[Jim-W]

Why is it that people associate men dressing as women with homosexuality, but not vice versa? Women can wear men's clothing and nothing is thought of it, but when a man does the same with female clothing he is stereotyped as gay or not right. I was just wondering why that is? Can't something such as appreciating another type of clothing be accepted without stereotypes? I especially would like to hear what women's perspectives are on this, or what they think of this and why.

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Name : Jim-W, Gender : M, City : Saginaw, State : MI Country : United States, 

[Logan]

I understand what you mean. I'm 15 and in my school there are a lot of boys wearing girls' clothing. Mostly it is either skaters or punks. They don't really wear the shirts, mostly the pants. I wear girl pants and find nothing wrong with it. A lot of my friends do, too. We like them and think they're sweet. We're not really referred to as gay - nobody really minds, but some people have asked me, 'Why do you wear those pants, are you gay?' I am 100 percent straight and so are all my friends.

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Name : Logan, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Age : 15, City : Orange Park, State : FL Country : United States, 

[Kelli-C]

Maybe it's not as big a deal because men's clothing is very similar to women's (jeans, collared shirt, etc.) A woman in jeans and a collared shirt is not going to stand out like a guy in a dress. Right now a shirt and tie are a trend in women's clothing - I don't believe this trend exists for men in dresses!

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Name : Kelli-C, Gender : F, City : Brandon, State : FL Country : United States, 

[Avalikia28924]

For me the question is why anyone would want to wear women's clothing. Pretty much any woman would agree that women's clothing is uncomfortable, forcibly contorting your body into positions it was not meant to take (high heels, for example), squeezing you so tight you can barely breathe (nylons, tight pants, bras), and don't get me started on anything with a skirt. Much of it is extremely difficult to get into as well. Men's clothing, by comparison, tends to be more comfortable and easy to deal with. The only reason I think women ever wear women's clothing is that they're expected to and it attracts men. Thus, it makes perfect sense to me why a woman would want to wear men's clothing, and I question the sanity of men who would actually want to wear women's clothing.

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Name : Avalikia28924, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Disability : Asperger's Syndrome, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Mormon, Age : 22, City : Provo, State : UT Country : United States, Education level : 2 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

[Omelio-A]

Pants, for example, are the quintesential male garment and when women first started wearing them their womanhood and sexualtity were indeed questioned. But because women were trying to present themselves as workers instead of home-makers, this 'masculinization' was somewhat practical. It was useful to make men see them as 'men' and to work in environments where clothers were more utilitarian. What many people forget with fashion history is the same thing that they forget with regular history. The Past. Tight pants, high heels and the color pink all once belonged to men. Women contrary to current times were historically the ones covered up from neck to heel while men were the source for physical flamboyance. But the root of this 'gay' association is essentially that a woman who chooses masculine things is pursuing the 'ideal' and that a man who choses feminine things is going against the ideal. A woman is choosing to be greater while a man is choosing to be lesser. It is the same reason lesbians get more acceptance than gays.

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Name : Omelio-A, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Gay, Age : 24, City : Philadelphia, State : PA Country : United States, Occupation : Draftsman, Education level : 2 Years of College, Social class : Lower middle class, 

[Jack19634]

Actually, both men and women are stereotyped as homosexual if they dress in clothing for the opposite sex. Men have a lot more restrictions placed on what constitutes 'men's clothing,' but if a woman habitually wears clothes made for men it is likely people will think she is a lesbian. For example, pants made for women look different from pants made for men.

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Name : Jack19634, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Gay, Race : White/Caucasian, Age : 21, City : Oshkosh, State : WI Country : United States, Occupation : Camp Counselor, Education level : 2 Years of College, Social class : Lower middle class, 

[Peter]

That's a very good point and it makes perfect sense. I never thought about it as i have thought a bout why lesbians are accepted in society as well as they are . In terms of power and ideal, anybody trying to conform to those in power are more accepted than those who arent, like men in dresses. The same reason why madonna and Brittany Spears can get away with kissing without being called lesbians: Its what men, AKA those in power like in general.

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Name : Peter, Gender : M, Race : Black/African American, Age : 20, City : Jacksonville, State : FL Country : United States, Occupation : student, Education level : 2 Years of College, Social class : Lower middle class, 

[GordonR]

People wear clothing of the opposite sex for different reasons. Some straight men like to wear women's clothes. They're turned on by women, but they just get turned on wearing women's clothes for some reason. Most male transvestites are like this; most transvestites are straight. Gay men are not usually transvestites; gay men normally wear men's clothes. They act like normal men and you probably never even notice that they are gay. But there are some gay men who act effeminate or even perform as "drag queens." Obviously, when you see them, you notice they're gay. They're not doing it because they're "turned on" by women's clothes, though--they're not transvestites. They're just doing it because it's fun. Also, they usually look a lot better as women than transvestites do. That's t

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Name : GordonR, City : Salt Lake City, State : UT Country : United States, 

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