I was pretty surprised when I found out that some of my neighbours had been scared of me (which changed the first time they worked up the nerve to speak to me and discovered that I'm friendly). When I moved here my father had just died, so for the first year I wore all black except for my cape. The neighbours usually saw me around sunset, walking downhill toward them with the setting sun at my back, wearing black clothing and this billowing cape... And I was completely oblivious to the effect.
well, you do look a little bit like Rasputin, you know.
but i think you're not as scary to many homophobes as TV/TS's who try to "pass" specifically because they don't have to look at you and think "oh god! he could've tricked me into thinking dirty thoughts about him! that might mean i'm gay!" and yeah, you do also look like someone who's 1) taken a lot of shit in the past and 2) can take care of yourself. so people aren't, i think, as likely to mess with you as one might expect. i was always pleasantly surprised by just how little reaction i noticed to you, when we were hanging out together. remember that shopping trip to Landover Mall, where the clerk in one women's clothing store checked to make sure the dressing room was empty and then cheerfully let you use it?
in SF i've seen a few guys in skirts who weren't trying to 'pass', but they were usually of the hippie persuasion; it seems to be something of a trend, hippie-ish guys wearing skirts, usually those flowy indian-print things i used to wear all the time. i also see the occasional utility kilt, which always pleases me greatly. mmmmm, kilts!
Behind on comments, followups, and writing a new entry; just tossing in one thing here for now: as to the other guys wearing skirts and not trying to pass, it seems there's another group on the scene in addition to us transgendered folks and the macho guys wearing specifically-male-attire skirts (e.g. kilts, sarongs) ... hadn't heard of the term before running into a web page critical of them (http://www.kiltmen.com/freestyle.htm), but there's "Freestylers", most of whom (if I understand correctly) say they're not transgendered, but believe that clothing styles and jewelry and such should not be socially restricted by gender. (I happen to agree, I just also happen to be transgendered.) So the hippie-ish folks you've seen might be transgendered/intergendered like me, or might have been these Freestylers I've only recently heard of.
FWIW, I did see a fair number of men in skirts not trying to pass or anything, the time I went to Starwood many years ago.
As for enjoying men in kilts, enjoy the rest of the Kiltmen (http://www.kiltmen.com/) site.
(no subject)
well, you do look a little bit like Rasputin, you know.
but i think you're not as scary to many homophobes as TV/TS's who try to "pass" specifically because they don't have to look at you and think "oh god! he could've tricked me into thinking dirty thoughts about him! that might mean i'm gay!" and yeah, you do also look like someone who's 1) taken a lot of shit in the past and 2) can take care of yourself. so people aren't, i think, as likely to mess with you as one might expect. i was always pleasantly surprised by just how little reaction i noticed to you, when we were hanging out together. remember that shopping trip to Landover Mall, where the clerk in one women's clothing store checked to make sure the dressing room was empty and then cheerfully let you use it?
in SF i've seen a few guys in skirts who weren't trying to 'pass', but they were usually of the hippie persuasion; it seems to be something of a trend, hippie-ish guys wearing skirts, usually those flowy indian-print things i used to wear all the time. i also see the occasional utility kilt, which always pleases me greatly. mmmmm, kilts!
(no subject)
FWIW, I did see a fair number of men in skirts not trying to pass or anything, the time I went to Starwood many years ago.
As for enjoying men in kilts, enjoy the rest of the Kiltmen (http://www.kiltmen.com/) site.