What if you were a woman who wanted to dress in a masculine way? OK, don’t stop reading yet. There are thing we can learn from this. Like adding items that we can utilize to be feminine yet presenting masculine. I know confusing, but isn’t that the Escape game. Read and substitute words as needed. Enjoy:
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Source : Girly Hair - Manley look |
You might have already looked into this, but if you are in the US, some states have non-discrimination laws for gender identity and expression.
So, with the understanding that IT IS WRONG AND TERRIBLE for your employer to question you on looking too “butch” or force you to wear feminine clothes, I have some ideas for you.
- Boxers. On your more masculine days, you could wear boxers or some undergarment that makes you feel grounded. (Here is were you get to substitute "Panties" for boxers).
- Browse the women’s section. Evaluate what are the most feminine clothes you feel comfortable wearing on your most (required) masculine days. For example, if I were in a situation where I needed to look feminine, I would wear hip hugging pants to enhance a feminine silhouette and then hope that I could get away with a men’s shirt. Walk around the women’s section in a store sometime when you are feeling more masculine, and think about what you could stand to wear. If you can manage to wear clothes from the women’s department on those days, you’ll have made huge strides towards heteronormativity! And, as previously discussed, some of these clothes from the women’s section can be quite andro.
- Make up. You could also try putting on make up in a pretty-boy way and see if it would balance out the “butch” clothing. This is not something everyone would feel comfortable doing, but it’s something to consider. I don’t think that make up is inherently feminine. Otherwise those pretty male birds are all genderqueer.
- Bright colors. Bright colors and their association with femininity are another social construct with no real grounding. If you wear all men’s clothing, but have a bright purple chinos, people will probably read you as more feminine.
- Hipster glasses. (Photo above) Seriously, I know your job wants a conservative look, but hipster glasses are so in right now that I think you could get away with them. They have such a bold statement that they would probably detract attention from the fact that you look like a total homo… and also hipsters break past the gender binary all the time, and people don’t question it because they’re hipsters.
- Floral patterns. Flowers are another one of those things that we’ve assigned as feminine for no reason. Find a men’s shirt with a floral pattern on it and you can play their game without compromising your gender presentation. HAHAHA.
A good find. I can see her point and simply transposing a lot of what she says it really makes sense.
ReplyDeleteThere really are some days and some times when I really need to connect with my feminine side but have to present as male. While I wear panties and often pantyhose on an almost daily basis there are days when I also feel the need to wear a bra or all in one under my male shirt. While I mostly wear socks over my pantyhose there are times when I need to see a bit of a stocking exposed ankle. Some days I will flick a wand of mascara over my lashes or perhaps a bit of foundation or blush. Other times I will apply some neutral lipstick or gloss. It is not really visible (until I take a sip from my container of coffee) but I know it is on and it does make me feel a bit more on the right track.
It is always a good exercise to look at what someone says or writes and then to simply flip the script.
Pat