Why do you present the way you do?

[suzifrommd]

Actually liked how I looked which isn't usually the case.

Do you find that liking how you look is tied very closely with how you feel about yourself in other ways?

Works that way for me.

[Ariel]

I have only started thinking about this consciously, although I tend to wear a lot of very utilitarian stuff because it's comfortable. My hair's very short largely because it's easier to handle but I like it that way too. I might grow it about shoulder-length so it can be sort of "either" depending on how I feel.

I'm way too curvy to present as male without a lot of work but I don't think I'd mind being seen as a crossdresser. Mostly though I tend to mix "male" and "female" type clothing, depending mostly on comfort and what's going on and how I feel. I've thought of getting a binder or packing but I can't really afford that right now so for the moment I focus on clothing styles.

Sadly the only time I really go out is to play a character that's very female so for now it's all kind of moot. But it's fun to think about.

[aleon515]

Do you find that liking how you look is tied very closely with how you feel about yourself in other ways?

Works that way for me.

No, not sure that that is the case for me. But it's an excellent question.

--Jay Jay

[Phoeniks]

I'm trying to present very male-like atm. I hide the stuff that give me anxiety in my body: feminine curves, chest, hips, thin waist. My binder does its work admirably but I plan to get a new, more binding one in the near future, too. I love that it's Winter and I can wear jackets that make me look much more boyish. I use lots of black, grey, white, silver and green. I'm often told I look like a glamrocker from the eighties and I'm not complaining Ideally, I'd like to wear tighter jeans, sparkly scarfs, maybe eye-liner, tight men's tank tops, fitting collar shirts, maybe have long hair on one side, shaving the other... And still not look like a female. That was my style during this Autumn, but I got anxious as I was still seen as female, so I wear a bit bigger and looser sizes.

Other than this, an androgynous/masculine presentation is also about accepting my body as it is since it's very androgynous compared to females in general. I've been sometimes thinking whether I had some strange stuff going on with my sex at birth, or if I have unusually high T levels or something. Now that I can accept myself like this, it works in my favor of course.

My presentation is constantly developing and it's heading straight towards more and more boyish. Of course, until recently I was just heading towards a more androgynous look, but lately I have rather clearly been "passing" as gender-confusing to strangers and even some friends. I get very confused looks from people that obviously try to clock me through looking at my chest, and find it non-existent. Then their gazes start ping-ponging around me trying to get other cues Not that want to confuse people or get that much attention, I'm just happy I'm not obviously a female.

The "passing" has made me wonder what I want to do next, appearance-wise. Mostly I just want to get rid of the fat that gathers in the wrong areas.

I don't know how far I need to go into the male zone. I just know I'm not a female, and I want to get rid of the obvious traits of my birth sex since they and the female social role make me feel so anxious. Dunno, maybe I'm not even androgyne, really, but more like neutrois or just simply transmasculine.

[Petra]

I present female, but I do it without intent, if that makes any sense? I haven't worn a dress or a skirt in years, though I'm past the point where it makes me feel wrong and uncomfortable to wear one, for the most part. Mostly I'm just jeans-T-shirt-tennis shoes; my "professional" wardrobe consists of a lot of dress pants and button-up shirts. I try to wear stuff that looks good on my body shape, usually, and I don't really mess with that beyond occasionally trying to minimize the visibility of my breasts (I could live with a B-cup or something, but noooo) by wearing a sports bra or cami with one of those built-in bras. Plus, I just barely scrape 5' tall and am what most would consider "petite," so the only things that fit me are women's (or, often, children's) clothes. The girliest things I own are some sweaters and cardigans with v-necks, and a few things that might loosely fit the definition of "blouse". I like bright colors and dress like a hipster might if they didn't actually put any thought into what they were wearing and then failed to accessorize, except also a bit more athletically, maybe? I wear sweatshirts (pull-over and zip-up with collars, pull-over and zip-up hoodies), track jackets, and/or sports fleeces a lot. Also I have this army jacket that I really like (even though I got ink on one of the pockets like the week after I bought it and it won't come out!). Looking over my wardrobe, I guess maybe the most accurate way to describe the way I dress would be: unisex in style, (mostly) female in shape.

As far as hair&etc. goes, I have no skills with hair whatsoever, so whenever I go to get it cut, I'm like, "Just make it easy-to-maintain!" Usually I aim for chin-length and kind of layered, and when it grows out so much that five minutes with a hair straightener doesn't yield the intended results, I start throwing it into a ponytail. My dream haircut is like Winona Ryder in Girl Interrupted, except I think I'm too fat to pull it off at the moment.  I hate makeup and nail polish and don't wear either, and the only jewelry I wear is a watch, some earrings that I never take out, and occasionally a leather wristband that says "stop global warming". So whatever my face presents, it's just kind of doing it on its own.