Today’s poll asks the question of whether men who wear traditionally women’s clothing could be considered the opposite of a “tomboy”.
Women who frequently wear more masculine clothing and/or engage in activities considered to be traditionally masculine are often referred to as being tomboys. The term is not considered demeaning or derogatory in most circles.
There is not, however, really a non-demeaning, general equivalent for men who frequently wear traditionally feminine clothing or participate in activities considered to be more feminine. There are words such as “femboy” or “transvestite” or “crossdresser”, but all of these have very specific connotations and are often used derogatorily.
If you could choose or create a generic term what would it be? Would you even want to create a term? Are men who often wear “women’s” clothing the opposite of tomboys? Let us know in the comments below!
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I have always only heard “tomboy” used with regard to a girl (young female) with interests in traditionally masculine activities (athletics, hiking, racing, etc.). These, of course, may call for pants and shirts that could be considered masculine clothing, but their use is incidental to the tomboy activities, not a fundamental preference of dress for the tomboy herself.
So, if we need a descriptive term at all (doubtful) for those of us who prefer skirts and such, perhaps something like ‘femstylers’ would do. Could also be a verb (today, I am femstyling) and could be used by male or female persons to describe a way of dressing.
My own preference would be that such which-box-do-I-put-you-in terms might fade away entirely. Let us all dress as we prefer and move on without more categorizing?
I’ve also heard “tomboy” used in the context of describing the way a girl dresses and looks. I definitely agree with you though that there shouldn’t be a need for term to describe men wearing skirts or any other “feminine” attire. It just shouldn’t matter what a person wears.