Women Dressing Like Men, Men Dressing like Children

[geo]

I see more and more women wearing business suits that look a lot like men's suits. They wear them with pants, and often the suits are pinstriped navy or charcoal. I very rarely see women dressed as women. No dresses, skirts, purses, etc. On the other hand, no man would wear a classical pinstriped or otherwise patterned suit, they do their best to appear as faded in the background as possible. I've also seen couples where the woman is well dressed, wearing high heels, a purse, skirt, and the man is dressed like an overgrown child. Often, I see dads and their 5-year old sons, and they are wearing the same clothing, but in different sizes. Anyone else observed this trend?

 

[LaMedicine]

I see more and more women wearing business suits that look a lot like men's suits. They wear them with pants, and often the suits are pinstriped navy or charcoal.

Now, this part isn't all that new....
http://www.thefedoralounge.com/showthread.php?t=5905&highlight=women,+boy's+attire

 

[Feraud]

Yes indeed. I have seen this often and there are many threads about it here.
I prefer to look at each case individually. Some women can pull off a men's suit style and look great. Other do not look so good. It makes me think she raided a Men's Warehouse.

As for the sloppy adult male, what can you do? I chuckle to myself when I see that couple where the woman is very nicely dressed and the guy is wearing a baseball cap, baggy jeans, and too large gold chain. Such is love..

 

[jake_fink]

Geo,

Is your new avatar taken from one of Micahel Kalatu's Metropolis illustrations? That's a great looking book.

 

[geo]

Yes, it's Metropolis.

 

[Paisley]

The Androgenous Black Pantsuit

Yes, I've noticed. This is one reason I haven't bought a suit in awhile. In all fairness to young women who wear these, it's not easy to find new classic, feminine suits now. And a girlie look doesn't help you get respect at the office. I and some of the other more seasoned ladies where I work wear some of our older clothes that have a little more style and femininity than the androgenous black pantsuit.

And men dressed as giant children is one reason so few men turn my head. I won't be among those spiffy-looking women on a date with a slob--whatever his other qualities may be, I don't want to spend an hour looking at a sloppy t-shirt, baseball cap and stubble. This reminds me of a friend of mine who wouldn't take out her own sister for a drink when her sister had on no lipstick and was sporting unpermed hair (picture Buckwheat).

 

[Naama]

And men dressed as giant children is one reason so few men turn my head. I won't be among those spiffy-looking women on a date with a slob--

This will be the reason why I'm going to stay single forever...... I'm just too superficiall for real love

Naama

 

[Paisley]

This thread calls to mind an episode of Nanny 911 where the husband had not only the five-year-old-kid clothes, but a doofus expression and idea of ?¢‚Ǩ?ìfun?¢‚Ǩ? parenting to match. He actually praised his little daughter for building a fire, unsupervised, in the back yard. Surprise?¢‚Ǩ‚Äùhis wife was tired of being the only grown-up in the house.

This is a little like how I?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢ve pictured boy-men would be as mates: I picture their wives telling them to tie their shoes, get their feet off the furniture, and put on a shirt.

And sure, I care about the inner person: I want the inner person to be a grown man and to dress the outer person as such.

 

[whistlebait]

And sure, I care about the inner person: I want the inner person to be a grown man and to dress the outer person as such.

Absolutely, the outer appearence is an inner reflection of how that person feels about themselves.

 

[The Wolf]

I blame Marlene Dietrich and James Dean!

The Wolf

 

[Burma Shave]

When a man wears women's clothing...

...he's called a transvestite. My former wife used to get massively indignant and "grossed out" when she saw a man dressed in women's clothing, and always drew my attention to it -- as well as the attention of anyone else in earshot. Now, cross-dressing men ain't exactly my tastes, either, but people have a right to dress how they want, without being ridiculed.

Why is it, then, that it's socially acceptable for a woman to wear a pantsuit, especially in a particularly mannish cut, but it's not acceptable for a man to wear women's clothing?

I'll even go so far as to note that I personally find a woman in well-cut trousers and a man's white dress shirt to be utterly alluring -- but I don't know any women who are similarly intrigued by a man in women's clothes. And nobody'd better say anything about men in kilts, because the kilt is a traditionally male garment. It's not a skirt.

Of course, when my (then) wife pointed to transvestites, I pointed out that she was, in fact, a transvestite as well, since she frequently wore blue jeans and a T-shirt -- both of which are traditionally men's clothing.

Any thoughts?

 

[Naama]

...he's called a transvestite. My former wife used to get massively indignant and "grossed out" when she saw a man dressed in women's clothing, and always drew my attention to it -- as well as the attention of anyone else in earshot. Now, cross-dressing men ain't exactly my tastes, either, but people have a right to dress how they want, without being ridiculed.

Why is it, then, that it's socially acceptable for a woman to wear a pantsuit, especially in a particularly mannish cut, but it's not acceptable for a man to wear women's clothing?

O.k I thought this was about man dressing like (male)children. But anyway, this is exactly my field of interest. Not long ago I did a project on this topic for school (well, may I add that I studie art , anyway). This is a problem of our society. To be a woman still isn't regarded as it is to be a man. A man (in society) is still more "worth" than a women. We have our pseudo- equal rights and most of us doesn't even notice how hard it still is for women these days. Just think of all the ways of insulting a man by comparing him to a women. And how people will look at you if you say that you consider yourself a feminist (even women!). That's just because to be a woman means to be weak. Now, how can a women be strong? The only way (most think) is to be a man. Sure, there is only one way to become a man, but you still can pretend to be to show that you'r strong. If you look like a woman nobody will take you serious at work, dress in a masculine way and people will look at you very different. It really sickens me! It's like it's a shame to be a women......

