It used to be that whenever I saw an article about cis men wearing clothes that society views as exclusively for women I would become optimistic about the de-genderization of clothes. Men wearing skirts? Heck yeah! Men painting their nails? Heck yeah!
I don’t want to be cynical but I don’t feel the same optimism that I used to. I don’t necessarily think that when a celebrity wears a skirt or a dress that it means that the world will collectively think it’s acceptable for any cis male (basically non-famous cis-males) to wear the same outfit.
When Brad Pitt or whomever wears a skirt I think most people chalk it up to as celebrities being celebrities or trying to draw attention to themselves or shock people. “Celebrities are weird” is a pretty common response.
A movie star wearing a skirt to a film premier is one thing. Your coworker wearing a skirt to the office is another. Your buddy wearing a skirt to the bar to watch football is also another.
It miiiiight be, well, not normal for an actor to wear a skirt, but perhaps it will become less uncommon in the future. However, I think there’s a long, long road ahead until it becomes “acceptable” for a dude to wear the same skirt.
Love, Hannah
Hannah McKnight 
Hi Hannah,
I think it is great when men stretch the gender boundaries and should be and do whatever makes them happy.
That said, when I am out and about as a woman, I dont want to be thought of as a man in a dress. I am a woman or more specifically a woman of transgender experience.
I appreciate the support of all including celebrities but I think when they do this it can be perceived as mocking us vs supporting us.
Jodi
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You described my thoughts exactly!
I want to be very careful not to invalidate any man who is courageous enough to wear a skirt/dress/heels/other article of clothing that has been traditionally seen as women’s clothing, but I also fear that those individuals are often used to invalidate me. When someone shares a story with me about a man wearing a dress, I try to remind the person that while I support that, it’s not who I am. I’m not a man in a dress, nor do I want to be one… I’m a transgender woman. I worry that some people point to men in dresses, or non-binary folx like Jonathan Van Ness as a way of telling me that I don’t have to transition or feminize myself to be my true self… but that’s just not the case… I’m glad that JVN doesn’t need to shave to be themselves, but I do.
That being said, I still fully support and am inspired by men who have the courage to break clothing norms. As long as it’s clear that’s not what I’m going for, I’m good.
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I agree a man in a skirt or dress isn’t the same as being trans.
Now that being said with one who is fluid I have worn a skort once to work but usually I wear very gender neutral tops and ladies jeans to work every day
I still consider myself very much a transgender person
Yes I do have days where I’m fully fem but no longer at work
My choice
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I see this CIS word a lot of times nowadays – new words to call us whatever they al think we are. Truthfully until today when I looked it up – I had no idea what it meant.
How our world is changing – personally I just like the name ” transgender ” – ” The BEST of both worlds “. That’s what I think I am.
But who knows – I am who I am and it’s ever going to change.
cis-
[cis-]
Often contrasted with trans- or ultra-:
“cisatlantic” · “cislunar”
referring or relating to people whose sense of personal identity and gender corresponds with their birth sex. Compare with trans-:
“cisgender” · “cissexism”
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This hit home in many ways. I would estimate that on average 90% of what I wear from head to toe is either from the women’s side or gender neutral. I have my toes always polished and have worn gel polish on my fingernails for years. Many times I have mascara and/or light eye shadow. I find it funny when I wear something and I get asked by both men and women where they can get it too.
Even with all this (and more) I represent as male. I blend what I like from women’s fashion into my daily (public) life. I feel that I am expanding boundaries, not disrespecting transgender people.
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My Tumblr blog is “A collection of individuals who present as men and wear beautiful clothes in public.” I appear in my blog several times and consider myself non-binary. The individuals in my blog cover a wide spectrum. The only comments I ever get are positive. So, from my perspective people don’t care what you wear. It seems the wearer is the only person who cares.
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