(Photo by the wonderful Hallie Clawson)
This isn't the first time I've been a male character for Halloween (I should have an epic picture of me as Aragorn somewhere).And it's probably not the last.
I think it's safe to say that everyone enjoys dressing up, we get to pretend to be something we're not for a small amount of time. We get to hide, to blend. We can forget we have lives and responsibilities.
But there's something especially exhilarating about dressing like a boy. I'm going to try to explain why it's fun (mostly for the benefit of my roommate, who has to dress up again and lead a discussion in one of her classes about why anyone in their right might would do something like this).
I've outlined a few reasons why dressing like a boy is fun, they're going to start ridiculous and escalate into something more useful (some of this is a bit stereotypical and generalizes, deal with it).
1. No shaving
This is actually a really big sell for me. I almost shaved my legs the morning we did this and said "No. I don't have to. Men don't shave their legs so I shall be a man!"
Women have to put a lot of effort into their hygiene (some men do too, but I'm getting to that). We shave, wax, lotion, oil, dye our hair, spend ridiculous amounts of money on clothing, and just generally care way too much about appearance.
2. Boy clothing is infinitely more comfortable than girl clothing
Guys are about utility and comfort- and I appreciate it when it comes to clothing. Unless it's an undershirt, the clothes tend to be loose to allow movement.
Girl clothing is all fitted, and it definitely makes girls feel pretty. But we all have what I call "Fat Days." Those days when I literally crawl out of bed and go "I feel like I weight 100 pounds more than I actually do...this baggy-ass shirt will do nicely."
Thus, boy clothing is immediately appealing (I don't know for sure if this works in the opposite way for guys...but as far as I know they at least really enjoy baggy pants).
3. Gender stereotyping
This is one of the things I think may be most appealing about cross-dressing. We all have perceptions about the opposite gender. Saturday, I watched girls who are generally very proper burp, show the food they were chewing, and generally being more aggressive.
I thought this was kind of interesting. We're not a group of particularly shy girls, but some people definitely commented on how we were more assertive overall, which leads into my next point that I already alluded to above.
3.5 "Jab Appeal"
This is the part that makes it so wonderful to make those gender stereotypes I mentioned above. We love to make fun of each other. And this is one sure "safe" way of doing so- we're just dressed up for Halloween after all! (Or conventions, or whatever. I really don't care.)
4. Confidence
Dressing up like someone/thing else really does affect the way you act. You're hiding out in the open, but instead of it causing terror like a witness protection program, it just inspires one to open up, to be something you're not!
5. Freedom of rejection
This one is a little less easy to explain, but I'll try my best! When dressed like a member of the opposite sex, you are safe from real rejection.
If they seem uncomfortable, they probably are- but it's not really you.
If they go along with it, have fun!
If you hit on them (no matter which gender) and they reject you, they're right back up at the uncomfortable stage so it's still not you.
If you hit on them and they accept you, it's the start of something really fun and probably weird ;)
To summarize in the words of CSI (the original): It's all just plumbing, guy parts into girl parts. (except when it isn't...) But it's fun for weird reasons and I don't question it.
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