Teachers are forcing me wear a suit and tie next week.

[Rachel Bellefountaine]

I have a presentation to do for one of my college classes. My professors expect me to wear a dress shirt, dress pants and tie for it, or else my entire group will lose marks. Right now I wear gender neutral clothing to cope with having to be a boy during school, so the idea of being forced to wear formal mens clothing depresses me. I really don't want to do this and I know it will effect my comfort level if I do... but I can't let my group mates down either. I'm not sure what to do. 

[girl_ashley]

I feel for you in this situation.  But we all have had to do uncomfortable things before we have been able to fully transition.  Heck, some here go most of their lives being uncomfortable in the clothes they used to wear.  I think you can suck it up for a simple presentation.  Don't let your group mates down.  Change right before you have to leave for the presentation and take a change of clothes with you so that you can change immediately after your presentation is done.

[Nicky]

That sucks big time, but ashley is right.

Try to think of it as acting, you are playing the part of a male giving a presentation. Maybe that will help.

But there is no reason why you can't fem it up a little and have some fun with it. Paint your nails a bright color, put a flower in your hair, lip gloss, wear some beads.

Alternatively get some ultra sexy nickers and stockings and wear them underneith. Maybe that will help.

Best of luck!

[Sarah Louise]

Go talk with the teacher ask if they will reconsider.  If not wear whatever you want Under your shirt and tie.

Don't mess up your team mates grades, that would not win you any points.

[Chloe]

I have a presentation to do for one of my college classes. . . .I'm not sure what to do. 

Rachel, get a pinstripe suit - nothing says "masculine look" more than that!

Now *on sale* for $26.99! (you can always add a few buttons & the tie part I'm sure you can figure out on yer own!)

*signed*
Your Local Authority on Female CD'ing!

[katgirl74]

I can relate, I had to wear a suit and tie up until my last day presenting male. Each day was torture, but I survived. Towards the end, I actually got gendered female while wearing a suit and tie. It's not easy, but if there was a way around it I would have avoided it too.

Kat

[Alyx.]

All women look sexy in suit and tie.

Just keep that in mind.

[LordKAT]

I got told I had to wear a dress to graduation. I didn't. I wore...black string bikini with white moons on it. Not exactly male but at least not a dress and not what they said I had to do. It was a rebellious statement because I had never heard of trans anything.

[Cindy]

I think this is a perfect opportunity to get a very nicely cut female suit. Nice blouse and sexy wide tie. Goes well with nice heels. It is very much a classic female cut.

I'm not sure how your development is but but a nice suit should show your feminine shape to its glory.

If not put up with it. Smile. And show what a woman you are with perfect grooming, nice subtle makeup, earrings and nails. Nice chance to say 'I'm a girl in a boys suit, and can't you all tell'

Good luck & remember it is only a very small part of life. Don't let it bother you
Hugs
Cindy

[Confused.paul]

Yes it sounds like you need to do something which will make you feel uncomfortable, I think that once you've done it you can make up for it by wearing more daring neutral clothes for a while, that will help you get through it

[Carlita]

What totally confuses me about this whole situation - and I TOTALLY sympathize with you Rachel - is what kind of college makes students put on a suit and tie to make a presentation? I mean, I went to college a long, long time ago and neither I, nor anyone I knew ever depended upon being smartly dressed in order to get a decent grade. Given the horrendous clothes we were all wearing back then, perhaps we should have been. It might have been an improvement!! 

[milktea]

? i love suit and tie!!! even now i still wear a tie at times...very unconventional for girls but gives a very definite style...

[Autumn]

Depending on how high level/what class this is, poor kids may not HAVE dress clothes to wear at that age, so... it's really unfair to expect someone to have to go out and drop at least $40 if not more to get random dress clothes for a project. Of course if you go to a 2nd hand store you could probably get it for $15-20. If the prof is a real dick about it you may just do it and report it to the department head/dean. If it's a higher level business class then you're probably boned, equally so if it's a prickish university.

Or alternately, if you have the money, get a womens' suit. Believe me, womens' suits are friggin' awesome. Slacks that fit and shape your body, and blazers that flare and give you hips. If your group wears bulky mens' suits you'll really stand out, so do be mindful of that.

