Today was a really good day. Was out doing some Christmas shopping and had to stop in at Ulta. What I saw was so delightful! I was waited on by a very pretty young man. The best part of all this is that he was presenting as a feminine man. His name was Brian. He was fully made up — foundation, blush, eyeliner, mascara and lipstick. He was wearing earrings. His hair was a feminine “mannish” style. His long nails were polished a very glossy clear. He was wearing leggings with a long sweater which made it look like he was wearing a dress. And he was wearing women’s low rise boots. What a pretty man, working in a makeup store! This is the future we’ve been waiting for. I hope more boys will start working in makeup stores and dressing appropriately! What was also quite obvious, he was not being “forced,” he was just expressing his femininity!Whereas I wear woman's clothing, makeup and a feminine hairdo to present as a woman, Ulta sales rep Brian does the same thing presenting as a man.
In general, my generation is more inhibited than the younger generations. When my generation crossdresses publicly, we feel more comfortable presenting as women. Not many of us present as men when crossdressed publicly.
The younger generations are more liberated. Guys like Brian feel comfortable crossdressing publicly without denying their birth gender or sex. (Goddess, bless them!)
When I am dressed as a woman in public, I don't know if I am passing or not. I really don't think about it; I just assume I am passing until something alerts me that I am not passing. When alerted, I unintentionally end up in the same boat as guys like Brian. But unlike Brian, I feel a little uneasy and I try to figure out where I went wrong.
Maybe I should be more like Brian. Instead of assuming that I am passing, I should assume that I am not passing, which is probably closer to reality. There would be no stress in a dress!
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| Wearing Topshot dress, Commando tights, Jessica Simpson booties (Source: BrightonTheDay) |
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| Dylan Stephens, male womenswear model (Source: Love Inc. magazine) |
That was a very uplifting and affirming article. I really think that it is important that we find a way to 'own' our dressing. It is clear that Brian owns his presentation and he is comfortable and for that reason he is admired by his co-workers at Ulta as well as their clients.
ReplyDeleteFor our generation we grew up with the stigma of our dressing. Hopefully that stigma is gone.
Pat
Amen, sister! I no longer worry about passing, just focus on looking my (femme) best regardless of gender presentation--sometimes this means a full face of makeup, dress, heels, and a shaved head; or sometimes it's light makeup, wig, earrings, and boy clothes. Most often (work, visiting family, etc.) it's "boy" with *very* light makeup & nails painted. I'm 45, by the way, so you don't have to be a kid to make this work, in my opinion.
ReplyDeleteIt's time for Stana live her life as the woman she is every day.
ReplyDelete