The advantages of male to female crossdressing

The advantages of male-to-female crossdressing, I saw an interesting post today, and I quoted it here. The original title is The advantages of MTF crossdressing. It should be noted that MTF is male to female in the title of this article. You can find the original link at the bottom of the article.

Women’s thermal underwear can have advantages over male equivalents.

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Food and shelter are usually not gender-specific. Clothing can be. Women have been crossdressing for years. Are men catching up?

For years now, women have been enjoying wearing male clothes and fashion. Ellen DeGeneres has 79 million followers on Twitter (and counting). Having an arguably masculine appearance or using men’s fashions doesn’t seem to hurt her. Indeed, as some commentators have stated both formally and informally¹, men’s clothes DON’T exist, they are unisex. Women are not questioned for wearing them since creatives like George Sand pioneered the trend.

Women wear men’s underwear too². I’ve spoken to two women who wear clothing for men out of a preference. They both argued that clothing for men was thicker, more practical, and felt more sensible as vestments that provided the function of covering the body adequately and comfortably. One of these ladies (a Korean) preferred wearing men’s pajamas over women’s nightwear. She argued that men’s PJs fitted her better. Did wearing these clothes make these ladies identify as men? No. One of them stated categorically that she was a woman and there was no confusion.

In this article, the term cross-dressing (questioned by some but used for convenience) is only used in a male to female (MTF) context and does not mean (as often implied) that a man is altering his appearance and taking on a female persona – as in drag. Indeed, in one quantitative study from Scandinavia, only 2.8% of men were regarded as full crossdressers³ or transvestites, to use a traditional term: men who dress up as women with hair and makeup. Instead, crossdressing is used here for those men who often wear women’s items of clothing, fully or in part to constitute their clothing ensemble or for specific roles while functioning or presenting as men. The proportion of male crossdressers in this context is much higher though data is limited. A conservative estimate of men who cross-dress in the same sense as women, so to speak is about 10%⁴, a much larger proportion than full transvestites or transgenders, though perhaps a smaller proportion than women who cross-dress “normally” in a socially accepted context. MTF crossdressing is often inadmissible, even between friends. Maybe it’s better defined as gender non-conformism. Today, online situations are making data and intra-male discussions on cross-dressing issues more available. Finally, crossdressing in the sense discussed here is shorn of sexual connotations and “fetishism”, though varying degrees of pride or pleasure may be associated with such experimentation.

There are disadvantages to cross-dressing such as trying to explain it to your girlfriend or worrying about what someone may think about your interesting shoe collection that you happen to use to exercise out in the park at night (yes, there are a few men who walk in parks wearing heels for short periods of time). Furthermore, women’s clothing is often complicated and regarded sometimes with disdain by both men and women, since they often emphasize style and form over function (too skimpy or revealing, too many strings, etc). But what are the advantages of MTF crossdressing and how are things changing? There are many and here are a potential eleven, not in order of importance.

