11 votes

Why was crossdressing illegal?

9 comments

  1. [5]
    pleure
    Link
    I'm waiting for the day when it becomes acceptable for men to wear women's clothes like the converse is. I can't explain how appealing a sundress looks when it's 102 degrees outside.

    I'm waiting for the day when it becomes acceptable for men to wear women's clothes like the converse is. I can't explain how appealing a sundress looks when it's 102 degrees outside.

    8 votes
    1. Algernon_Asimov
      Link Parent
      I've occasionally wished I could wear a light airy skirt in hot weather. My recent sartorial battle was to wear shorts to the office last Summer. This was helped by the fact that the...

      I've occasionally wished I could wear a light airy skirt in hot weather.

      My recent sartorial battle was to wear shorts to the office last Summer. This was helped by the fact that the air-conditioning wasn't quite strong enough to cool the building down (and the building's design encourages heat absorption and entrapment during hot weather). So I now can wear shorts to work.

      3 votes
    2. [3]
      Catt
      Link Parent
      Definitely. I can't stand dress codes in general, and have honestly seen it used to discriminate and bully women in school and workplace. I would love for everyone to just be able to decide and...

      Definitely. I can't stand dress codes in general, and have honestly seen it used to discriminate and bully women in school and workplace.

      I would love for everyone to just be able to decide and wear what they want without it being a statement. (Of course safety items are separate).

      Wear your sundress!

      1 vote
      1. [2]
        pleure
        Link Parent
        I’m usually pretty cavalier about social conventions but wearing a dress is too far imo, everyone would notice. Unfortunately though you need people to go through that to build up acceptance to...

        I’m usually pretty cavalier about social conventions but wearing a dress is too far imo, everyone would notice. Unfortunately though you need people to go through that to build up acceptance to the practice, but I’m too self conscious to be one of them.

        2 votes
        1. Catt
          Link Parent
          Yeah, it will definitely stand out right now. It would be nice if it didn't. Someday...

          Yeah, it will definitely stand out right now. It would be nice if it didn't. Someday...

  2. [4]
    Algernon_Asimov
    Link
    Well, that was disappointing. She explained a lot about the history of laws pertaining to attire, but somehow managed to skip over the headline question: why was cross-dressing illegal? We got...

    Well, that was disappointing. She explained a lot about the history of laws pertaining to attire, but somehow managed to skip over the headline question: why was cross-dressing illegal? We got told when and where the first law against cross-dressing was passed, we got told about it being part of a wave of laws against public indecency, but we didn't get told why cross-dressing was considered indecent and needed to be banned.

    It was an interesting video, but I was disappointed that the headline question wasn't actually answered.

    3 votes
    1. [3]
      Catt
      Link Parent
      I can't rewatch the video right now, but I thought it did, though in shallow sense, since it's a quick summary. I thought the answer was more that crossdressing itself wasn't specifically illegal,...

      I can't rewatch the video right now, but I thought it did, though in shallow sense, since it's a quick summary.

      I thought the answer was more that crossdressing itself wasn't specifically illegal, but that the state tried to control what people wear and they drafted laws across gender and class wear.

      1. [2]
        Algernon_Asimov
        Link Parent
        No, it didn't. The only thing she says is that San Francisco was the first jurisdiction to outlaw cross-dressing, and that this (along with other cross-dressing laws elsewhere) was a part of a...

        No, it didn't. The only thing she says is that San Francisco was the first jurisdiction to outlaw cross-dressing, and that this (along with other cross-dressing laws elsewhere) was a part of a wave of laws across the USA over the next 50 years which focussed on public indecency. That's it. There's an implied connection between cross-dressing and public indecency, but she doesn't connect the two explicitly, let alone explain how cross-dressing was seen as indecent.

        2 votes
        1. Catt
          Link Parent
          Fair enough. I binged a few more of her videos and they do all have that pattern, where she doesn't really explicitly link things.

          Fair enough. I binged a few more of her videos and they do all have that pattern, where she doesn't really explicitly link things.

          1 vote