Off My Chest
RULES:
I am looking for mods!
1. The "good" part of our community means we are pro-empathy and anti-harassment. However, we don't intend to make this a "safe space" where everyone has to be a saint. Sh*t happens, and life is messy. That's why we get things off our chests.
2. Bigotry is not allowed. That includes racism, sexism, ableism, homophobia, transphobia, xenophobia, and religiophobia. (If you want to vent about religion, that's fine; but religion is not inherently evil.)
3. Frustrated, venting, or angry posts are still welcome.
4. Posts and comments that bait, threaten, or incite harassment are not allowed.
5. If anyone offers mental, medical, or professional advice here, please remember to take it with a grain of salt. Seek out real professionals if needed.
6. Please put NSFW behind NSFW tags.
view the rest of the comments
The great part of that is that you can, with relatively little friction, dress that way. Well, depends on where you are in the world regarding friction. But in general, alt fashion is within bounds for someone AFAB, without any need to identify as anything but a woman, if that is how you identify.
Hell, depending on where you live, the various scenes can even be directly behind that style of idealized anachronistic dress. You'll see it even at some comic conventios, and definitely at sci-fi/fantasy gatherings, even in cities that it would otherwise draw attention as unusual. But in art districts and such, you'd fit right in more often than not.
Even if you don't live in that kind of place, it's amazing how little time it takes for people to just shrug atypical clothing and fashion off. Yeah, you'll run into issues with some specific styles, but on average, if you dress in that general genteel style, a few weeks go by, and folks just absorb it as your particular thing and ignore it.
Beyond that, if you are discovering your self and that self is a man, don't let the current environment dissuade you from picking up the parts of masculine presentation you're comfortable with. AFAB doesn't mean you have to be female any more. You can let the man inside you out.
Just make sure you're in a private area before you shrug all your clothing off! ;-)