document updated 16 years ago, on Sep 15, 2010
- more conservative generally — Wearing skirts or short shorts is an extremely stereotypical way for transfeminine people to transgress gender boundaries. While this does get people's attention, it also unfortunately plays into the stereotype that guys only crossdress for sexual self-gratification. This means that people can easily dismiss it, rather than reading it as an expression of my femininity (which is somehow more confusing to people). To avoid having my femininity dismissed, I probably need to dress more conservatively when I'm in cisheteronormative spaces. (note: "conservative" does NOT mean "less feminine" — plenty of women dress conservatively while at a professional workplace, while still being unmistakenly feminine. But it means dressing in a way that's the least likely to be construed as sexual. (note: this does NOT mean that sexuality should be considered bad. But it does mean that some people are overwhelmed when I confront them with "OMG, why would you ever want to do away with your male privilege?!?", and throwing feminity AND sexuality in at the same time is sometimes too much))
- dangly earrings — Jasper Gregory has long included them as one possible element
- long curly hair — see Jasper Gregory's explanation here