Why Women Find Cross Dressing Men Scary

This is going to be something of a confessional for me, and whilst I don't pretend to speak for all women, statistically the odds are likely that there are some women out there (and one or two guys,) who feel the same way. Of course, you'll already know if you've browsed my catalog of articles here that I strongly support men who want to wear women's clothing. However, I also completely understand when women feel intimidated by this act.

Men who wear women's clothing, that is, men who go the full 9000 yards with complete outfits, hair, make up, nails, the rest of it, can sometimes look a great deal more feminine than your average woman.

Like many women, I grew up quite the tomboy and never really shook it. Sure, I can find my way around a make up bag and I own a nice pair of hair straighteners, but I don't wear make up every single day of my life and quite often my hair escapes in kinky curls that make no sense. I often wear jeans and a t shirt. I get away with this because I'm a writer and we're expected to be anti social nut jobs. As long as I don't behave too erratically, people are happy.

Your average woman no doubt spends more time prettying herself each day than I do, but relatively few women put the effort in that a cross dressing man puts in when he dresses up as a woman and walks out his front door.

Men who cross dress are often impeccably dressed. Their make up has been attended to in the finest detail. Usually it is quite dramatic make up, perhaps because he seeks to emphasize his feminine side as much as possible. Many men who dress as women look so good that they can, in fact, pass as being women. This is considered to be an excellent thing in cross dressing circles, but you see, in crossing the line, the man becomes, visually speaking, a woman. And not just any woman, a tall, aggressively made up woman.

When I say 'aggressively made up' I hope it makes sense. In my mind, I've often seen overstated make up as being not unlike war paint. It is a blatant and flagrant expression of femininity. Why is that an issue? Here's the bit where you discover what you already knew if you paid attention in high school. Women don't like other women.

Now, don't get me wrong, women can be great friends with other women, but in certain contexts and often in the case of unknown women, a woman considers another woman, especially one who is making a big deal out of her femininity, as being something of an enemy. Or at least a potential threat.

It's in our DNA. Biologically we're better off if we can convince men to stay with us. We also know that men have a wandering eye and that other women can and will lure a man away. (Keep in mind I am speaking purely on a biological, evolutionary level here.) Women therefore often subconsciously (and occasionally correctly,) perceive other attractive women as being competition.

Some cross dressing men can walk into the new reality of being a female without realizing the full implications of what that means socially amongst other women. When you make your entrance as an attractive woman, you lose your status as an eligible male and enter the ring as a genetic contender. You become the woman other women are jealous of.

There are of course, other reasons why women object to men cross dressing, but I think they are often stated and obvious. This one is much less often admitted because, lets face it, what red blooded woman wants to admit that she's intimidated by the femininity of a man? That's the equivalent of a guy being intimidated by a strong woman, it's not one of those feelings openly discussed very often.

Is this a reason for men to stop dressing in women's clothing? No, not at all. But it may perhaps lend a little insight into the causes of some hostility encountered in the so called fairer sex.