Have you ever wondered...

[Jani]

Why there are "Boy shorts" for women but not "Girl shorts" for men?  Or why there are "Boyfriend Jeans" but not "Girl friend"? 

 

What have you ever wondered about?  Post it here and we can all wonder together! 

Cheers,

Jani

[Dinaki]

oh oh o,  and there is also "the boyfriend jacket"

[KathyLauren]

The restrictions that society places on men!  I remember them well, too well. 

 

I recall, some time after I had started my transition and was used to shopping for nice clothes, my wife and I were in a department store.  As we passed the men's wear section, it was glaringly obvious to me that all the men's suits were gray.  Every single one of them.  "You can have any colour you want, so long as it is gray."  For a second, I thought I had lost my colour vision!

 

I know I would never have had the nerve to buy "girl shorts".  It was easier to go to the women's section and buy women's underwear.  There was at least a plausible (if incorrect) excuse for doing so: I could always claim that I was buying them for my nonexistent girlfriend.  But anything intended for men, but called girly?  Not possible!

 

*sigh*  Thanks for the blast of dysphoria! ?

[Cyndee]

This one I pondered as an 8 year old, for I was searching for the language to describe how I felt at the time. I said to mother "If <sister> is such a tomboy, then I must be a tomgirl". Of course the word "tomgirl" was made up, and really did not exist, but I said it ! You can imagine how well that went over back then (60's).....

 

Our language is full of "contextual imbalances".....

[Susan R]

4 hours ago, Cyndee said:

I said to mother "If <sister> is such a tomboy, then I must be a tomgirl"

What was your mom’s response to your comment? I know exactly what my mom back in my youth would have said ....and it isn’t pretty. Of course, after a short but complete nervous breakdown, life around her would return back to normal as denial of my ever mentioning such a thing would take over.

[tracy_j]

Heaven forbid that any man would show feminine traits lol. I don't think it would take too much thinking for many of us with our experience to know why. In my earlier days I most always wore bikini style underwear but it was never called that.

 

Tracy

[KayC]

11 hours ago, Cyndee said:

then I must be a tomgir

I was a Tomgirl too!  Not sure what my parents thought about me .. but society did its trick and wedged me into the playdough mold of what "boys/men" are supposed to be ... but I had never felt comfortable with typical US men's "fashion" (now I know why, of course?)

So, great question ... I've always Wondered too ..? Why?

[Cyndee]

On 7/3/2020 at 11:06 PM, Susan R said:

What was your mom’s response to your comment?

 

@Susan R It was one of not believing, discounting, and deferring. Yet she would indulge me by making me a nurses outfit, white dress, white hat for Halloween one year. I came out to my Mom essentially 3 times in life, once at 8, again at 22, and finally at 51, the last being the most meaningful.

[nobodyspecial1973]

 it's like why do they  call them buildings when they are already built ... meh