1. Men who are fashion conscious and may be interested in using women’s clothes often find that most women’s available don’t fit. They’re tight. This causes such men to be more conscious of their weight and size. They may engage in keeping fit and eating less. This has been mentioned elsewhere⁵. Women’s clothing can help a man exercise by being less bulky to wear when used outdoors but being quite as warm (consider hosiery or bodysuits that are tight and warm). Reason number 1 – crossdressing can help you to stay slim and fit.
2. There’s an infinite variety of women’s clothing to choose from including both designs and patterns as well as styles, that a man can try. More types of women’s clothes than there are men’s from lingerie to shoes. Reason number 2 – choice.
3. As there’s a high turnover of women’s clothes (because women are more interested in clothes than men) they are generally available more cheaply or competitively both new and second hand. Women get rid of clothes more readily than men and you can get a good coat, shirt, trousers or shoes for a fraction of what you’d pay to buy equivalent male clothes. Many items of women’s clothing appear unisex or gender neutral and this includes shirts/blouses, pants/trousers, socks, T-shirts and even shoes. Reason number 3 – price.
4. Based on a high proportion of women’s clothes being dumped compared to men’s ones, maybe a hand me down culture could be encouraged incorporating men as well as clothes collections for the poor of the world. Reason number 4 – reduce, reuse, recycle.
5. They are often more comfortable being softer and lighter. Since women have more sensitive skin and have, on average less muscle mass (15% according to one stat), their clothes are often softer, smoother or silky, more stretchy, flexible and lighter. There is some debate about this but on balance, most authors conclude that women’s clothes are more comfortable⁶. Reason number 4 – comfort.
6. Being made of very interesting fabrics not always found in men’s clothes such as spandex, elastane, modal, rayon, viscose, nylon, silk and satin, women’s clothes are less dense and thinner for the same function. They pack super tight and don’t weigh much but yield similar levels of protection or warmth to men’s clothes. Consider fleece lined footless tights as long johns. Given airlines are reducing their maximum weight limits for luggage, you could save a lot of weight by using women’s clothes, especially if visiting a colder climate. They cost less to transport and are less bulky for travellers. Reason number 5 – savings in bulk and weight.
7. The military and male travellers have often used pantyhose for protection against cold, heat, insects, leeches, jellyfish and as tools for fishing etc⁷. There aren’t equivalent male clothes. Reason number 6 – protection.

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1. More and more men are now wearing women‘s clothes because they are so much more available online and taboos about wearing them are breaking down – also known as gender neutral or genderfluid fashion. Certain combinations of women’s clothes including shoes may prove both attractive and comfortable on men. Some of my relations including my brother have remarked how fashionable I look in an interesting outfit – if they only knew that I was actually in clothing marketed at women. Reason number 7 – fashion.
2. We don’t normally think too much about what we wear and often wear the same thing, mindlessly. Our clothes feel boring and get neglected. If you become more conscious of your clothes and think about the combinations of items you wear and why, then clothing can be a source of pleasure, even because you may be wearing things that are subversive and unexpected. The other day, I wore some women’s skinny jeans with high-top Nike trainers – I felt more youthful and no one at work or in public seemed to mind. Reason number 8 – fun and pleasure.
3. The world is dominated by men in black who look the same and don’t always represent a wise use of power⁸. Wearing women’s clothing may help undermine the patriarchy in the bad sense of the word and help create an alternative culture or revive traditional modes of dress. Reason number 9 – cultural revolution.
4. The retail sector is struggling on the high street. Even online businesses have to fend off stiff competition. Many businesses are collapsing. But lingerie & clothing manufacturers, often in poorer countries & traders generate employment and need customers. Why shouldn’t men also buy women’s clothing in a slowly increasing market segment? Some men prefer women’s clothing and may find them cheaper and more competitive during sales. Reason number 10 – helping economies & GDP.

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There are seismic changes going on in retail and fashion⁹. Male fashion students are experimenting with women’s clothes like never before (this was told to me by a London female fashion student). In some circles, it is so normal that it doesn’t need explanations or expositions. Many do these experiments in private and there are more of them than is commonly assumed. In some places, it’s becoming a new normal. Most men cross-dress in the same sense that women do more openly. The problem is data is limited. There has also been an unfortunate tendency for some of these men to appropriate femininity and make claims about actually being women or non-binary. We should question these tendencies while allowing for individual self-expression. Most men cross-dress, happy in their male identity including, alternatively many full crossdressers who enjoy passing as women.

Old men who have had repressed desires to try women’s items for most of their lives are finally realizing that they may now be allowed to launch a few experiments here and there. Fashion is not necessarily levelling off or becoming symmetrical between the sexes, but there are new trends afoot and reasons for this. It may be a minority trend, but who needs to join the herd? Young men are definitely doing it a lot more for practical as well as fashionable reasons and explorations in this area by researchers and writers are just beginning.

Some women’s outerwear is fine for men. These were sold on Ebay.

Gender neutral women’s shoes

Putting it all together is interesting

Reference: https://discover.hubpages.com/style/The-advantages-of-MTF-crossdressing