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Larissa's Short History of Genderised Clothing and Other Things
I rarely write things or post things on forums, but, well, I thought I would try to write something that another human being might actually read, for a change. Or an AI bot. I'm not prejudiced. If you're an AI bot, I'm happy for you to be included within my overall readership. 'Til all are one. Please look after the planet once all of the humans are gone.
Anyway...
I have written this for publication on Crossdresser Heaven. Obviously. As I cross-dress sometimes. I have mixed feelings about it, but yeah, it's something I do. Presumably you do too, right? If not, no worries. But yeah, as I say, I do. As a cross-dresser, I tend to lean towards goth looks and alternative styles, so this often includes quite a lot of black clothing primarily, spiky accessories, PVC skirts; that kind of thing. This is what I tend to go for usually, but not exclusively. I like to experiment.
I've met some lovely people on this site and made some very understanding friends. However, in terms of the site structure, I struggle with the idea of my writing being contextualised as an article to be published. I don't really consider this to be an article as such and 'moderately edited general stream of consciousness' would be a better description. I am waiting for the site administrators to create a function for submitting moderately edited general streams of consciousnesses! Somebody please notify me once this option becomes available.
Anyway...
So why do I cross-dress? Why do you cross-dress, if you do? I've studied a bit of psychology here and there (just to mention, I'm not a big fan of Freud, generally speaking), so I often consider that there must be a reason for why I cross-dress. Why? Why do I cross-dress? Why do you cross-dress, if you do? Why does anybody?
Well, let's see what the big man himself (who I don't really like) had to say about it. According to Freud, cross-dressing, in men in particular, is categorised under fetishism. On this subject he wrote:
“A fetish is a substitute for the mother’s phallus which the little boy once believed in and—for reasons familiar to us—does not want to give up.”
(Sigmund Freud, Fetishism, 1927)
So there we go, answer found. Thanks Freud. Does this ring true for you? It doesn't for me especially!
Anyway...
The thing about cross-dressing in particular, is that it largely relates to clothing, somewhat needless to say. Fetishism aside, I wonder by extension, why do any of us dress at all? Why do we wear what we wear? I'm guessing that this question is possibly also suitable for an entirely different forum too though, right? www.inthebuff.co.uk or something similar!
But in all seriousness, when and where did this whole genderised clothing thing start? Prehistoric man would have worn animal skins and such, so by the current stage of human evolution, humans would have been wearing clothing of a sort for a long time already. At what point did clothing gain any additional meaning, beyond the physical benefits?
In my usual day-to-day life as not-Larissa, I have to buy things like trainers, shirts, hats, and so on. I live in the UK and there are a lot of sports shops here that sell genderised clothing and footwear. It has often become apparent to me that a pair of white trainers for men in a size 8, will be remarkably similar to a pair of women's trainers in the same size. However, the women's pair will have a stylish pink or pastel strip of coloured plastic material boldly attached to the backs and sides, or something akin to this. This will often be the only notable difference. At what point in the past did we develop a societal norm that now creates a significance between these two pairs of shoes, even though the literal physical differences are minimal?
Well, once upon a time I would have looked up on Google for the answers, but, as we now live in even more modern times, I asked an AI bot to look up the answers and write something for me instead!
According to my bot:
********
The earliest evidence of humans wearing gender-specific clothing emerges in the ancient civilizations of Mesopotamia and Egypt around 3000 BCE, when distinct styles and adornments began to signify roles, status, and gender. Before this, during the Paleolithic and Neolithic eras, clothing primarily served practical purposes, such as protection from the environment, and was made of similar materials like animal skins, fur, and plant fibres for all genders.
Key points in the history of gendered clothing:
*Ancient Mesopotamia (c. 3000–1500 BCE)
Men typically wore knee-length tunics or skirts (kaunakes), while women wore longer dresses that covered more of the body. These differences were influenced by social and cultural roles rather than strict biological divisions.
Both genders wore shawls and cloaks, but patterns, colours, and embellishments often differed by gender.
*Ancient Egypt (c. 3000–332 BCE)
Men commonly wore simple kilts (shendyt), while women wore longer sheath dresses (kalasiris). The distinction reflected differences in societal expectations and modesty standards.
