Today, we welcome Tom from the Houston, Texas area to Profiles of Beskirted Men!
What is your name?
Tom
Where are you from?
Houston, Texas area
Which types of gender non-conforming clothing do you enjoy wearing?
Skirts and compression hosiery.
When did you start wearing gender non-conforming clothing?
Compression hosiery since 2012. Skirts since May 2022.
How did you start wearing gender non-conforming clothing and why?
Started with the compression hosiery in 2012 to help with my circulation due to vascular disease in both legs. Began wearing skirts in 2022 as a way to take pressure off my left inner thigh and relieve nerve pain from a previous vascular surgery.
What is your motivation now for putting on gender non-conforming clothing?
Started as medical. The comfort I feel wearing the hosiery and skirts has reached a point that I prefer wearing them even if I no longer would need them for medical reasons.
What do gender non-conforming clothes mean to you?
It is just clothing and I do not feel it should matter to anyone but myself as to what I now choose to wear. The comfort I have gained from what I now wear has made dealing with vascular disease in my legs a bit easier. As a truck driver of over 31 years, what I wear today makes sitting for many hours at a time more comfortable. I wish I knew skirts would be this comfortable much sooner.
How often do you wear gender non-conforming clothing?
Every day.
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?
Yes. I wear compression hosiery and different skirts and a pair of Skechers slip on shoes everywhere I go.
Do you find it hard to go out in public in gender non-conforming clothes?
No. The only person who has ever made an issue of what I wear has been my ex wife. She is just narrow minded in her beliefs of what a man should wear, though I never question her wearing of more male oriented pants and such. I travel between Houston and Albuquerque, NM every week in my tractor trailer. I go through some very conservative areas. Not a single issue raised by anyone at any truck stop I go in! A few smiles from women, but not a single negative interaction with anybody!
What is your best and/or worst experience in gender non-conforming clothes?
No bad experiences other than it disgusting my ex wife early on. My best experience would have to be the first time I got out of my truck and went in the truck stop wearing a knee length denim skirt. Initially I would change into shorts, but this time I said to myself it is time I face this fear! It was a non event! This lead to me opening wearing a skirt and hosiery everywhere in public, including at truck stops! I own the look and confidently walk around like everything is normal!
Do your family or friends know about how you dress?
Yes. I fear judgement from nobody! If someone doesn’t like it, so what! It’s my life and comfort that matters to me only!
Are there people you don’t want to know about it?
No. Anyone who doesn’t know just hasn’t seen me since I started wearing skirts nearly two years ago.
Does your partner accept your clothing choices?
Only my ex wife has ever made an issue of it. She has been wanting to reconcile with me. I made it clear that how I dress, especially since it helps with a medical condition, is not debatable. Accept me as I am or not at all!
What is your favorite style?
Knee length denim from the start. I do have a few favorites from Skirtcraft. For the last few months I have been wearing a few different color hiking skirts from a company called Lightheart Gear. Very comfortable and has some really awesome big pockets on the skirt. A snap button in the middle can make the skirt also sort of look like you are wearing shorts.
Where do you shop for your clothes?
Online
Is there anything else you would like to add?
Don’t fear judgement from others! Wear what makes you feel comfortable and happy! Just act the same way you would if wearing pants and you will see no one cares! I go in and out of multiple truck stops in TEXAS and no one cares! The fear is mostly in one’s own mind!
Thank you for sharing, Tom!
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.
YESSS! Couldn’t agree more.
Very inspiring story!
Thanks for this positive message, I also wish I started wearing skirts earlier. And yes, fear is the mind killer, but we can overcome that.
Well now, one would think wearing a skirt and pantyhose into a truck stop in the heart of Texas would be the surest way to get a never ending butt kicking. At least a scowl if not a lot of mocking.
But it goes to show how badly we generalize others. First time I wore a kilt, I was in a small town. Eating at a small restaurant outdoors where the waitress called everyone sweetie or honey, two people at the table next to me were discussing guns and their love of them. My mind was thinking these two will NOT approve and WILL say something. But they actually just said a few pleasantries as I walked by.
Just like we don’t want to be judged harshly by others, we all need to not judge others harshly. And your experience in a Texas truck stop is inspiring and conformational.
Thank you for sharing it