Centaurs and Mermaids

Discussion of fashion elements and looks that are traditionally considered somewhat "femme" but are presented in a masculine context. This is NOT about transvestism or crossdressing.
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Daryl
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Centaurs and Mermaids

Post by Daryl »

It occurred to me that there is something about the top-bottom division that is ingrained into our eyeballs or visual cortex or whatever, and that this is why I can wear a fairly femme skirt and a fairly masc top and not experience or cause all that much cognitive dissonance. The waist seems to be a dividing line in more than a mechanical way. It even works well for two of the most successful mythological critters, the centaur and the mermaid. (Not to offend any fauns but you guys have pointy ears and horns too.)

Of course Ganesh and Hanuman are examples of head-only animal-human mixes, but the head is the part that is not human so they don't really speak to our situation even though they do indicate that the neck could be the other important dividing point. And that seems echoed in women's fashions where from the neck down a woman may dress almost indistinguishably from a man but still cause little to no sense of visual discontinuity if she is far more stereotypically feminine from the neck up.

This is what happens when I stay away too long and muse too much...
Daryl...
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Re: Centaurs and Mermaids

Post by weeladdie18 »

In my book I look at the head and the hairstyle, the shoulders and chest or breast and then the waist and hips . With these areas of
the human form I can visually assess the gender of a human.....as I am a "man in skirts " , if the person in my vision is wearing a skirt
I will probably immediately look at the head and the hairstyle.....
I have chosen to wear my hair in a traditional male short hairstyle......this does show me to be a " man in a skirt "
If I chose to wear a wig with my " man in a skirt " outfit , I consider it is extremely difficult for a "man in a skirt " to wear a wig which
makes him appear as a female.

With regard to the introductory post to this thread ; a mermaid is usually shown with bare breasts and long flowing hair....

I hope I am on the correct track with this post as I am assuming the originator of this thread was intending to clarify gender by
observations above or below the human waist.............. ...............weeladdie
Last edited by weeladdie18 on Sat Oct 06, 2018 10:09 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Centaurs and Mermaids

Post by weeladdie18 »

As an aside ; it is worth noting that the suggestion that the Fearsome Viking Warriors who invaded the British Isles
wore horns on their helmets is no more that a myth....As far as I can remember ,
historians have failed to find any evidence that these raiders wore horns on their steel helmets......

The purpose of this conclusion is to clarify that we may be confusing any evidence regarding myth and legend
if there is no firm evidence these creatures ever existed.

If a historian found my posts in a hundred years time ,It might be difficult to prove that I ever existed as a " man in a skirt ".
Last edited by weeladdie18 on Sat Oct 06, 2018 10:39 pm, edited 4 times in total.
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Re: Centaurs and Mermaids

Post by Sinned »

WL, a centaur is simply the body of a horse and the upper part of a man, torso, head and arms. No indication of horns. Usually armed with bow and arrows.
I believe in offering every assistance short of actual help but then mainly just want to be left to be myself in all my difference and uniqueness.
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Re: Centaurs and Mermaids

Post by skirtingtheissue »

weeladdie18 wrote:With regard to the introductory post to this thread ; a mermaid is usually shown with bare breasts and long flowing hair....
I remember when Disney's The Little Mermaid movie came out it was quickly pointed out that Disney added the shell bra.
When I heard about skirting, I jumped in with both feet!
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Re: Centaurs and Mermaids

Post by weeladdie18 »

Sinned wrote:WL, a centaur is simply the body of a horse and the upper part of a man, torso, head and arms. No indication of horns. Usually armed with bow and arrows.
..
Thank you sinned for your definition. ...I trust the edit to my posts meets your satisfaction. ..........weeladdie
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Re: Centaurs and Mermaids

Post by Caultron »

Sinned wrote:WL, a centaur is simply the body of a horse and the upper part of a man, torso, head and arms. No indication of horns. Usually armed with bow and arrows.
I've never met a centaur who didn't have horns.

