MEN'S VS. WOMEN'S CLOTHING
"This is going to be a short post. I’ve been thinking. That’s why it’s so short 😊
But seriously! I want to discuss with you why it is that when a woman dresses in men's clothes, nobody cares, nobody even notices, and no one looks twice. No one calls the police on them, they don't get fired from their job, they aren't ostracized, mocked, or beaten up in the street day or night because of it.
But it wasn't always like this! In Europe, for example, women started wearing trousers in the early 20th century, during the 1920s and 30s, but it remained banned and scandalous in many places right up until 1960.
On the other hand, if a man starts wearing women's or feminine-coded clothes, it creates a massive, earth-shattering scandal. The poor soul who dares to do this is not spared; there is huge resistance against this behavior, and it takes real courage and determination for anyone who actually chooses to own it.
At the same time, this doesn't make anyone a bad person or a criminal (although there are countries where this kind of thing is actually punished… crazy, right? But true!).
For instance, I like wearing tomboyish clothes. I like lounging around comfortably in oversized t-shirts and trousers without anyone commenting on what I'm wearing or why. And I don't understand why this can't work the other way around? Meaning, if someone is a man, why can't he just walk down the street in makeup, a miniskirt, or a top? (Granted, I'm not saying it's always beautiful—because it probably looks very strange since we aren't used to it—but I should add that the way I look, or the way some of my fellow women look, isn't always beautiful either… even when they dress as women 😊). So, look, I am for equality in every sense. As long as a person doesn't harm anyone else or their own health, I don't mind; as far as I'm concerned, he can wear lace panties even if he's a guy!
And please, just think for a minute about how your life is diminished if a man dresses as a woman or vice versa? So why does it even matter? Isn't love and filling our lives with meaning much more important? Why waste our energy on this, especially if it makes someone happier and takes nothing away from anyone else? Isn't that the most important thing? For people to feel liberated and happier?
Why do we have to make each other's lives harder by looking down on someone, ostracizing them, or punishing them just because they don't follow our way of life (and here I'm not just talking about clothing)?
Now, I would like to quote Silo: "You wish to impose your way of life upon another; you wish to impose your vocation upon another. But who has told you that you are an example that must be followed? Who has told you that you can impose a way of life because it pleases you? What makes your way of life a model, a pattern that you have the right to impose on others? This is another form of violence.” (Silo, 1969, The Healing of Suffering)."
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