If you are expected to do button down shirt + tie, you're going to have to tuck it in unlike womens' shirts - so be careful, a lot of womens' dress shirts are NOT designed to be tucked. You'll want to go with full sleeve (not 3/4) button down that is long enough to tuck into pants.

Last presentation I had to give for school, I wore my suit, but then I wear it to work, school, out and about regularly. My only light jacket is my blazer 

I've only worn a real tie once (and I learned how to tie it), but I dug it. They're hot on chicks and honestly can be hot on guys if done right, too. Just, most don't.

The only real problem with the whole 'dressing nice' as a guy is that the shirts are big and puffy and dumb and the pants are big and baggy and have no shape. Womens' suiting clothing alleviates that. And the blazer also covers any stupid shirt poofing you get in the back.

[YellowDaisy]

don't do it! just wear something gender neutral that is nice. if the professor takes points off, ask him why, and explain to him that what you were wearing was suitable for a presentation. if he starts challenging you with your gender, then that's discrimination. i had to do a senior project about a month ago, and they told boys to wear suits and ties, and girls to wear just something that looked nice. i wore something that just looked nice, and it was gender neutral. no one cared, because what could they say? "i'm not passing you, because you don't look manly enough." that sounds like pure discrimination to me.

[Rachel Bellefountaine]

Thank you for the advice, everyone. I think i'll wear some jewelry, a bit of make up and something pretty underneath. ^_^ I don't know if I can afford a female suit before then, because I'm budgeting for a few things for transition (My initial laser therapy session, ear piercing, etc.) but I'll get one soon for future presentations and interviews.

What totally confuses me about this whole situation - and I TOTALLY sympathize with you Rachel - is what kind of college makes students put on a suit and tie to make a presentation? I mean, I went to college a long, long time ago and neither I, nor anyone I knew ever depended upon being smartly dressed in order to get a decent grade. Given the horrendous clothes we were all wearing back then, perhaps we should have been. It might have been an improvement!! 

It's a simulated product pitch for our major project (to create a marketable media product from start to finish) so they want us to dress professional and formal. I can understand their reasoning behind it but it still leaves a bad taste in my mouth.

don't do it! just wear something gender neutral that is nice. if the professor takes points off, ask him why, and explain to him that what you were wearing was suitable for a presentation. if he starts challenging you with your gender, then that's discrimination.

There is still the risk that I would let my group mates down if he were to decide that was not okay. I could take it to the dean, but I'm not sure how that will go,  since I'm not out full time (only two of my classmates know). I'm pretty sure that this is one of those cases in which I have to make the most out of a bad situation and find ways to make it more comfortable for myself.

[Autumn]

Kohls has pretty nice womens clothing in general, I'm starting to shop there for my casual stuff. Sears actually has a lot of suiting separates and office appropriate stuff for women and is where I got my blazer and my slacks at $40/blazer and $24? for the slacks. Wear them all the time.

You could probably find an okay blazer at a second hand store, the other stuff, depends - but the last place I went had an entire rack of womens' pantsuits, some never worn.

[LordKAT]

Around here they have something called "Career Closet". They provide for free, to students and job seekers, clothing appropriate for job interviews and business type work. Is anything like that available near you? Check with job service or such.

[YellowDaisy]

rachel, you have a right to confidentiality. the dean may not disclose that information to anyone else. in the end it's your decision. i'm just telling you what i would do, because you shouldn't have to go through with this if you don't want to.

[tekla]

Borrow it from some guy you know who has one, the cost of that is just doing the polite thing and dry cleaning it for him when you're done.

And some of the styles are pretty damn close.  I have a DKNY women's suit that looks just like a men's suit more or less.  (The differences are so subtle that only women seem to notice, they escape most guys.)

And technically they are not forcing you to do anything, since taking the class, and being in the university itself is a matter of your choice in the first place.

[Alyssa M.]

I'm assuming this is a business class. Presenting a confident, conformist look is important in business probably more than anywhere else. So get over it. Or get on with your transition.

This might be a sign you're in the wrong field.