To get the new series Profiles of Beskirted Men kicked off, I thought I would share my own profile first. I filled out the questionnaire and this is the result.
What is your name?
Alex
Where are you from?
I am originally from the United States, but I now live in Germany.
Which types of gender non-conforming clothing do you enjoy wearing?
I enjoy wearing skirts, dresses, tights and high heels.
When did you start wearing gender non-conforming clothing?
I started wearing skirts secretly in college. I added heels to the mix several years later.
How did you start wearing gender non-conforming clothing and why?
I started out of simple curiosity. I wanted to know what it felt like to wear a skirt since they are so different from pants. I ordered my first skater skirt online and have never looked back since.
What is your motivation now for putting on gender non-conforming clothing?
Skirts, dresses and heels have taken on an entirely different meaning for me since I first got started. I not only wear them now because they are comfortable but also because they symbolize my rebellion against toxic masculinity.
What do gender non-conforming clothes mean to you?
Over the years, I have come to realize how much of a negative impact toxic masculinity has had on my life and my gender non-conforming clothing represents my push back against it.
How often do you wear gender non-conforming clothing?
Practically every day, all day.
Do you go out in public dressed in gender non-conforming clothes? If not, why not? If so, how often and where do you go? Are there any places you wouldn’t go?
Yes, I do go in public in gender non-conforming clothes. I usually wear skirts and/or heeled boots. Even if I don’t wear a skirt, I often wear heeled boots with jeans. Since I work from home, I don’t go out every day, but I probably go out at least a couple of times a week. I go wherever I need to or want to.
I don’t wear a skirt or heels where it’s impractical: the gym, hiking (no heels), etc. I also wouldn’t wear them in places where I might be in physical danger such as the Deep South of the United States.
Do you find it hard to go out in public in gender non-conforming clothes?
I find it difficult to work up the courage to step outside, but once I’m out in public, it becomes very easy and I have a lot of fun with it.
What is your best and/or worst experience in gender non-conforming clothes?
I’ve had a lot of good experiences, so it’s difficult to say what my best experience is, but I would say any of the compliments I’ve received from strangers would be among the best experiences.
As far the worst is concerned, that would be what I recently posted about when a man yelled loudly in a crowded train station that he found my skirt shitty.
Do your family or friends know about how you dress?
Yes, they do and they support me fully.
Are there people you don’t want to know about it?
The only people I wouldn’t want to know about it are my arch-conservative relatives in the Deep South of the United States.
Does your partner accept your clothing choices?
Absolutely. She even writes about it!
What is your favorite style?
I generally prefer a fairly “masculine” style with bold, solid colors, square cuts and shirts from the men’s department. That isn’t to say that I don’t like flowing skirts or floral patterns, but I just prefer solid colors.
The “masculine” style also applies to my choice of heels. I prefer boots with a block heel rather than pumps and stilettos.
Where do you shop for your clothes?
Primarily online. A lot of online German clothing retailers are starting to offer skirts and heels “for men” and I can find the styles I like. It’s hard to find anything I like in brick-and-mortar stores regardless of whether it’s from the men’s or women’s department.
Is there anything else you would like to add?
I really enjoy writing about one of my favorite hobbies: wearing gender non-conforming clothing. The clothes themselves are not only fun, but wearing them out in public and breaking gender stereotypes is something I find extremely enjoyable.
I hope to inspire other men to do the same and show them that it really isn’t that scary. There are certainly a lot more of us out there than you would think.
If you are interested in sharing your profile on Profiles of Beskirted Men, check out the post about it for information about how to submit it.
Cool to find out that you didn’t get heels immediately and it took some time to try + incorporate it. I’ll probably follow the same approach.
Yeah, I didn’t start doing everything all at once. It was definitely a gradual process.