Clothing also marked status, with wealthier individuals of both genders wearing finer materials like linen and more elaborate adornments.
*Indo-European Cultures and the Classical Period
In ancient Greece (c. 800–31 BCE) and Rome (c. 753 BCE–476 CE), men wore tunics and cloaks (like the chiton and himation), often shorter for men and longer for women. Women wore dresses like the peplos or stola.
These distinctions further developed with the use of drapery and accessories to signify femininity or masculinity.
The differentiation in clothing between genders became more pronounced as societies grew more complex, with gender roles becoming codified in law, religion, and culture. Distinctions in clothing were often tied to labour divisions, social hierarchy, and modesty norms, which evolved alongside cultural identities.
********
I must praise our future robotic overlords for writing this up for me so definitely and succinctly! So, there you have it. Answers obtained!
There is still an issue for me here though. Factually, the above text is fairly interesting, and I am very grateful to my bot for having written it for me, however I feel that there is still a personal disconnect here. For cross-dressers, the origins of genderised clothing obviously are important, without them, cross-dressing kind of couldn't be. However, they don't reveal much to me about myself as an individual. They still don't really tell me why I do it; not in any personal way, anyway.
I think the real answer is that there is no one answer, not for cross-dressers collectively, at least. I believe that there are probably as many reasons for cross-dressing as there are cross-dressers, so for the real answers, we all need to learn more about ourselves and how we feel first, before looking to external providers of knowledge.
Thanks to everyone that made it to the end of my 'moderately edited general stream of consciousness'. You're all stars!
Larissa✨
I agree, Larissa. There probably are as many reasons that we crossdress, if you want to call them that, as there are crossdressers. Some may be similar to others, triggered similarly to others, but are they the same?
A few months ago, I am pretty sure that I saw a male dress in goth wearing a below-the-knee skirt. Is that a goth thing or was he possibly crossdressing? By the way, it was a really nice pleated skirt.
It’s odd, isnt it, that so many cds can be so different. But to me, it really is logical and I get it. When I think about crossdressing in general, what is it? It’s simply AMAB wearing clothing initially marketed towards AWAB. That could mean literally anything depending on what they wear, where they wear it, gender identity, literally anything. My version of dressing is very different than many of the ladies on this forum and we are people speaking the same language, similar lives compared to other parts of the world, etc. trying to find a reason just isn’t possible overall. Me personally, still have no clue why I really do it. Been dressing since I was very young and never have I had a eureka moment even in therapy. All I do know is, I put on cute clothes, then like the way I feel. When that happens, I like to make the look complete and then start on things like makeup hair and accessories. Nobody is hurt by what I do and frankly it’s nobodies business ya know. Fun thought exercise, but to me it’s like asking why someone likes eating sushi. They just like it.
Fascinating topic, and worth a deep look.
I'm pretty much convinced that gender specific clothing came about much, much MUCH earlier than the bot would have us believe. The reason is that the bot has to rely on known written records and clothing has been around since well before writing itself. Not only that, but I'm not certain that writing didn't come into use well before the earliest known written records.
It's true enough that primitive humans wore animal skins and furs, bit it couldn't have been long before they were being cut and sewn into items of clothing with which we would be familiar today. And it couldn't have taken long before people started to realize that men and women have bodies shaped differently from each other. So clothes for women and girls had to be made differently from those for men and boys.
Somewhere along the line, it couldn't have escaped notice that certain types or styles of clothes helped to enhance a person's appearance. And that certain clothes made women appear more womanly, other types made men appear more manly. And so from there I imagine the customs and taboos about clothing began to emerge.
As far as when crossdressing began, who can possibly say? But since crossdressing has been part of every culture throughout history dating back to what is known, I imagine it's been going on since shortly after clothing itself was invented.
It must have been hell for any young boy with crossdressing tendencies back then. I shudder to think what primitive tribesmen might have done to them. And yet there have been times and places where boys could and did dress as women. Such as during Shakespeare's time, when it was illegal for women to participate in theater and young boys were recruited to play the female roles in those plays. Now flash forward to modern times where we have "womanless" beauty pageants where boys about the same age as Shakespeare's male actresses dress up in formal gowns with full feminine makeup and hairstyles.
