NICE martial artists wear skirts!

[Blade96]

Originally Posted by Flea

It's summertime, and for me that means the long flowy sundresses and hippie skirts come out. I realized that from a SD perspective, dealing with all that extra fabric would add a whole new dynamic. So as an experiment, this morning I put a skirt on over my gym pants to see how it felt.

What a surprise! The extra cloth was only the tip of the iceberg. I found that the skirt touched a deep psychological nerve of "I'm a girl," and so all my actions became much more feminine. I minced daintily in most of the drills. I spoke softly. I giggled where I usually laugh. I tried not to get dirty. And most interesting from a technical standpoint, every time I fell I was careful to keep my legs together and hold the skirt down with my hands.

All this was unconscious, at first. Once I realized I was doing it, I just observed the thought pattern. I kept the skirt on to see where the sensation took me. It's a great education to watch one's thoughts dispassionately. I'm really amazed at how deep the gender conditioning goes just by putting on a different article of clothing. .

I dont understand though how anyone can put on such and such a thing of clothing and say 'oh i feel more feminine now' Clothes dont make you what you are. If I wore dress pants, a men shirt, and a tie, I'm still a woman. and still feel like a woman.

[Jenny_in_Chico]

That is why Flea is Flea and you are you. Personally, I'm with Flea...when I wear a dress and heels, I feel more feminine, or perhaps I should say I'm more concious of my femininity.

The opposite side of the coin, of course, is why butch dykes dress in oxford shirts, jeans, suits and ties, etc...it helps them feel more masculine, or brings them closer to that part of their inner selves which is male.

[Flea]

I don't think that the question of how clothing affects one's state of mind is a gender issue at all. We all respond to the clothes we wear. If we didn't, there would be no need for dress clothes, work uniforms, cosmetics, pajamas, prayer shawls, or anything other than scrubs and sneakers. Our minds do respond to the psychological cues of what we wear. It's advisable to turn that tendency to our advantage, and it can be a lot of fun too.

The gender divide is just one aspect of this larger picture. A wise person will take advantage of this tendency as well - it's useful to explore the dimensions of gender, both as one interprets it for oneself, and as others interpret what they see when one dresses differently. And for the record, I also have lots of flannel shirts and a nice shiny pair of combat boots. That's my favorite outfit.

[Ken Morgan]

Originally Posted by Flea

And for the record, I also have lots of flannel shirts and a nice shiny pair of combat boots. That's my favorite outfit.

Up here in Canada Flea, thats lingerie!

[jks9199]

Originally Posted by Flea

I don't think that the question of how clothing affects one's state of mind is a gender issue at all. We all respond to the clothes we wear. If we didn't, there would be no need for dress clothes, work uniforms, cosmetics, pajamas, prayer shawls, or anything other than scrubs and sneakers. Our minds do respond to the psychological cues of what we wear. It's advisable to turn that tendency to our advantage, and it can be a lot of fun too.

The gender divide is just one aspect of this larger picture. A wise person will take advantage of this tendency as well - it's useful to explore the dimensions of gender, both as one interprets it for oneself, and as others interpret what they see when one dresses differently. And for the record, I also have lots of flannel shirts and a nice shiny pair of combat boots. That's my favorite outfit.

Flannel shirt & combat boots as the favorite outfit...

Like that ain't a tease from a gal who mentions how her red bikini disrupted traffic!

[Blade96]

Originally Posted by Jenny_in_Chico

That is why Flea is Flea and you are you. Personally, I'm with Flea...when I wear a dress and heels, I feel more feminine, or perhaps I should say I'm more concious of my femininity.

The opposite side of the coin, of course, is why butch dykes dress in oxford shirts, jeans, suits and ties, etc...it helps them feel more masculine, or brings them closer to that part of their inner selves which is male.

Flea does have a point though when she says 'we respond to the clothes we wear' because clothes can be an assertion of one's individuality. That, I think is also why some people get tattoes. I just dont think that a skirt, for example makes one 'more feminine' Regardless of what you wear, you are still a woman (or a man) It is not clothes that marks your masculinity (or femininity)

But, that is why Flea is Flea, and I am me. We each have our own thoughts on this.