For those of you who choose to maintain an androgynous presentation, why do you do so?
For those of you who choose to maintain a presentation consistent with that of your birth gender, why do you do so?
And for those of you who do something entirely different, I want to hear from you too.
For all of you, how do you accomplish your goals? Do you bind, tuck, remove body hair, et cetera; or do you wear the appropriate clothing; or something else entirely?
I'll start.
I try to look as androgynous/ambiguous as possible. For me it's about the physical and mental incongruence related to appearances. I have dysphoria related to my secondary sex characteristics, and I strive to remove their appearance as best I can. This means binding, at least lightly, most days, using bags that de-emphasize my breasts as much as possible, and dressing in clothing that hides the curves of my body. Sometimes I feel a little more male and pack, but that's just in the privacy of my room or my lover's room.
I present mainly female (birth sex) because it's most flexible...in my view. I often wear mens pants and a woman's top, or vise versa...but it seems to always read female regardless.
I do sometimes bind and dress fully male but I HATE binding and find it draws my own attention toward my breasts even more than before so...there's that. I'm told I need a different binder, of perhaps a larger size. Though my rib size (in bras) will be changing soon and going down due to surgery (I'm not having any ribs removed or anything, but some of the fat tissue will be taken out from under my armpits in addition to the breast reduction I'm under going.)
I also frequently wear fully female clothing because I do like the colors, the prints, the brightness and the fabric choices. I work in an office and it requires "office attire" and so at work I'm dressed fully female.
One thing that I LOVE is skirts. To the point where I make my own and have a store online that sells mainly skirts. I just love them. In American society this is a soley female clothing item but in other societies and other times in the past the skirt wasn't reserved for females only.
I love mens pants, and button up shirts. Though I don't care for ironing...lol! I'm such a prep in my male sense of style. Utterly hippie in my female sense of style. Mixes...interestingly!
I present androgynously nowadays because I can't completely pass. My worst dysphoria comes from my voice, facial hair, and lack of curves, but I have ways of dealing with those. I tuck 24/7 and get rid of all body hair no matter what I'm wearing over it; my main goal is to look and feel as feminine as I can without looking like I'm actually trying to pass, it takes away a lot of mental stress and paranoia in public.
Honestly, I don't know.
I just know I want to be as far from male.
I also suspect that to be female is not quite what I want, nor can be in any case.
Lately I'm trying to appear as female as possible, and the end result is that I look androgynous
Personally, I dont really care, I was wearing skirts and makeup randomly even before hormones. Not to say it was easy, but really, this world would not care what a little kid like I is wearing or not.
I don't chose anything. I present as I do because that's who I am.
Mostly it looks male, this is because I put on clothing cut for a female and I look ridiculous, I don't feel myself to be a ridiculous person. Were I to look better dresses/skirts and not ridiculous, I would wear them, because I like them - however, I am aware that I look rather like Les Dawson in some of his sketches, so I don't bother.
I wear a lot of colours and have a lot of accessories/badges/stickers and such, many of them floral.
I spose my bedroom is a more accurate representation of myself, with all the books and cds showing my interest, along with the shapes and colours of flowers, the maps, the old fashioned things, pictures of people I admire, dolls, dictionaries and such.
But as to my own self, I present in how I talk, how I move, how I say what I say - in which I want to be as honest as possible, and am a little more restrained in dress, because people will assume I am stranger than I really am otherwise.
i represent the way i do mostly because of laziness and because i like a certain degree of comfort. only reason i pluck my eyebrows is to look a little more well kempt. just to make a slightly better impression now that i've gotten a job and have to see other people regularly. i couldn't care less about other body hair right now because none other than a few family members will see any of it. but i'll rake it off if i go to a swimming pool, so i won't freak out men who have too high expectations of females
what i wear is usually a mix between rather plane female and male clothes. i'll choose the most comfortable that also looks presentable on me. and i often straighten my hair because it makes me look less feminine. i ended up using the binder only with a few shirts, and as a sports bra now that i started doing tae kwon do. maybe i should buy another one soon
Manlyish with a hint of feminine thrown in. It ends up looking like a more sophisticated look which I don't like either, but gives me a certain credibility.
I look out of place around the so called bikers, but I do look a little better than the average guy. But, really, I just dress down when ever I'm not going to be around most of the public.
I present myself in the manner of the present being that I am. If a person doesn't like it, well, get the F*** outta my world.
Ativan
What I want to present as and what I actually present as are currently two separate things.
