Logo

Is it socially acceptable for individuals to wear clothing typically associated with the opposite gender? What are some reasons for or against this practice?

12.06.2025 04:54

Is it socially acceptable for individuals to wear clothing typically associated with the opposite gender? What are some reasons for or against this practice?

5) Other professionals: the occasional spy/undercover policeman/criminal in disguise. Gay prostitutes.

7) Transsexuals – for many of them the cross-dressing is merely an incidental stage in their transition of identity. Once achieved, the wearing of the clothes of the other sex becomes the norm, and can no longer be called crossdressing.

Socially acceptable? It depends on which bit of society you live in.

Why do so many people suddenly think it's acceptable to continue to live with their parents into adulthood?

b) In light entertainment: female impersonators/comedians; pantomime dames in British theatre.

d) Stunt doubles.

There are many reasons. This can be broken down into the eight broad categories below, though most people only think of no.6:

Ive been pretending to be okay and acting as normal as possible, but Im actually completely heartbroken after a recent breakup. Its painful and really affecting me, to the point where I cant concentrate at work, Ive lost my appetite, I cant sleep, and It feels as if my whole world has been turned upside down. I loved him so much. He said so many cruel things to me and it made me realize he must not have loved me the way I loved him, or he wouldnt have said such horrible things. How do I handle the heartbreak and why cant I accept that he didnt love me and just forget about him?

6) Transvestites – what most people first think of. For transvestites, crossdressing is an end in itself; motives many and various. For most, these go back to childhood or before birth and are obsessive.

Don’t do it in places where it’s illegal, like Russia.

Ignore people who will quote their religion at you (unless it’s your religion too).

Decker manhunt: Officials reopen Icicle River area - KING5.com

If you’re going to do it, do it 100% and do it well. You’ll enjoy it all the more and so will the people around you. It’s often good for a round of applause or a free drink.

Don’t do it unless you want to.

4) Entertainers.

People Can Fly cancels 2 games including Square Enix project - Video Games Chronicle

Reasons against it? Basically,

2) Fashion crossdressers - some metrosexuals and most women fall into this category. Women in trousers – seen as a sexual and social aberration in 1900 – had become the norm by 2000.

In Lancaster County, Pennsylvania or Salt Lake City it won’t be accepted. In Rio or Douarnenez at Mardi Gras it’s practically compulsory. (Seriously, I counted the men in skirts in a bar in Douarnenez: one in six.)

Which branch of engineering is better: ECE or Civil?

c) Drag queens and Drag kings – an exaggerated satirical sub-section of the light entertainment field.

If it’s merely your sexual fetish — see 3) above — don’t do it in public. You’ll look ridiculous and possible offend decency laws.

1) Occasional crossdressers - Hallowe'en, practical jokers, fancy dress parties, students' rags... etc.

What is your biggest mistake or regret?

a) In serious entertainment, actors playing a role. From Mark Rylance as Cleopatra or Judi Dench as Olivia to Antony Perkins in Psycho. Japanese Kabuki and Nō players. Sopranos singing "breeches" roles in opera.

8) Those forced into crossdressing. This category is included for completeness but barely seems to exist in real life today. It was however observed in the period 1850-1950 when boys were occasionally forced into girls' clothes as a punishment at school or in the home. It is a staple of fiction – to escape from danger (Some Like It Hot), to obtain a job (Tootsie, Mrs Doubtfire), or forced by a sadistic female relative (much transvestite erotic fiction).

3) Fetish crossdressers - who use clothes as a substitute for, or an essential precursor to, sex. This is commonest among teenage boys, but usually disappears or develops into transvestism later. It is rarely seen in public, although the word "fetish" is often misapplied by those who should know better.

Is the Trump-Zelenskyy meeting a preview of what the US is going to do to Taiwan?