Why Most Men Still Don’t Casually Wear Dresses

Clippings from news sources involving fashion freedom and other gender equality issues.
renesm1
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Why Most Men Still Don’t Casually Wear Dresses

Post by renesm1 »

https://www.racked.com/2018/4/23/172615 ... en-dresses

While none of what is written in the article will come as any surprise to people here, it does bring it all together in a well-written piece.

Basically, how you dress symbolises (whether you like it or not) how you see your place in the hierarchy. At least, we are trying to change things here a little!
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Re: Why Most Men Still Don’t Casually Wear Dresses

Post by Mike »

"“The display of skirts on men is effectively an undermining of male power — by males. To put it extremely, they are like deserting troops.”"

I think that is a double bottom dump truck full of crap.
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Re: Why Most Men Still Don’t Casually Wear Dresses

Post by JohnH »

Mike, I agree.

I like to wear dresses. They are the next best thing to being naked, and I don't give a fig leaf about something looking too feminine on me. What we have here are insecure fragile males too scared to try anything different.
Last edited by JohnH on Wed Apr 25, 2018 8:06 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Why Most Men Still Don’t Casually Wear Dresses

Post by mishawakaskirt »

A decently written article.

Quoting a small portion of the article.

"Take Akwete Osoka for example, who identifies as straight and is the founder and model of MaleMadonna. He skips identifying as cis because he doesn’t believe in being limited by labels, and chooses to identify simply as himself, Akwete. “Wearing a skirt to me is just like wearing a pair of pants — it makes no difference. If the outfit looks better with a skirt, then I’ll wear the skirt.” But that doesn’t mean he doesn’t experience backlash for his blasé attitude towards his wardrobe.

“Other men stare at me with disgust, as if I’m less of a man, or unworthy of being a man,” Osoka shares. People’s default reaction is to judge and assume, and he experiences from both men and women long, confused stares, constant laughter, pointing, name calling, and even moments of people taking out their phones to snap photos of him.

On Instagram, he had to go so far as to write a post letting people know that he was not gay, was not questioning his sexuality, and was just — really, truly — wearing a skirt for not other reason than he liked it.

“My fashion sense is me expressing my individuality; it’s me exploring boundaries that average guys are scared to explore because of what the rest of society will label them,” Osoka shared in the post. “Society is dying to say I’m gay but I’m not. Society is dying to label me bi, transgender, etc., but I’m not. Society has a headache dealing with me because I won’t allow myself to be within a label; I won’t let society cage
me in.”

End quote of article.

I love his statements in the last paragraph.


On the topic of dresses
As for me, I find skirts more practical.
While I have worn a few dresses. I find that most don't fit right, tight in the arms, shoulders or belly, too low of a neckline, or some other goofy fashion flaw. it's not worth the effort to shop for them. In 20 years I have only found three that actually fit and that I like.



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Avoid the middle man, wear a kilt or skirt.
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Re: Why Most Men Still Don’t Casually Wear Dresses

Post by crfriend »

Here, precisely, is where the article goes off the rails:
To be a man and want to wear feminine flounces puts a crack in the theory that these classifications are inherent, which makes you question just how natural the power that comes with masculinity is. And in a male-dominated society, that question is a big deal.
At issue here is that it's not a male-dominated society any longer. Certainly the United States isn't.

My suspicion is that guys are getting smart to this and are grasping at things that might help them feel better about themselves (straight guys have been utterly trashed for at least a couple of decades now) and maybe, just maybe, gain some traction where there is none now for straight guys. I think there's also a lot of pent-up angst about the ideal of male machismo that the radical feminists have been pushing guys into for decades.

Time to thumb our noses at the matriarchy and enjoy some of the fruits thereof that they now eschew -- like skirts and dresses.
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Re: Why Most Men Still Don’t Casually Wear Dresses

Post by moonshadow »

I too share in this:
From the article wrote:Take Akwete Osoka for example, who identifies as straight and is the founder and model of MaleMadonna. He skips identifying as cis because he doesn’t believe in being limited by labels, and chooses to identify simply as himself, Akwete. “Wearing a skirt to me is just like wearing a pair of pants — it makes no difference. If the outfit looks better with a skirt, then I’ll wear the skirt.” But that doesn’t mean he doesn’t experience backlash for his blasé attitude towards his wardrobe.
Other men stare at me with disgust, as if I’m less of a man, or unworthy of being a man,” Osoka shares. People’s default reaction is to judge and assume, and he experiences from both men and women long, confused stares, constant laughter, pointing, name calling, and even moments of people taking out their phones to snap photos of him.
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Re: Why Most Men Still Don’t Casually Wear Dresses

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crfriend wrote:Time to thumb our noses at the matriarchy and enjoy some of the fruits thereof that they now eschew -- like skirts and dresses.
Agreed. The phrase "Use it or lose it" comes to mind.
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Re: Why Most Men Still Don’t Casually Wear Dresses

Post by Sinned »

The statements by TAO resonated with me as well. Unlike some of you, I have not rejected jeans and trousers and like and see benefit in wearing them. I only want to incorporate skirts into my wardrobe and wear them as and when I want to and with other items that look good in conjunction with them. So he has come the closest to enunciating what I feel. I like skirts and have lots of tops that go well with them but other tops that just somehow look better with trousers. The differences can be subtle and perhaps only perceptible to me but to me they are there nonetheless. Probably I don't look as good in spaghetti strapped tops but I wear them nevertheless. My build I think, broad shoulders, limit the dresses that I can wear and look good in. I have come across some but unfortunately they are not available to me at the moment. So I concentrate mainly on skirts which I can play around with much more effectively. On the whole a good article but one which sometimes uses language in a way that I find difficult to understand and I know that MOH certainly would have similar diffculty. \not sure if it would be one that I would try and get her to read and I know she wouldn't show a great interest in doing so.