My ideal would be no curves, no breasts, tight clothing to reveal an obviously male frame. Yet I would prefer longish feminine cut hair, and lots of eyeliner and funky coloured mascara. So I would appear as female as possible while still obviously male. That's how I feel inside and how I want the world to see me.
As it stands, I'm a very curvy breasty sort of person, so I stick to baggier clothing to hide my body, and my hair is short back and sides and I wear no makeup because I can't get away with it yet, I would just appear obviously female, which is not acceptable to me.
Quote from: Jeatyn on October 08, 2011, 04:22:14 PM
What I want to present as and what I actually present as are currently two separate things.
Same here, I'm very lazy by nature, left things too late to ever transition fully and so am stuck with what I've got. Add to that a major aversion to surgery and to doctors.
Just wish I lived in a country where it was hot enough to wear simple stuff all year round. Jeans, t-shirt, flip flops... What more does anyone ever need.
This is just the way I am. I don't go out of my way to try to be anything else.
I like to shape my eyebrows,make them look a little more feminine,and i`ve got long eyelashes too,so i like to bring them out with an eyeliner pencil.I`m not happy at all with my face tho`and my nose looks like a duffle bag full of cricket balls.I`ve got a little money saved up so i`m going to get something done to make me feel better,i`m male born and i`ve been a gym monkey for years so my bod`s ok,a bit too muscled really,but i`m gradually slimming it down(apart from my bum that is which my bf adores!)I`m ok with my male body,i can`t really change it even if i wanted to which i don`t.The small things i do just express my female self and make me feel good.
These replies have been interesting.
Personally, I identify as androgyne and I've just started binding. I identify in such a way, though, that I'd really like a male chest but to keep my female anatomy downstairs. So I bind and dress in male clothes, but I don't pack and I'm definitely not going to go all the way to bottom surgery. If I transition I will stop after chest surgery; unfortunately I don't think I can do even that without going on testosterone (can I?) and either way my parents won't support me.
Sorry, I guess that's kind of confusing. Anyway, I dress and look fully male... except for my face. Unfortunately my face is wildly female. I've never been mistaken for a male before (except, interestingly enough, by close friends and my own brother, and they KNOW I'm bio female) and I probably never will be due to this face.
Anyway, sorry for the long post...
--Kayden
Much like Pica here; I think skirts are great, especially very long ones, but mostly i'd look foolish dressing too femme. (I did once, with the right combo, think a top and skirt looked half decent on me; not to the extent I would wear them in public though, and it was the exception rather than the rule.)
I wear the sort of button-down ladies' shirts that are cut like mens' shirts, or else pastel or flowery mens' shirts. Or just geeky t-shirts. I like stripey socks and fun colors and the like, but I also like grey and black. Mostly I dress for a combination of comfort and expressing the long-suppressed nonmale aspects of myself. She needs that salute. Honestly, I'm also a little bit under the radar as well; I don't like confrontation and don't want to attempt to explain androgyny to either strangers or acquaintances. I feel weird about those rare occasions when people say I'm pretty, too.
(That said, where's your site Sevan? I or my wife might be interested in buying something :))
The more I think about my presentation, the more I feel like I'm doing it all wrong. I should be in a male body trying to balance that out with feminine things. I'm stuck doing it all backwards. I shouldn't be female, I should be male on E.
Quote from: Julian on October 14, 2011, 01:52:13 PM
I should be in a male body trying to balance that out with feminine things. I'm stuck doing it all backwards.
I totally know what you mean! :D
Since I'm very curvy and chesty (binding with D-cups is a monumental bitch, by the way), and have very feminine facial features, I try to look like an effeminate boy, and I'd like to think that I pull it off pretty well; at least my girlfriend thinks so. ::)
Even though I identify as genderqueer, I feel more comfortable being viewed as a guy, yet because I'm still a girl I can get away with feminine attributes and mannerisms. A level of ambiguity to my gender when perceived by others is very acceptable. It really depends on what I'm going for that day.
I mean, if I'm obviously binding and trying to look male, it'd annoy me to be called a girl, and if I'm in a skirt and trying to be female I don't want to be called a guy. Wow, I'm kinda complicated. I must confuse the hell out of my cisgendered friends... lol.
