Stu wrote: ↑Sun Mar 08, 2020 3:01 pmIt's not just a matter of size. Some clothes are designed to emphasise either the feminine or masculine body shape, or just the sex of the wearer, and I have no desire to see that eradicated. I think the differences are enriching.
Indeed the differences are, and I'd be the last to deny that; I celebrate it, in fact. However, a garment that looks positively fabulous on a curvaceous woman is going to look bad on the typical male physique, and something designed for the typical male physique would look just as bad on the same woman. That's form and fit. Clothes should fit the wearer.
Clothes are used as signifiers of many things including age, status, event or activity - and our sex.
They're used a bit too much for that function if you ask me, especially the latter as women routinely dress like guys.
I think crossdressing is more than just wearing a garment more traditionally associated with the opposite sex; crossdressing is essentially presenting as a member of the opposite sex and eschewing the normal appearance of one's own sex.
You're using a similar definition to the one I do. The essence of "orthodox crossdressing" is the masquerade; the deception (or attempt at). I do not regard a bloke in a dress who is not trying to "pass" as a crossdresser -- especially if the clothes fit well, and thanks to the now-popular "stick figure" look being pushed at women a side-effect is that clothes marketed at that (tiny) demographic can actually work really well on guys. In this, I cheerily admit to being an opportunist.
But if I were to don a lacy dress, hosiery, high heels and a long wig, and slap on some lipstick and rouge - that would be crossdressing (of course it wouldn't occur to me to do that).
If one is going to those lengths, it's highly likely that he's trying to "pass" and then, therefore, gets lumped into the "crossdresser" pile. But, why is it that women get away with butch haircuts and men's clothing but don't get called out for "crossdressing"? There's a double-standard there. I don't like double-standards.