And by the way, I have nothing against man dressing like women, well, I actually I prefer them over women dressing like man.

Naama

 

[geo]

To be a woman still isn't regarded as it is to be a man. A man (in society) is still more "worth" than a women. We have our pseudo- equal rights and most of us doesn't even notice how hard it still is for women these days.

Equality does not mean turning a woman into a man or the reverse. Whatever they do, there will still be physical differences (I hope).

In my country, men and women have equal rights. Since men can walk in the street without a shirt, the women have acquired the same right, and now a woman can legally go topless in the street (this is not a joke). I haven't seen any yet practicing what is her legal right, but I know that in Toronto there were topless squeege girls (kids living in the street) cleaning cars' windows at red lights in the middle of the city.

At the office, women (often "full-figured" ones) often wear these tube tops that hang from their shoulders from two strings and are too short to cover their belly. In this case, they have a right that I don't have, and I would never think of claiming an equal right and come to the office in my underwear.

 

[Marc Chevalier]

In my country, ... since men can walk in the street without a shirt, the women have acquired the same right, and now a woman can legally go topless in the street (this is not a joke).

And where do you live?

 

[Marc Chevalier]

To be a woman still isn't regarded as it is to be a man. A man (in society) is still more "worth" than a women ...

Naama

You didn't mention it, but could this be the reason why female bisexuality (or Playboy-esque "lesbianism") is more "socially acceptable" than is male bisexuality? In other words, why do many men enjoy seeing women getting intimate with each other ... while far fewer women enjoy seeing men getting intimate?

 

[geo]

Canada.

The equalitarian idea is, if a man has the right to walk in the streets shirtless, why doesn't a woman? This argument won.

 

[J. M. Stovall]

Didn't Katharine Hepburn wear suits and other men's clothes in the 30's and 40's? Looked great on her! I seem to remember that she caught a lot of flak for it though.

 

[Naama]

Equality does not mean turning a woman into a man or the reverse. Whatever they do, there will still be physical differences (I hope).

In my country, men and women have equal rights. Since men can walk in the street without a shirt, the women have acquired the same right, and now a woman can legally go topless in the street (this is not a joke). I haven't seen any yet practicing what is her legal right, but I know that in Toronto there were topless squeege girls (kids living in the street) cleaning cars' windows at red lights in the middle of the city.

Good to know, I still have to do twice the work to get the same money, but hey, if I can go topless on the street, well hooray for me, right?

Naama

 

[geo]

Didn't Katharine Hepburn wear suits and other men's clothes in the 30's and 40's?

Yes, but men too wore men's clothes then. My point is that women wear men's clothes, and men have given them up. A woman can wear a suit and a fedora, and it seems perfectly normal to everybody. When a man wears the same thing, it's considered unusual.

 

[K.D. Lightner]

Drag

Males dressing like women has a long, historical tradition and it is thought that in more enlightened cultures the man is tapping into female "power," whereas a man in a less enlightened culture would be seen as a threat to all men who do not want to lose their power and be as "low" as women. As women gained more rights, drag became more acceptable, at least in the world of entertainment. Men have always dressed in drag to be funny, however, and even the toughest jock can do so without fear -- if he is spoofing and not serious about it.

A woman dressed as a man is serious, but men don't blame her so much because she is tapping into male power. We live in a schizoid society -- so you see women in an office who are trying to get ahead dressed in power suits and in more "mannish" attire (as my mother would say). Then, you see women who believe it is their role to be man-bait and so dress in seductive, trashy outfits, thinking this is a good thing to wear to work. I had to counsel some of my welfare clients who were looking for jobs to tone it down as many would go to worksites looking like they were at a party. Dress-up to them was to look as sexy as possible, not a good thing in a work environment.

As for the child-look a lot of young guys sport: some men have gravitated from cradle to grave believing that they need to be taken care of (by mommy, then a wife or girlfriend, or a man with money if they're gay). I think many younger guys are just acting this out with their clothes, wanting to remain a "baby boy."

I suppose some anti-feminists would also point out that as women have gained power and position in society, that many men have backed off and remained locked in childhood, having lost their former glory and power. I do not believe that most men would be threatened by this (the old addage: a man of quality is not threatened by a woman of equality), but perhaps some are. And, oddly, some of the "baby boys" are among the most macho.

There are also lots of theories on why the lesbian is more accepted in society than the homosexual male. For most of history, lesbians remained "invisible." This was both their protection and discrimination. Men in many societies did not/do not believe that lesbians exist -- they are just women waiting for the right guy to come along, or they are prepping themselves with their harmless little flirtations to give them more experience so they will be better with men. A man can get really turned on by two women together because he has fantasies of himself in the middle of it.

I do know women who get turned on by two men together, also, but society has in general been more threatened by that. Again, it is the idea that the man is trading his male power to be woman-like and submissive to another man. Many male hustlers do not consider themselves gay as long as they work for money and remain the dominant partner.

There are lots of books out there on these subjects and lots of theories. I didn't mean to write an epistle, here, but the topic is fascinating.

karol