In a nutshell, I like being either in-between or both, really. :D
My store is on vacation mode right now as I heal from surgery. So you can't see any of my items until I reopen the store. The store is flutterby.etsy.com and it'll be back up on/around the 21nd. I also have a blog which has a bunch of items up in a gallery so you can see what my style is. That can be found on flutterbuygifts.com
:)
Quote from: Sage on October 15, 2011, 12:02:57 AM
I totally know what you mean! :D
Since I'm very curvy and chesty (binding with D-cups is a monumental bitch, by the way), and have very feminine facial features, I try to look like an effeminate boy, and I'd like to think that I pull it off pretty well; at least my girlfriend thinks so. ::)
Even though I identify as genderqueer, I feel more comfortable being viewed as a guy, yet because I'm still a girl I can get away with feminine attributes and mannerisms. A level of ambiguity to my gender when perceived by others is very acceptable. It really depends on what I'm going for that day.
I mean, if I'm obviously binding and trying to look male, it'd annoy me to be called a girl, and if I'm in a skirt and trying to be female I don't want to be called a guy. Wow, I'm kinda complicated. I must confuse the hell out of my cisgendered friends... lol.
In a nutshell, I like being either in-between or both, really. :D
Heh, I like being neither. I want to confuse people by removing all the signifiers that might cause them to gender me. And I totally hear you on binding with D cups. Can't wait to get these babies reduced or removed.
Totally! I couldn't bind my DDDs. I'm not exactly sure what size i've gotten down to...either a B or C cup. Reductions aren't an exact science. I'm hoping, and had asked for a C and I'm pretty confident in my surgeon...so we'll see what I end up with once healed up. I'm interested to see how well it'll bind down.
I wear unisexed attire mostly cause that way I can feel more comfortable but at the same time not freak too many people out.
Just because some are intolerant doesn't mean I have to freak out those who don't care and just simply want to live their lives.
As male, out of fear and comfort. Typically loose clothes, never shorts.
How would I like to present? Without any stubble on my face, without hair on my arms or legs, and in colorful clothes that are loose and joyful (I like what some Buddist monks wear, for instance, which is ironic considering it is meant as cheap, utilitarian clothing). Not sure I'd fit in going to work in a large corporate HQ building wearing Buddist robes (nor would I want to offend Buddists - so what I wore would need to be distinguishable). But if I could wear anything, I'd wear bright yellow robes of some sort. The thought of it makes me happy. I love the idea of being able to wear clothes without the lie of being a man or a woman - so clothes that are bright, flowing, and non-form-fitting would really appeal to me. I just want to be who I am! So does anyone know of something like the Buddist robes that wouldn't offend a Buddist to see a non-Buddist wear, which doesn't involve sewing (I don't have a good machine right now - one day I'll get one, but until then I'm not going to sew clothes by hand!), and is colorful? I'd love to own something like that!
Hair has never mattered to me, so I have short, functional hair now. I've done the opposite, with hair down past my shoulders in the past. Ironically, it was the short hair (although not as short as now!) that caused my friends to tell me I wore a feminine hair style!
One day I suppose I'll figure out how to live in truth. I'm not there yet though - still too much fear (I couldn't even tell you what I fear right now).
I used to present rather androgynous at school but got bullied and decided to go with birth gender. when i moved away from my home town i made sure it was over the top when it came to presenting as my birth sex. It didn't work, as i was too clueless in fashion to do that, but i slowly got there. then that lead to me being unhappy and being in the place now where i'm slowly going back to my old ways. cut my hair short. that was starters. bought a new suitjacket after having thrown out my previous ones that i had before uni.
i'm just doing this for myself though and if i feel it's too difficult with people around me, i'm likely to just go back to presenting female. *sigh*
because i don't think anyone will ever go: oh, you must be androgyn, just by looking at me, and for me personally, being called he or she, it doesn't matter, even if it's 50:50, it would be the same as being called she 100% of the time. it would still all be wrong either way. :-\ unless people are going to get that i'm neither on a first glance, I think it's a bit pointless me trying to pass for the sake of how other people will treat me, as it's just not going to happen the way i want in my fantasy world.
edit: well, that's just how i'm feeling today after thinking about it. i might change my mind tomorrow. after all, people might ask about how identify if i dress other than sterotypically female, which they might not have asked otherwise. *shrug* it's what would ideally happen, but we'll see :P.
I normally dress hyper fem to counter my full beard - I love my beard.
I always wear either a dress or skirt and pretty top - except swimming and gym (fem shorts)
I always wear my breast forms giving me a C or D cup. Sometimes I feel the need to put on Lipstick, eye shadow and/or nail polish
I often hear children say "is that a boy or girl ( I quite like that). I sometimes get teens asking inapropiate questions about my bits I won't say what I have down there but any question asked with respect I'll answer sometimes when teens call out " show us your tits" or similar I'll pull out a breast form to show them, sometimes I just keep walking.