I'm getting more convinced that the real reason why most men won't wear dresses is the same reason that they are failing in a world where women are succeeding - they are failing to adapt to changing economic, educational and societal pressures. This is shown in the way that women are grasping that education and flexibility in role are enabling them to get ahead whilst men are stuck in trying to continue to get employment in traditional labour-intensive occupations and ignoring the availability of jobs in newer sectors but that now require learning new skills and getting a better education. Of course, not all men are like this, and we on this site seem to buck the trend, but true enough nonetheless. Just moseying some ideas around based on things I am reading at the moment.
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Re: Why Most Men Still Don’t Casually Wear Dresses

Post by Mike »

JohnH wrote: What we have here are insecure fragile males too scared to try anything different.
Absolutely agree 100%. "Tough Guys" are the most fragile beings on Earth.
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Re: Why Most Men Still Don’t Casually Wear Dresses

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Mike wrote:"Tough Guys" are the most fragile beings on Earth.
We have a contradiction here. Aren't men supposed to be adaptable and able to vary their behaviour so as to properly integrate into new environments? Isn't that how we managed to colonise most of the inhabitable areas of the planet as a species?

I'm guessing the use of the quotes was an indication of sarcasm. The modern "Tough Guy" is by all standards the most brittle thing going. It used to be -- back when men were men -- that the opportunity to explore new things usually resulted in a response of, "I don't know. Let's find out! "; nowadays it seems that all the guys are capable of is cowering in a corner. This used to be a call to arms, not a cause to cover up and hide.
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Re: Why Most Men Still Don’t Casually Wear Dresses

Post by Jim »

crfriend wrote:Here, precisely, is where the article goes off the rails:
To be a man and want to wear feminine flounces puts a crack in the theory that these classifications are inherent, which makes you question just how natural the power that comes with masculinity is. And in a male-dominated society, that question is a big deal.
At issue here is that it's not a male-dominated society any longer. Certainly the United States isn't.
Really?! The Supreme Court has only 3 women. Congress is less than 20% female. How many female Presidents have we had? (Yes, I know a female won the popular vote recently.) It's similar at all levels of government. Read more at http://www.cawp.rutgers.edu/women-us-congress-2017. 6.4% of Fortune 500 companies have female CEOs. Yes, women have made gains, and there are areas where women have advantages, but it is still a male-dominated society. The article seems true to me: masculinity is a symbol of power.
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Re: Why Most Men Still Don’t Casually Wear Dresses

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Whereas masculinity MAY appear to be the seat of power - but is it really? How many times is the home really ruled by the woman in the house? [0] It is the common thing that "her indoors" or "she who must be obeyed" is the real powerhouse. The is a fridge magnet in our house which says, "Do you want to speak to the head of the house, or the one who really knows what's going on". There may still be men at the top of the pyramid but how easy is it to topple a building? By removing its support at the base. And where are women making the main inroads? Lower, middle and upper management, of course. Women fare better in education from day 1 in school, more women are graduating, there are more women in employment than men and more women are being appointed to management positions. So by taking over from the lower levels upwards it won't be too long before the old fogeys at the top die off and are replaced by the women bubbling to the top. Yes there are fewer women directors AT PRESENT but look at it this way - more women are being elected as country leaders as well. As for men being flexible - nonsense. If they were flexible then they would embrace alternative apparel, alternative employment in growing sectors including some traditionally manned [1] by women, get an education with open arms and get on with making lemonade out of lemons. Men seem to be frightened of coming out of their little cardboard box and far too emotionally fragile. Present company excepted, of course.

[0] Including ones where the woman works full time.
[1] Deliberate choice of word.

Read the book "The End of Men and the Rise of Women" by Hannah Rosin.
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Re: Why Most Men Still Don’t Casually Wear Dresses

Post by Stu »

Women in modern western societies have full equality - and then some! Any suggestion that femininity is perceived as inherently inferior is risible.

Males have had a long-standing role of defender and provider based on superior physical strength, motor skills and the fact that they don't get pregnant or have to suckle their young. Any man who cannot defend and provide is deemed useless to the group. Consequently, a man who emulate the female has undermined his role as a useful human being, unable to fulfil the male role but also unable to fulfil the female role by bearing children. This is evolution and no amount of progressive denial can alter that.

If we want to enjoy greater opportunities in terms of sartorial choices, then we need to break the association between skirts/dresses and femininity. These garments should be styled for men, marketed for men and displayed in shops as menswear. They need to be distinct from corresponding female garments; they should enhance and not challenge masculinity.
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Re: Why Most Men Still Don’t Casually Wear Dresses

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Stu wrote:If we want to enjoy greater opportunities in terms of sartorial choices, then we need to break the association between skirts/dresses and femininity. These garments should be styled for men, marketed for men and displayed in shops as menswear. They need to be distinct from corresponding female garments; they should enhance and not challenge masculinity.
And who decides what's "masculine" and what's "feminine"? I've worn some pretty girly stuff... But nothing I've ever worn has physically prevented me from fulfilling my role as a man, a husband, and a father. Any drama I've encountered as a result of the feminine attire was the result of human prejudice and nothing more.

Society's hang ups on girlyness vs machoism are not my problem.

Sorry Stu... I have to call b.s. here...
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Re: Why Most Men Still Don’t Casually Wear Dresses

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I call the b.s. also Moon. What's feminine or masculine is determined just by what's between our ears and likely we all have shades of what they mean. Women are becoming inherently more successful than men so, to me, to affiliate myself with traits of the other side is becoming and indication of strength and success. So if skirts are affiliated with women, then I want to be associated with the winning side as I've already had several women managers. [0]

[0] Or should it be womanagers?
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