A Man in a dress- how would you feel?

My response would be similar to yours. And the reason we wouldn’t bat an eye over a woman doing the same is patriarchy. It’s perfectly ok for a woman to emulate a man but it’s not ok for a man to emulate a woman unless he’s mocking women in some way. Dressing or acting in a more feminine way is considered demeaning or “less than” “acting like a man”.

‘New here’ eh? I refer you to “Dress however you please etc”

You’re welcome.

I would guess that it was likely a fetish and would find it unpleasant. If it was my husband it would bd a deal-breaker for me.

If he's a guy wearing clothes and he doesn't care they are women's because clothes shouldn't be gendered, or a guy wearing clothes because they are women's to challenge the idea they should be women's, or a guy wearing anazing sequins and makeup looking better than a Vegas showground because why shouldn't men be fabulous, I'd think he was well cool.

My rough rule of thumb is "alter women's clothes for a male body == probably cool guy. Alter a male body to fill out women's clothes == probably guy with sexist / problenatic ideas about Gender"

I’ve come across a lot of men wearing women’s clothes in my city especially on a night out to concerts. They are usually with a female (wife/ friend), dressed the same for some reason and are both looking around for a reaction. I always feel a bit sorry for the woman as she’s clearly not twigged that she’s being used as a muse yet.

There is one man who has a short back and sides, doesn’t wear any makeup or jewellery and looks like a regular good looking hetero bloke aside from the short skirt and killer heels. He loves to use the female bathroom and walk in and out like he’s on a catwalk.

How do I feel? Well nothing I hope. They are looking for a reaction and I’m not going to give them one. I just totally ignore them and pretend I’ve not noticed. I’d do the same if I knew them I’d like to think.

Depends on the reason. A man wearing typical feminine clothes because he likes the look or is pushing gender boundaries is fine. A man who gets a sexual thrill imaging himself as a “woman” would give me the creeps.

"fairly new here". I bet 😂

Women in trousers are 'emulating men'? Don't think so.

Absolutely fine, as long as it fitted them.

I would honestly divorce my husband if he expressed a desire to wear a dress. I would end a friendship over this too.

It would depend on who that person was. If it was a colleague, friend or stranger I wouldn't feel I had the right to 'object' to it. As I wouldn't take kindly to anyone like that trying to tell me how to dress. I may not think they look good, but why should they need to look good to me?

If it was my husband that could well be another matter entirely and might be a deal breaker. Or I might accept it. I really can't say without having experienced it.

In theory, I think people should wear whatever they want to. There is no good reason why men can’t wear dresses or skirts and of course in some cultures they do, because it’s normal within that culture.

However, I would feel uneasy because I wouldn’t be able to shake off the suspicion that it was a fetish being played out in public.

Certain types of men (young, fashionable, arty, cool) do get away with it. I don’t bat an eyelid when Harry Styles wears dresses or sequinned jumpsuits for example. But he’s a musician, and musicians and artists are often more adventurous in their style choices than non-artists. If middle aged Ian at work starts turning up at the office in a sequinned jumpsuit, it would feel like a different thing altogether.

There's a difference between "Dress how you please - no skin off my nose" and "Dress how you please - I shan't ever think it ridiculous or pervy"

The reality is that most dresses skirts for women are designed to fit the female form, so a man wearing something designed for a woman's shape is going to look odd.

Women can get away with wearing men's clothes more easily because they just look baggy.

However men already wear tunics and kilts which are effectively dresses and skirts, and there is no reason why they shouldn't be more commonly worn or adapted to suit a more western European aesthetic.

Hmm, are we talking a partner here or sibling perhaps?

I’d say that the man putting on the dress because they like it is them dipping one toe into the pool. It’s beginning at A, and there’s everything in between till they get to Z.

Maybe you need to wait and see what happens. Is it a dress today, then 2 weeks later being a bit bolder?

You need to have a think about what your boundaries are and where your line in the sand is if it’s a partner. There are lots of women on here whose partner started off like this and they were supportive, only later to find that they were being used as a muse to copy.

I’m not sure how I’d react to my DH dressing up as a woman. I’m not sure where my line would be, but I do know that my line would be drawn pretty quickly.

Innit

I’d say he should go for it. As long as he used male spaces whilst wearing it, he should do what he likes. I’d definitely support him.

It means some posters may be sceptical of you saying "new" because this board gets regular visitors who are just here for negative screenshots

I think it all depends on context and the clothing itself. If, for example, a man in a professional context is wearing an effeminate dress then there can be a problem because it is distracting and 'look at me' and undermines trust somehow. I would feel the same if someone had their face tattooed. If they are in club, dancing away then, so be it. I might not like the look of a tattooed face but it is their face...
If a man is wearing a sarong (at the right time) or a kilt or a kind of pretty cardigan or something that is within social norms then that is of course nothing to mind about. There are clothes that are gender neutral but not cross dressing. No problem with non conformity unless it is jarring. I don't think there is anything wrong with saying I'd prefer my child's teacher or my husband didn't look scary or bizarre.
I've got a problem with a lot of things that are public displays of sexual kinks and this is not confined to men wearing dresses.

It is time for whoever it was on here to post that photo of the guy in the grey skirt/dress type outfit that he designed and made for himself because women's clothes didn't fit quite right on him but he wanted to wear that kind of style

...please

Sorry , I too am fairly new here and have no agenda whatsoever and also butter does not melt in my mouth?

For myself, I married a pretty convential man. That was my choice. It wouldn't suit me if he started going out in a dress or indeed dressing like Mr Tumble. That's not what I signed up for. Any woman marrying adult DS would probably not be very surprised if he started wearing dresses as he is already unconventional.