Why do I do this to educate them
why do I present as I do? to be me -
I'm too much of a girl to live as a man - so I dress female.
& I'm too much or a guy to live as Female so I have a full beard.
I don't present as I do to confuse people, but I like the fact that I do.
Quote from: Kinkly on October 23, 2011, 05:11:32 AM
I normally dress hyper fem to counter my full beard - I love my beard.
*snip*
I don't present as I do to confuse people, but I like the fact that I do.
This sounds a lot like me. I dress in a more masculine manner than I'd like, because my body and face are so female.
Even though I'm no more a boy than I am a girl, I love confusing people and being mistaken for a boy.
Never though of this before really but I don't like wearing very feminine clothing, I prefer very slender tops like a dancers top, bagging pants with ugg type boots. I'd wear cowboy boots if I could but I'm way too tall.
Short hair as much as possible but facial make up, mascara and lipstick is all.
I don't identify as androgynous though.
I just thought I'd add that a few days ago a taxi driver looked rather shocked to see me and kept looking at me strangely when he realised I had noticed he was looking at me he said "sorry It has been a long time since I've seen a bearded Lady".
yey thats much better then "Man in Dress" or "Cross dresser". It made my day. :)
I spent a Long time Hiding who I was out of fear and now live my Life as me, now knowing that it is ok to be who I am when I am forced to conform to male in anyway (or hide my femme side ) I have to put up with thought that can lead to suicidal thoughts and planning, even though I know I don't want to die. So I present as me because I have no choice - death in not a choice I'm willing to make.
Quote from: Julian on October 03, 2011, 11:30:01 AM
For those of you who choose to maintain an androgynous presentation, why do you do so?
Because when I present in a way that is too masculine or too feminine I feel like I'm playing dress-up, like I'm trying to not be me.
Besides, other people attached gender to clothing, it has naught to do with me. As far as I'm concerned, if I like it, it's for girls.
Quote from: Julian on October 03, 2011, 11:30:01 AM
For all of you, how do you accomplish your goals? Do you bind, tuck, remove body hair, et cetera; or do you wear the appropriate clothing; or something else entirely?
Mostly I wear a mix of clothes from the men's and women's sections of stores. Most coats, jackets, button-ups from the men's. Most pants, hoodies, t-shirts from the women's. All of it in fairly dark, subdued colours, which contrast nicely with my corpse-white skin. And most of it in fairly genderless styles - slim-fit men's button ups and bootcut women's jeans, for example. Occasionally I wear light makeup to offset more masculine clothing. My jewellery (necklace, earrings, one ring) is all unisex or men's. I carry a green canvas messenger bag pretty much everywhere I go. I keep my hair in a short "alternative lifestyle" cut, though a reserved one. I'm very tall, and quite flat-chested and don't wear anything to help with that (just plain camis). I tuck, till my surgery next month, and shave my legs and underarms.
I look like an andro dyke. Which I am.
I still present as male in spite of having swapped out my chemistry. I've always been a jeans, trainers and T shirt person and quite honestly I couldn't give a rats ass for clothes or fashion. If I had to express a preference it would neutral and practical and I'm thankful for that. I'd have failed miserably at presenting as female so I never seriously considered it as an option. As Sarah7 said I wouldn't like to "feel like I'm playing dress up" My mannerisms are well ingrained male ones that would be too hard a habit to break and more feminine ones would be too hard a pretence to maintain. These days I mostly wear double pocketed shirts to hide my moobs and I'm actually considering getting something done about them in the future. I'm going to chew this over for a while before deciding for sure. In a strange way I'm almost a trans man in reverse ;D
Quote from: Julian on October 03, 2011, 11:30:01 AM
For those of you who choose to maintain an androgynous presentation, why do you do so?
For those of you who choose to maintain a presentation consistent with that of your birth gender, why do you do so?
And for those of you who do something entirely different, I want to hear from you too.
For all of you, how do you accomplish your goals? Do you bind, tuck, remove body hair, et cetera; or do you wear the appropriate clothing; or something else entirely?
I guess I'm all of the above. :D My gender identity is very fluid. I present as anywhere in the range between light masculine, androgynous, pangendered, fetish femme, and high femme. Usually, I'm between andro and pan. I wear panties and something to support (and protect) my breasts at all times. I tuck at all times, too. It doesn't feel right if I don't tuck.
I work Wed-Sun and I can't wear skirts, etc for safety reasons. I'll go through what I wore all this week to give you an idea.