It's been around a long time. And it's not going anywhere soon.
Rayna
Hi Larissa,
You know what they say there are more questions than answers, me personally i dress because i enjoy it, if there was another reason I've not found it yet and since i had my first makeover I'm enjoying it more it seems to have opened up a whole new world for me and I'm not sure where it will take me, I've enjoyed your article immensely and we are all entitled to our own opinion even Freud but in the end they are only opinions, i think that is the same in every aspect of life everyone has different options and no one is right and no one is wrong we all live our lives the best that we can,
Hugs Roz X
Thanks very much Larissa, I'm glad you like my pictures, I had a great time having my makeover, yes you should treat yourself to a makeover yourself I'm sure you will love it,
It is all about what makes us happy that's why you do it,
Hugs Roz X
Interesting article, Larissa. If animated TV can be trusted, we know that it must have started after the time of the Flintstones, since both men and women were (effectively) wearing a dress.
Regarding difference of fashions, I have a red velour pullover shirt. The neckline has a small V point in it. My ex had an almost identical shirt, labeled as women's, while mine was labeled as men's. I looked for years to figure out the difference (besides the label inside). Then one day I accidentally found it. The shirt has an edging around the neckline, starting and ending at the V. On the men's shirt, the left end of the edging is sewn on top of the right end. On the women's shirt, the right end of the edging is sewn on top of the left. I mean, really!? I don't think anyone but the manufacturer could tell the difference.
the women's clothing tends to be more expensive than the men's version, even though they're virtually identical.
Also known as "the pink tax."
Over the past 50 years, in western cultures at least, gender differences between male and female clothing have diminished largely as a result of women increasingly adopting what were previously thought of as male garments - notably trousers, jeans, tee-shirts, etc - while ceasing to wear almost all uniquely feminine items such as skirts/dresses, slips, corsetry (except bras), stockings/tights and even, most of the time, high-heeled shoes. All these Items are still seen but less and less often. I understand that women's panties are different (but often not very different) from men's and that bras remain uniquely female attire but, for normal, every-day wear, the difference between male and female cloting is largely down to colour, trim and some degree of shape. I can't imagine that, if I were a teenage boy in the 2020s I would be fascinated by modern girls' clothing in the same way that it intrigued me as a boy in the late 1950s and 60s.
Enjoyed the piece Larissa. Freud had a lot going for him - the modern version is Az Hakim (or something - he’s written a book recently). I’d rather be a transvestite than AGP.
It amuses one to see the number of men who share this passion using the excuse: Clothes have no gender … Except for lab coats, they often do.
For me it has always been the decorative allure of those lovely girls' clothes, which I would have happily worn as a boy - though whether that would have resulted in a different personality and interests is a conundrum. Have my other interests developed (such as art, writing) as I was unable to express a sense of prettiness?
I cross dress because I love it and it makes me feel good. I love looking in the mirror and seeing my female half looking back at me.
I very much like the idea of stream of consciousness writing. Put another vote in for that!
As for my cross dressing, I feel more inline with who I feel I am when I'm dressed. although I discovered this later in life, so much more of my past makes more sense since I have. When I look at myself dressed I feel like the real me is looking back.
It will be a sad day if clothing ever becomes gender neutral!
Great article, or rather stream of conciseness!
Because I want to. I really think it’s that simple.🥰Why do you cross-dress, if you do?
That aside, I like your writing style Larissa, at least the parts that you wrote. The AI stuff…boring as always. AI…I’m trying to keep an open mind but it’s really hard so far. I much prefer HI, (Human Intelligence), with all it’s errors and screw-ups.
On the subject of boys vs girls clothing, didn’t it start with the “blue is for boys, pink is for girls” thinking? Seems simple and makes sense.
Which reminds me that I bought some women’s glasses frames in blue recently. One of my bro-friends noticed them and said: “Nice specs, do they come in a men’s version?” WTF? What a dic*! (probably a closet crosser🤪)
As one of the more “chattier girls” on CDH IMO, I do love discussing the CD topic. So many nuances. But I do think that after all the blather about why, and what motivates it, and all the deep discourse about it, it’s really just because we want to. And even that’s hard to say at times.
GP