There's something that's been eating at me lately. There's a transfellow I know who's been making himself my problem. He up and said behind my back that it hugely bothers him that I occasionally wear makeup (I wear lipstain and once in a while, eyeliner) and 'am gay'. (I'm pansexual.) In his own words,
'If you want to wear makeup and like guys, why become a man.'
Apparently the combination of these three things (wearing makeup, liking guys, being a man) don't compute in a way that infuriates others. What I don't understand is, it may be brow raising for some, for a cisguy to wear makeup and 'be gay', but it doesn't usually beg the question of 'why do you bother being a man, anyway?'... Does it? I've had similar arguments made to me by others; i.e., 'if you want to be a man, why do you sleep with guys/wear eyeliner/like Hello Kitty/insert arbitrary ->-bleeped-<- here?' For the record, I pass well enough; and whether or not I get called 'bro' or 'sir' or 'fella' by strangers seems more directly linked to the sound of my voice than whether I curled my eyelashes that morning or not.
What are your opinions on this? Does the idea of other transguys being 'femme' and NOT WANTing to help it piss you off? And what about those of you who DO like or use cosmetics or sleep with other guys? How do you feel about it, and how does it relate to your gender performance/identity(or not)?