Monday - femme - wig, full makeup, goggles, purple corset, black leather collar and bra, Tripp black skirt with purple and red plaid, purple and red plaid stockings, and some chunky heel stompin boots.
Tuesday - I stayed at home all day and wore a comfy nightie and my black fuzzy slippers.
Wednesday - Backward black fitted baseball cap, goggles, medium makeup, light blue cami, push-up bra, unbuttoned plaid (navy, charcoal, and light blue) western shirt, Silver jeans, and black and white wing tip Docs.
Thursday - The cap and goggles again, light makeup, facial stubble, teal bra-top cami, partially buttoned black (with diamond pattern stripes with tiny skulls inside the diamonds) western shirt, Silver jeans, and black and white wing tip Docs.
Friday - Black cap, goggles, medium makeup, teal and white striped tight long sleeve shirt, black pinstriped halter vest (with a muted gold stylized floral pattern on the right front), wrist length open fingered black gloves with buckles, push-up bra, tight Silver jeans, and black and white wing tip Docs.
Saturday - Goggles, medium makeup, tight lime green tank, push-up bra, partially buttoned green and white plaid western shirt, silver jeans, black and white wing tip Docs.
This was a fairly average week for me.
light makeup - clear or lightly shaded lip gloss, foundation, light eye shadow.
medium makeup - any lip gloss, foundation, eye shadow, eye-liner.
full makeup - anything goes, if it goes well with my outfit.
I shave every day and wear my goggles and clockwork timepiece necklace nearly every day. If you want to see pictures, send me a message. I've got plenty posted in quite a few places.
Quote from: Kayden-Turner on October 10, 2011, 08:27:33 AM
Personally, I identify as androgyne and I've just started binding. I identify in such a way, though, that I'd really like a male chest but to keep my female anatomy downstairs. So I bind and dress in male clothes, but I don't pack and I'm definitely not going to go all the way to bottom surgery. If I transition I will stop after chest surgery; unfortunately I don't think I can do even that without going on testosterone (can I?) and either way my parents won't support me.
...
Sorry, I guess that's kind of confusing. Anyway, I dress and look fully male... except for my face. Unfortunately my face is wildly female. I've never been mistaken for a male before (except, interestingly enough, by close friends and my own brother, and they KNOW I'm bio female) and I probably never will be due to this face.
I am very much the same. I try to look as male as possible, including binding (but only for special occasions, because I find it very uncomfortable physically, if very comforting mentally). But my face will always "give me away," I guess. I've made peace with not passing all the time, but I would like to at least blur the lines instead of just being read as bio female immediately.
And same for me about having a male chest. I'd like to, but I feel I couldn't because of my family.
Hence,
bio female + wants to look boyish - can't look boyish = androgynous.
I present as female because I can't do anything else. I don't have enough clothes that aren't female (I dress slightly androgynously on the EXTREMELY rare occassion I leave the house for non-school related reasons, but I'm a complete shut-in so I pretty much don't do so, and it's not androgynous enough), I'm not allowed to bind, I go to an all-girl's school, and my mum (the only person I'm out to) appears to think of me as an androgynous cisgirl.
I present as female beause I'm too broke and lazy to present as male. I don't really go anywhere and everyone I'm usually around knows me so it wouldn't make a difference. I don't bind because there's just no point in my circumstances. If anything I want to let the breasts be more free.
I think I present, well sort of sloppy. Loose pants/jeans, sweatshirts, large t-shirts, etc. I never understood this until roughly a few months ago. And it's this: when I look in the mirror and see someone with a good figure (for a female, I mean), I feel that it is not really me. So I cover up by wearing baggy stuff. Then I feel more comfortable with what I see.
I clearly am female. Probably look on the butch side.
--Jay Jay
As still present as male (my birth gender) simply because I can not pass as a woman. I am pre-HRT, and do not look anywhere near close enough to a woman to present as one. As soon as I can somewhat pass, I will start to present as I really should.
Quote from: Julian on October 03, 2011, 11:30:01 AM
For those of you who choose to maintain a presentation consistent with that of your birth gender, why do you do so?
Lots of reasons
* How I present is not that important to me. I want people to feel comfortable in my presence, I don't want to be judged some kind of nut, but other than that, I don't really care what I look like.
* I've lost way too much hair to pass as female or androgyne.
* I don't think presenting differently would help. My issues are social. Though male, I feel more comfortable in the company of females. I doubt I'd be any more accepted by them (short of total MtF transition) by presenting differently.
