Today, we welcome John from the southeastern USA to Profiles of Beskirted Men!
What is your name?
John
Where are you from?
SE USA
Which types of gender non-conforming clothing do you enjoy wearing?
Skirts, heels, tights, women’s trousers, women’s tops, bras
When did you start wearing gender non-conforming clothing?
Early 20s
How did you start wearing gender non-conforming clothing and why?
Having moderate gynecomastia (prominent female appearing breasts) since puberty due to a hormone imbalance, I found wearing a bra was preferable over not having support and containment. Over time I found female gendered tops fit my chest better and more comfortable than male gendered tops. I began incorporating female cut tops into my male attire. After a while, these garments became a normal part of my wardrobe, no different than pants or socks. This “normalization” eventually led to experimenting replacing additional female gendered garments and shoes with my male equivalents, keeping a male presentation but picking and choosing where and when to be more bold in my selections.
What is your motivation now for putting on gender non-conforming clothing?
After the initial emotional breaking down of the gender barrier/stereotype of wearing a bra for a physical need, and support from several close female friends, I began to look at clothing as something other than gender markings. Clothes became statement pieces. Fashion pieces. Comfort pieces. Just body coverings.
What do gender non-conforming clothes mean to you?
I don’t look at clothing as gender specific anymore.
How often do you wear gender non-conforming clothing?
Daily either covert or overt depending on mood, activity, weather.
Do you go out in public dressed in gender non-conforming clothes? If not, why not? If so, how often and where do you go? Are there any places you wouldn’t go?
Daily either covert or overt depending on mood, activity, weather.
Do you find it hard to go out in public in gender non-conforming clothes?
Depending on what the activity is and where. I do wear a bra daily and everywhere and have for years with hardly any effect. I have discovered that if I am going to something that overt non-gendered clothing will cause a distraction to the event, it will be covert dressing. I have found it’s not productive to force a situation and ultimately could put my safety in question. There are too many other places and people I can go and be around who accept me for me.
What is your best and/or worst experience in gender non-conforming clothes?
The best was after purchasing a new skirt and heels, a friend complemented me on it and wanted to take me out to show it off. The worst was wearing a pair of mid heel ankle boots and walking across a wooden floor clacking all the way and every eye looking at me or my boots as several women loudly snickered.
Do your family or friends know about how you dress?
A few close friends and no extended family.
Are there people you don’t want to know about it?
Yes.
Does your partner accept your clothing choices?
Most of the time.
What is your favorite style?
Floor length pants over platform heels.
Where do you shop for your clothes?
On line mostly.
Is there anything else you would like to add?
Having a physical need to wear a garment considered so feminine (bra), opened a door to a whole different level of acceptance as well as clothing. As a teen being teased by both boys and girls about my chest with taunts of get a bra and then eventually doing so for the same reasons women do, comfort, support, containment, clothing takes on a new meaning and styles once thought verboten, are now consumed as normal. Not one of mental state or preference, but physical and how gender labels of clothing are pretty meanless when you are needing a garment considered “not your gender” when it will make your life better or makes you happy. While I self identify as male, and always have, but having to deal with many of the same issues women do with their chests, gendered clothing is just so silly. I have found I enjoy selecting and wearing all kinds of non-male attire. It gives me a freedom to express my feelings and emotions or to be more comfort in my daily life. And no one says that I have to wear all of one or another. Sometimes a pair of tights and flats work better with shorts.
Thank you for sharing, John!
If you would like to have your profile featured in Profiles of Beskirted Men, take a look at the post I wrote about it for more details.
Way to make lemonade out of lemons.
Amazing how you had to deal with this during your formidable years but you persevered and are now a much better person than those who mocked you.
Oh, you had to go through a lot of crap with this disease and I can imagine your thoughts related to “safety” issue. Good to see that you took this situation and got significant benefits from it.