Just sayin'...
Courage, conviction, nerve, verve, dash, panache, guts, nuts, balls, gall, élan, stones, whatever. Get some and get skirted.

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Re: Centaurs and Mermaids

Post by Sinned »

I've never met a centaur, full stop.
I believe in offering every assistance short of actual help but then mainly just want to be left to be myself in all my difference and uniqueness.
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Re: Centaurs and Mermaids

Post by Mark as in Mark »

Daryl,

I think I understand your post. The thread here kinda got side tracked here with all the myth gibberish. In reality, we (most of us here) are split as you mentioned. I personally present myself as female from the waist down. Skirts, high heels, panty hose (stockings, tights, whatever!). While I've tried women's underwear at times, some are just not designed to hold the man parts and thus I stick with men's underwear. I have found several makers of men's thongs (no panty lines :D ) that are quite comfortable.

Upper body is all male. Polo's, button-=down dress shirts, men's jackets and ties. This summer I did wear some sleeveless women's polos, but for most part its all male clothing. My shaved head leaves no doubt that I am male. Except the one time I was in Berlin and ran into a professionally dressed women that had a shaved head but showing a lot of cleavage. :D We just smiled at each other when we passed. I wish we had stopped to talk and to request a picture of us together. But I was trying to catch a plane and she also looked like she was in a hurry. :(


I have in the past worn wig, make-up, breast forms, but not in the last year. Most of time it was because my wife wanted me to be more female on occasions. But she soon realized that I am more comfortable being a man in a skirt than trying to be something I am not.

Head to waist - Male attire
Waist to toes - Female attire

Another quick note. I have change my workout routine at the gym. I have been doing a lot more Glute building so that my backside looks good in a skirt. Maybe a bit vain, but we all want a nice as.... :D
I was told I have balls for wearing skirts! My reply? "That's because balls this big won't fit in pants!"

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Re: Centaurs and Mermaids

Post by Caultron »

Sinned wrote:I've never met a centaur, full stop.
Well, keep an eye out.

And oh, BTW:
https://www.deviantart.com/andreiaugrai ... -563411586
Courage, conviction, nerve, verve, dash, panache, guts, nuts, balls, gall, élan, stones, whatever. Get some and get skirted.

caultron
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Re: Centaurs and Mermaids

Post by Daryl »

weeladdie18 wrote:In my book I look at the head and the hairstyle, the shoulders and chest or breast and then the waist and hips . With these areas of
the human form I can visually assess the gender of a human.....as I am a "man in skirts " , if the person in my vision is wearing a skirt
I will probably immediately look at the head and the hairstyle.....
I have chosen to wear my hair in a traditional male short hairstyle......this does show me to be a " man in a skirt "
If I chose to wear a wig with my " man in a skirt " outfit , I consider it is extremely difficult for a "man in a skirt " to wear a wig which
makes him appear as a female.

With regard to the introductory post to this thread ; a mermaid is usually shown with bare breasts and long flowing hair....

I hope I am on the correct track with this post as I am assuming the originator of this thread was intending to clarify gender by
observations above or below the human waist.............. ...............weeladdie
Not "clarify" so much as observe that the waist serves as a cognitive division and that this is why any gendered dissonance is lessened by observing that division deliberately.

Or something....
Daryl...
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Re: Centaurs and Mermaids

Post by Daryl »

Mark as in Mark wrote:Daryl,

I think I understand your post. The thread here kinda got side tracked here with all the myth gibberish. In reality, we (most of us here) are split as you mentioned. I personally present myself as female from the waist down. Skirts, high heels, panty hose (stockings, tights, whatever!). While I've tried women's underwear at times, some are just not designed to hold the man parts and thus I stick with men's underwear. I have found several makers of men's thongs (no panty lines :D ) that are quite comfortable.

