Quote from: Anna on January 04, 2013, 01:42:16 PM


Erm. It was the Daily Heil. What more needs to be said?

I was thinking the same thing. 

I fully understand and empathize with your rant. A friend of mine went out on Halloween in a dress and makeup, he got awkward stairs. I swear masculine clothing and USUALLY nobody bats an eye, even though I unfortunately don't completely pass as my proper gender.

The downside for FtM's who can't afford hormones and were cursed with curves, is that because females wearing pants and short hair and such is so common place, we just get mistaken for butch women or women in "normal" clothing. We can't express our maleness that way.

The hair issue is a little different, I HAVE gotten criticized and harassed for having short hair, being called derogatory names for lesbian. I've had people not trust me thinking I was a lesbian because of my short hair, and while I certainly think that's incredibly shallow and stupid a way to think, I still have received prejudice and discrimination for it because I can't get on hormones and don't "pass" as my gender.

So there are downsides to it as well for us FtM's who can't get on hormones and or are are stuck with things like large(r) hips or chest, round soft faces, short stature. Others just see us as butch or lesbian which if the environment isn't LGB friendly will cause it's own problems.

Quote from: FullThrottleMalehem on January 09, 2013, 11:16:50 PM
The hair issue is a little different, I HAVE gotten criticized and harassed for having short hair, being called derogatory names for lesbian.

Yup - that's a problem for me too. No offense to any lesbians here, but I'm not attracted to women in the slightest so I'm uncomfortable with being identified as a lesbian. Lesbian = female, and I don't want to be thought of as being female in any way.

But of course, that's what people think when they see me looking obviously female but with short hair & wearing masculine clothing. I hope T will help me pass better.

I'm pre-T so male clothes and male haircut express maleness to ME but for all those people misgendering me they don't do anything. I suppose they are reading me as lesbian. Luckily I am in an area which is generally accepting of this sort of thing. Even my school where I teach it is no issue. But still it isn't who I am.

--Jay

Quote from: DianaP on January 03, 2013, 04:19:45 PMOkay, I don't really see many men criticizing women. Here's out it works. Women choose to dress to impress; the guys just don't complain when they do. No one forces a girl to wear a pretty dress or whatnot; they, once again, just don't have a problem when women choose to do so. 

Not entirely true. I was forced to wear a dress and heavy make-up at my sister's wedding, and damn near every person who spoke to me that day pressured me to dress like that more often. They claimed it would "improve my confidence" -- implying that my normal appearance is so ugly that I should feel ashamed for showing it in public. One guy actually interrupted me during dinner (he was sitting at a different table) to give me a lecture on how much better I looked in a dress, and when I attempted to -- politely -- let him know that I didn't want to hear it, he told me to shut up and let him finish. His words. I had no choice but to feebly "thank" him for the "compliment" afterwards.

How I made it all the way home before bursting into tears is beyond me.

It is a double standard but that doesn't keep me from dressing up and going out
and being the person that I am. I'm a casual and conservative dresser so many
see as another woman. I enjoy the time that I do dress which is become more
frequent. There will come a day when I will be exclusively female.