* I'm still pretty attractive for a middle aged male (despite hair loss). I like being and feeling attractive. Presenting differently would make me self-conscious.
* I'm still freaking out chicken $#!+ terrified of appearing in public with anything feminine in my presentation.
For me, it really depends on whatever I'm feeling when I wake up in the morning:
Female (biological sex): This one is the rarest of them. But on those few days, I'll wear clingy clothes, my best bra, put my hair in a high ponytail and don some dangly earrings. The days that I present as "female" I do so because those are the days that I'm really feeling like showing off my curves (of which I have plenty) and Dcups, where I want people to perceive me as a woman.
Androgynous (preferred): This is how I present most days. Even when I was little (starting about 1st or 2nd grade) I've always thought of myself as a tomboy and have dressed as such: usually jeans, baggy t-shirts or sweaters, beat up tennis shoes or boots, no jewelry. My hair'll be however I could get it to look best; it's a fickle beast and doesn't always respond well to attempts to tame it. I like the melding of the stereotypically "female" and "male" looks, and I must admit I also get a kick out of making people really have to think about what I might actually be, gender- or sex-wise.
Male (the newest of them): This one is, for me, really fun; I get to put on an altered version of myself. I'll wear loose, coarse clothing, tie my hair back to a bun or stuff it in a hat, put on my hiking boots, bind my chest. Also, if it's gonna be warm enough for shorts, I'll make sure to not shave my legs/armpits for a few weeks in advance. I'll change the way I walk, lower my voice, etc. The days where I'd rather be a man are interesting ones to be sure, as they're all part of my self-discovery; I only recently came out as genderfluid.
My name is Shannon on female/androgyne days, Shane on male days. It's been fun, and I hope it continues to be so. :) No one should ever, EVER have to feel like their way of presenting themselves to the world is beneath that of others.
Fun, isn't it?
I think I made someone do a double take yesterday. I got a new hat. These are great, called a cadet hat, don't have that too big bill thing going on (for a little head). Other things were pretty androgynous. Anyway the woman took maybe 5 minutes and then said "thank you ma'am" but the ma'am was VERY quiet and not sure she was too sure.
--Jay Jay
Quote from: aleon515 on May 29, 2012, 04:38:09 PM
I think I made someone do a double take yesterday. I got a new hat. These are great, called a cadet hat, don't have that too big bill thing going on (for a little head). Other things were pretty androgynous. Anyway the woman took maybe 5 minutes and then said "thank you ma'am" but the ma'am was VERY quiet and not sure she was too sure.
--Jay Jay
Wow. I love the way you describe that.
There would be an awful lot of plucking, shaving, shopping, and make-up before that would ever be possible for me, but you make androgyny sound so much fun, it might almost be worth it!
Typically Female: Why- I like skirts, colourful scarves, and looking pretty (not that being male would prevent me from wearing skirts and looking pretty if I thought I would still look male, but I don't). I still don't shape my eyebrows because I don't see the point. How- It's pretty easy since I'm physically female.
Male: This is the most often lately. Why- So maybe, someday, someone will see me as a male. Also, female me is fine looking male, but male me is a little less comfortable looking female (probably because I feel invisible). How- I wear a binder, baggy pants, and button down shirts or t-shirts. I still don't like hairy legs.
Pirate/steampunk: Why- It's fun. How- Value Village is my friend. I wear blouses and sometimes vests and tie a scarf around my waist. I used to have pirate boots, but they're worn down. I also add other things sometimes like certain earrings or something. Sometimes, I mix it with more scarves. Sometimes, I mix it with regular clothing.
Mad scientist: Why- Guess. How- I don't really yet, but I do have a Dr. Horrible lab coat.
Quote from: agfrommd on May 29, 2012, 05:34:53 PM
Wow. I love the way you describe that.
There would be an awful lot of plucking, shaving, shopping, and make-up before that would ever be possible for me, but you make androgyny sound so much fun, it might almost be worth it!
Funny thing AG, but I thought I would be too old to pass too. And you know women have this peach fuzz-- one is said to see this and think something unconsciously. I'm too old to have that androgynous boy-look. Of course, I didn't actually "pass"-- but even the pause. I savor the pause as it is sort of is what I feel. "What gender am I, you decide." Actually liked how I looked which isn't usually the case.
--Jay Jay
Quote from: aleon515 on May 29, 2012, 11:36:28 PM
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.
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.
Quote from: agfrommd on May 30, 2012, 03:55:53 PM
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
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 ;D 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" ;D 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 :D 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.
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.