Upper body is all male. Polo's, button-=down dress shirts, men's jackets and ties. This summer I did wear some sleeveless women's polos, but for most part its all male clothing. My shaved head leaves no doubt that I am male. Except the one time I was in Berlin and ran into a professionally dressed women that had a shaved head but showing a lot of cleavage. :D We just smiled at each other when we passed. I wish we had stopped to talk and to request a picture of us together. But I was trying to catch a plane and she also looked like she was in a hurry. :(


I have in the past worn wig, make-up, breast forms, but not in the last year. Most of time it was because my wife wanted me to be more female on occasions. But she soon realized that I am more comfortable being a man in a skirt than trying to be something I am not.

Head to waist - Male attire
Waist to toes - Female attire

Another quick note. I have change my workout routine at the gym. I have been doing a lot more Glute building so that my backside looks good in a skirt. Maybe a bit vain, but we all want a nice as.... :D
We may all want it but some of us are resigned to it never happening in this lifetime.

Yes you got the gist of my post right. Since writing it, I have deliberately pressed the envelope a little harder and worn a very femme sleeveless top a few times. My wife and a close female friend we often lunch with both reacted pretty strongly to that, letting me know I'd definitely crossed a line. Even my most femme skirt (a flowery thing) hasn't gotten this reaction from them before.

My theory is that visually masculinity and femininity are mostly upper-body things, and rooted in some rather ancient cognitive circuits not only social conventions. If it were just social conventions, the difference between top and bottom perceptions should not exist. I plan to exploit this to the fullest. :D

There are many times that I covet the whole feminine package just because some outfit or another looks so marvellous I wish I could do it, but basically I am like you and not comfortable trying to be what I am not (even for the sake of some really really pretty outfit). Coincidentally I also got a sleeveless women's polo shirt recently, and it has become an immediate favourite of mine even though I don't like men's polo shirts. It, with a short (for me) black skirt, and high heeled booties and white socks are a "look" I really like and people seem to respond well to.

I have crossed the footwear aisle now. Virtually every day for the past couple of weeks I have gone out in high-heeled boots or booties not my usual shoes. It's actually kind of addictive, innit? I went to buy some mattress toppers today and the young lady behind the counter complimented my booties saying she hasn't been able to find a pair like that, only ones with spikey heels. I told her where I got them. I did not add that I think I will probably be adding some spikey heels to my wardrobe sooner than I might have imagined. I felt lucky enough that she felt comfortable having that conversation with an old man with three days worth of whiskers on his face. Oh that magic dividing line at the waist. (I was wearing a black leather jacket and a men's flannel shirt on top, and a burgundy pencil skirt with grey leggings and the booties on the bottom.)
Daryl...
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Re: Centaurs and Mermaids

Post by Caultron »

Daryl wrote:[.. have crossed the footwear aisle now. Virtually every day for the past couple of weeks I have gone out in high-heeled boots or booties not my usual shoes. It's actually kind of addictive, innit?...
I certainly find it so.
Courage, conviction, nerve, verve, dash, panache, guts, nuts, balls, gall, élan, stones, whatever. Get some and get skirted.

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Re: Centaurs and Mermaids

Post by Daryl »

Caultron wrote:
Daryl wrote:[.. have crossed the footwear aisle now. Virtually every day for the past couple of weeks I have gone out in high-heeled boots or booties not my usual shoes. It's actually kind of addictive, innit?...
I certainly find it so.
Yeah, I've even discovered that removing them causes a bit of a mental let-down. Interesting.

How about vary narrow heels, spikey things. Ever tried those? Now that I have confirmed my size, and can therefore shop online with confidence, I am very tempted to try the whole gamut.
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Re: Centaurs and Mermaids

Post by Grok »

Interesting theory-hadn't thought about this before.

Regarding below the waist...an implication would seem to be that the rules about one pipe or two pipes is culturally determined. Or to put it another way, the question of one pipe or two pipes is decided by convention, not neurology.

Nice to have a bit of reason for optimism. :D
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