white men's shirt (Marshal Field's, thrifted, $1.25)
black/grey cow print sweater (Nina Leonard, thrifted, $1.50)
flare jeans (To The Max, Clothes Mentor, $12)
black leather booties (Steve Madden via Filene's Basement, $45)
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| I tried several different tucking techniques here, and eventually settled on the above. |
Ally @ Shybiker set forth a challenge
to
"Be A Man". The challenge consists of dressing in men's clothing, as a
man would dress in men's clothing (unlike I've done today), keeping hair and makeup as a man and
reporting our feelings. I hope it's not cheating, but I had already done
the task a couple years back, so I'm capitalizing on it now.
Please forgive the cigarette in some photos, I smoked at the time. (Obviously.) I've since quit.
This was a Halloween costume for me some years ago. I don't usually wear costumes, mostly because I'm lazy and if you want a store-bought one, you have to be some form of slut. The year prior to this I was a drag queen. I thought it would be interesting to be a woman dressed as a man, impersonating a woman. It wasn't too difficult. The following year I decided to do the opposite, and dress as a drag king. I purchased facial hair from a costume shop, shaped it according to the style I preferred, and glued it on my face. I borrowed my brothers shirt and purchased a pair of inexpensive mens jeans. (My hips were too big to wear my brothers size.) I wore no makeup, pulled my then long hair into a low pony-tail and wore a baseball cap. I was going to bind my breasts with several Ace bandages, but it greatly inhibited my ability to breath, made me dizzy and light-headed, so I just wore a sports bra instead. I carried a mens wallet, used all my pockets, and left my purse at home.
I think initially I "passed" as a man, but upon further inspection, it was quite obvious that I was not. My fingernails were long, my hair was long, I am really short (for a man) and my facial features are very feminine. Using the women's bathroom was interesting. Women were confused at first. I was slightly worried about it, but as the night went on (and more alcohol was consumed by all), the worry wore off. The man I was "talking to" at the time, was weird-ed out by it. He said I looked like my brother.
While I was amused with the whole thing, I don't think I got to experience what it's like to be a man on this night. For one, it was Halloween, so not your typical night. My "costume" wasn't outrageous and obviously costum-ey, but I think had I done this on any other night, I would have had a different, more authentic, experience. Although, I don't think one day or night would be enough to experience being a different sex. I also think "passing" as a man might run you into some problems with the general public. Women get away with saying or doing things, to which men may get a different reaction. I consider myself to be very much in tune with the different treatment men and women receive, and while I mostly find it to be horseshit, it is interesting to examine. For instance, most bartenders will wait on a man before a women because "men are better tippers."
Do you think you have the balls to dress as a man? What do you think you would learn if you were to participate in this challenge?
