Passing!

[Melissa]

Wow, you look really good in that last picture.  I thought it was a bit androgynous--more on the male side-- in your last one, but this one solidly looks male.  That's funny about the bathrooms.  I hope you don't get in trouble for using the wrong bathroom.

Melissa

[Kate]

Yeah...  I don't need therapy.  I know who I am and what I need to do.  I just need the letter.

You might be surprised. I don't value therapists themselves very much... but I've come to think of them like tarot cards - they can be a useful tool to see into yourself, to see things you might otherwise have missed without that outside, exterior prodding. But that power and insight isn't in the therapist (or cards) - it's in yourself.

Another picture!  I'm getting a bit more comfortable with a style...

Wow! You look GREAT!

And holy crap, I love guy's pants.  You can actually fit stuff into the pockets.  And they cost so much less than girl's.  It's great.

LOL, yea, it's NOT fair. I really love girl jeans, but... what's with the 1/2" deep pockets? I can't even get a cell phone in there. It's a conspiracy between the clothes and purse manufacturers I tell ya...

[nonie]

Thanks for the positive reinforcement, folks   I think looking more male is kind of coming out of feeling more comfortable in dress and caryying myself more and more confidently...

And yeah, I have *always* thought that women's clothing was a vast conspiracy...  Ever try to buy a cheap pair of jeans?  They make the sizing ridiculous so that if you normally wear a two, you have to get a 9 or 12 at the cheap store for it to fit...  Thus you have to go to the expensive store to get a reliable size AND they run big so you can get a smaller size than usual and thus by spending $40 more, you feel better about yourself.  At Forever 21 I was a 7 or 9.  At Old Navy I was a 4, Gap and Banana Republic I was a 2.  At Express I was a 0!  THE WHOLE MARKET IS IN COLLUSION!

Men's jeans are measured in inches.  I don't even have to try them on to know they'll fit.  Man, that is liberating. It now takes 10 minutes to choose a pair of jeans instead of anywhere from 2 hours to 2 days o_o

You know how there's that stereotype that women take forever shopping?  It's cuz the damn patriarchal society makes women's sizing completely random so you have to try everything on.  Which allows men to patronize them further by reinforcing the stereotype that women are indecisive.

Male feminist here

[Melissa]

You 2 are so funny.

I really love girl jeans, but... what's with the 1/2" deep pockets? I can't even get a cell phone in there. It's a conspiracy between the clothes and purse manufacturers I tell ya...

Lol!   I also have some of those 1/2" deep pockets too.  You can't get a cellphone in those ones.  I have a few pairs where the pockets are like 4" deep, so I can actually place stuff in them, but it makes it so you have bulges in your pants.  I think you might be onto something with your conspiracy theory. 

With the cheap jeans, you just learn your size in the cheap jeans and then you can keep going back to that store.  Problem solved. With the varying sizes, you are right about having to try everything on.  I've become good at eyeing sizes and many times pick out the right thing the first time, so shopping doesn't take so long.  You'll know the market is a collusion when they have to start resorting to using negative numbers or possible letters for sizes.

Melissa
Posted on: September 14, 2006, 11:08:29 AMI think I just figured out another part of the conspiracy.  It seems the more expensive the jeans are, the shorter the pockets.  Maybe they realize you won't have any cash left by the time you've bought the expensive jeans, so they figure you don't really need the pockets.

Melissa

[stephanie_craxford]

That's a great picture for sure, you look like the typical guy with attitude - Just kidding.

Steph

[nonie]

You 2 are so funny.

I really love girl jeans, but... what's with the 1/2" deep pockets? I can't even get a cell phone in there. It's a conspiracy between the clothes and purse manufacturers I tell ya...

Melissa
Posted on: September 14, 2006, 11:08:29 AMI think I just figured out another part of the conspiracy.  It seems the more expensive the jeans are, the shorter the pockets.  Maybe they realize you won't have any cash left by the time you've bought the expensive jeans, so they figure you don't really need the pockets.

Melissa

Hahahaha, so true!  I have a funny butt, I commiserate with black girls all the time cuz normal pants that fit around my butt don't fit my waist, which is a common problem for them but not for my flat-butted white friends ...  The more expensive ones seem to fit right, we used to give each other tips on which brands and stores would fit a ghetto booty, heh.

That's a great picture for sure, you look like the typical guy with attitude - Just kidding.

Steph

Yeah, don't mess with me.  I'm 110 lbs of pure muscle