How old can you be and still be called a tomboy? Maybe that's not really the right word but I can't think of a better one. I posted the pictures of James in his tux on Facebook which prompted a discussion about men having it easy when getting dressed for formal occasions while women have to dig through their closets to find something that looks good or at least appropriate. My sister-in-law, another friend and I commented that women should also have a uniform of sorts, something we grab from our closet like men do when they have a formal occasion. I suggested it be something we could wear boots or sneakers with, formal sneakers of course. I know most of us look nicer when we're dressed up than in our everyday sloppies but I almost always choose comfort over class. I once saw an interview with Dolly Parton and in the interview she said she wore makeup, did her hair and dressed nice every day because she wanted to be beautiful for her husband because he deserved it. Sorry James.
It's funny how women can wear flannel shirts, baggy jeans and like to get dirty and stuff and be called a tomboy or a slob but if a man dresses in women's clothes he's a cross-dresser. Are there men out there who hate to have to wear the tux and would rather make up their own outfit for formal events?
It's not often we're invited to black tie occasions so I guess I can stand to wear a sleek black dress, nice shoes and try to look beautiful for just those few times.
Hence my belief that my Tomboy dress goes everywhere with everything. I'm equally happy being a tomboy in my Tomboy dress with my black boots as I am in my black yoga pants. I see a theme here....black. :)
ReplyDeleteyou might find Judith Butler's writing on gender as performative helpful (see "Gender Trouble" 1990) - her writing style is dense and difficult if you aren't used to it (she does this for a variety of reasons), but the idea behind it is basically that we perform aspects of gender rather than "having" or "being" a "true gender." Gender, from this perspective, is socially constructed rather than something we are born with.
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