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I think in everything, there are majority and minority.
For examples:
. Among males, most males "look" or are "masculine" as people say, and there are some not the same and want to wear different clothes or makeups. And among females, most "look" or are "feminine"; and some are not the same also, or want to look masculine and act like males (I don't mean to be sexist here - I agree that nowadays everybody should be able to do anything as she/he would like to as long as her/his action is not harmful to others)
. In the world, there are more extroverts than introverts.
. Etc...
The majority ones often think/say everybody should be like they are, and they think the minority ones are weird, and they ridicule the minority ones.
Until when there are more and more open minded people who are willing to understand everyone is not the same and accept the differences in others, the society will be more harmonious. Anyway, I see this situation is much better now than decades ago. People don't need to hide now. The society is working on this. I believe it will get better and better. That's my though. I don't know about others'.
My take is some people might feel uncomfortable seeing others as dressing outside the box, for lack of a better term.
Men have been wearing make-up and effeminate clothing, jewelry overkill, lace, wigs, earrings high heels even since the times of Ancient Egypt, Middle Ages, et al.
I saw a painting once where a nobleman was wearing a pink satin cape, high heels with bows, in a museum. The paining is called Portrait of Charles Coot, 1st Earl of Bellamont in Robes of the Order of the Bath by Joshua Reynolds. So I looked it up cause I've never seen anything like that before and it turns out the color pink was considered a masculine color in the past: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pink#:...r%20for%20boys.
Clothing is a form of how people express themselves, as they say.
I think that some people just like to get enraged or ridicule anyone who chooses not to conform to gender stereotypes -- or any other kind of stereotype for that matter. It puts some people out of their comfort zone when they see others behaving in unexpected ways.
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We clearly saw this in this thread before you even posted on the first page. I also think some men don't like men who look like women because it's very confusing for them to feel a fellow man might be attractive. Basically put some people are just jerks. I am very live and let live. As long as no one else is getting physically hurt, what people means matter none to me.
I would wear makeup, if I was like a Youtuber with 5M subscribers. Look very closely at your favorite stars, many of them are. It all depends on context and audience.
Practically everyone onscreen wears make-up, even male news Fox News hosts, right wing male movie stars and local TV personalities. People typically look better with make-up under harsh lighting such as TV sets.
I was expecting to read somewhere in the OP that "in such and such cultures men wear skirts, why can't we in the West?" I would had responded "because this is the West, jot those other cultures." Alas, no such thing was found.
The West outside Scotland. I'm sure Scotland is in the West.
In a way I don't care if men dress like women or women dress like men. I think anybody who flouts cultural norms, in any culture across the globe, should expect some ostracization. Western culture is not different. If people want to dress like a lion or bear, that is on them.
It depends on what's considered feminine. I bought my first pink dress shirt in the late 1980's when it was still a little cutting-edge for an office worker in suburban Morris County, NJ to wear one. Got a few "Hey, pink shirt!"'s in the office the first time or two I wore it.
Now decades later I have several pink dress shirts and plenty of other males wear them.
I can't see myself ever wearing a dress or skirt or high heels. In fact as I type "high heels" I chuckle at how ludicrous that would be. So to answer the OP's question, I guess the reason most men don't wear women's clothing is it would be too ludicrous and laughable.
One could also ask why more Western people don't wear dashiki's, Mao suits, or turbans.
Gender is not inherent in clothing - it is merely a societal construct. As a card-carrying member of the 'femboy club', we put up with a ton of ignorant BS over this... among other things.
Personally, it gives me a bit of satisfaction to see these so-called 'macho' guys 'get weak' when they see me when I'm 'done up'. And those who get angry, lash out, and make complete asses of themselves... makes me wonder... if there is a femboy lurking under all that machismo, that he is fighting it, and his anger is really fear, insecurity, and self-loathing. But that's more for the Psych board.
Back to topic - I dress my way because I like how I look and because I am 'blessed', if you will, in certain physical ways and I like showing those certain things off. Accentuate indeed the positive, as is sometimes said.
Oh, and someone mentioned Lululemon. I wear their leggings and, yes, there is a way to deal with the... ummm... 'package' issue. Google it if you wish.
I didn't know whether to post this in GD or the Psychology forum. Society (Western society at least) has come a long way in social freedoms for women, yet when it comes to male clothes, it's still looked down upon for a man to wear something even remotely feminine.
In my college class there's this guy who regularly wears yoga pants, knee-high leather boots and puts on makeup. He actually looks good in it since he's not too masculine but a few people in the class have commented on how they think he's a bit weird for it. Seems a bit immature but there are many adults who get enraged/ridicule men who choose not to conform to gender stereotypes.
I wonder why this is the case?
The question I would ask first is... WHY would a man want to wear women's clothing? If the man wants to be a woman, I personally can respect that, and believe people are free to do what they want.
In my book, I don't see grey areas with this... just me personally. I see male, and female... and 100% respect the choice of an individual to seek to live their life as one or the other. But the idea that there's no gender, or that the concept is fluid, is in my opinion unrealistic.
That this is changing (only in the United States) has far more to do with foreign maligned influence campaigns than any prospect of reality. People who support gender fluidity probably feel like they're doing right by someone, but I think for most of us... we don't see this as any different than "odd clicks" that we saw in high school... e.g., "Jerry's Kids (friends of Jerry Garcia)," or "goths (people who dressed in all black)," or whatever new terms and clicks they have today.
I don't mean to offend, but I kind of speak similarly to a large portion of our society. I absolutely support anyone's right to do what they want, and if I was in that class, I would be a friend, but deep down, I think it's ridiculous.
What is wrong with cultural norms that define how we dress? Women are generally effeminate, and accentuating that type of dress is something that's attractive to the opposite sex. Likewise, most women do not want an effeminate male, and are generally looking for a man who dresses with style and purpose.
I grew up in the 80s and 90s, and we had something in the early 2000s called "metro," which I very much was part of. It basically meant that you were put together... it was a time when men took a bit more care / concern for the way they dressed in that they wore clothes that were made for men, but gave a bit more flair. Certainly no more or less effeminate than what men wore in the 70s when they went to discos. Lol...
But Yoga pants, and wearing make-up... that individual is not looking to attract women. I'd also think that most gay men are not going to be particularly interested in another gay man that looks like a woman. Even in most gay relationships, one person behaves as the more dominant person in the relationship.
Absolutely no offense intended, and I support that guy's right to dress however he wants within whatever the dress code is for class. But those are my thoughts.
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