the western clothing culture and widely available, women still couldn't wear them. There would not be enough room in the chest area, and the hip area would be way too tight. Dresses purchased in men's stores simply would not fit.
... and most CDers would still want to purchases their dresses from women's and not men's stores, even if the colors and the fabrics were the same. :D
No. It was rather like, "Screw it! (No pun intended) I will wear clothes that DO NOT signal accessibility ... because I am independent and strong, just like you. I can vote now. I am not chattel.
That interpretation just begs too many questions...
- After claiming or being given the option of wearing pants, why would any woman publicly signal accessibility by wearing a dress?
- Why would any self respecting man stand by while his wife "signals accessibility" to the world?
- Why would any parent allow a daughter to be put in a dress?
I have never looked at a woman in a dress and felt like she was accessible to me and I have never seen my wife and daughter as having signaled accessibility by wearing a dress.
I fully understand the superior functionality of pants for anyone for day to day living. And I would also add that a dress causes a certain vulnerability that pants do not cause. But, to attribute that vulnerability as a "signal" just doesn't seem to pan out in any practical way.
