What would it feel like to wear women’s clothes if you’re a man? That particular curiosity of every boy in childhood is something that leads to dressing like one. It is indeed a social question of what would your reaction be upon looking at a male wearing clothes identified with the opposite gender. As such, cross dressing in the modern age signifies many meanings, some of which may be subjective to the wearer’s meanings.
Transvestites are what are known as men who are not necessarily trans-gender however prefer wearing the clothes of the opposite gender. They are not necessarily gay and transsexual. These individuals only wear the clothes to symbolize something that they want to prove. For example, one particular transvestite wears female clothes to show people that clothes are only social symbols. The point this person is trying to prove is that clothes are still clothes no matter who are supposed to properly wear them.
The cross dressing of modern times could be seen in full effect within the early 1970’s. With the many economic and sociological changes in society, people had to become resilient. Aggression and revolution had been translated into art by many. Punk music that started around this time in Europe had been what brought this idea to the mainstream. As a form of protest against the current system, punk musicians had begun to dress like women to show their resistance.
Musicians and artists are often the ones that favor such practices. In a way, resistance and uniqueness may be expressed nowadays by being quite grotesque or deeply expressive. Today, this practice goes for performance art just like stand up comedies. Drag queens are surely males who use this particular practice into something that identifies them.
Nowadays as well, this specific practice is alive and kicking inside the music and art scene of the Japanese. The rich media of Japan stemming from anime and costume plays put this specific practice up front as something common. With feminine looking (and sometimes dressing) males coming from their animations, these exhibit manly prowess in the process. Surely, cross dressing is seen as a fad in this part of the country.
Japan as well is known for their androgynous musicians. Known as visual kei, musicians in these parts of the world don extensive women’s clothing. The clothing is usually themed gothic or even light and glamorous depending on the band’s genre. The difference this has from western methods is that the androgynous look of the musicians makes one thing they are entirely female.
As pointed out above, many believe that this practice is for the purpose of shocking everyone with the way you look in women’s clothes. Most cross dressers portray such for the reason that every culture has unique tastes in clothes associated for each gender. In some places, women are allowed to wear manly trousers. Some countries have their males wear a skirt like garment called a kilt. This is to show, as mentioned above, that clothes are only signs but they are still wearable by anybody.
Cross dressing in the modern age is not just for being unique or achieving a certain charm. This is more of a philosophical and sociological movement. The respect for individual choice as well as individual dissatisfaction and aggression could be expressed by breaking the norms of society by these symbols.
