What immediate opinions do you form when you see a man dressed in drag?

I look to see whether or not he did a good job in the “dress up”. Other than that, nothing.

I’d look way hotter in that get up! Would be my immediate reaction :¬)

awesome! it’s great that people can express themselves so comfortably.

I personally would never do it, but kudos to those who do.

(honest reaction, from me).

I don’t really think “Oh, good for them” because really, I see it all of the time in the gay community. They’re my brothers and sisters and whether or not they dress in drag makes no difference to me.

Similar opinions to the ones I form when I see a woman who looks like a man dressed in drag. “cultural run-off, very rarely a sign of genuine self-invention”

I love em….
I almost always think of Lily Savage! :-/
For those of you who don’t know her, here’s a little snippet, Lol……. ;-)
Not for the faint hearted!!! Lol……..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ye2RdnIyerQ

I suppose it’s surprising at first, but then I kind of start to appreciate it for the usually incredible costuming job that it is! If you can pass the guy off as a woman then you’ve done something pretty impressive!

@mama_cakes – so do you assume a man is something other than straight when you see him dressed in drag?

I wonder where they got the shoes. Yes, I have gigantic feet.

@prolificus Honesty, I don’t even think about.

You are looking for this answer. Yes the first thing I think they are probably gay. Doesn’t mean they are but that is the impression. Also I think they are looking for attention just like the hair dews and piercings, clothes, pants down on hips showing their underwear. It is all connected. When I was young I listened to Beatles music and wore gant shirts with Adler socks and stretch Levis.

I get a bit jealous because almost all of the guys I see in drag have way better legs than me.

I’m AOK with it as far as an opinion. Occasionally, I feel a twang of envy as several of the ones I’ve seen have awesome legs. The greatest example of a transvestie is The Lady Chablis.

Depends on if he’s passable or not.

That guy makes a good looking woman! Some of the more garish and outlandishly dressed types give me a chuckle. I don’t know if that is PC or not, but I figure when some people look at me they could probably get a chuckle from the way I dress. If I didn’t want that to happen, I would dress more the way this culture says a 65 year old woman should dress. But that is one of the things I love most about Australia, once you get out of Sydney and Melbourne, no one really seems to give a damn about how you look or dress.

I generally assume they are gay or want to be female, is that not true? Do straight men, other than on stage, wear womens clothing just because they like it? I can’t imagine, most women’s clothing is so uncomfortable and tight! That is why I prefer baggy boardies and a t shirt!

Nothing.

Lately I’ve been seeing more young men (teenagers actually) wearing skirts and it’s kind of cute. A lot of them dress in kind of a Goth fashion, rather than Glam. I have to say that I usually do a double take when I see older men wearing dresses, but it’s more the novelty of it rather than shock, and sometimes when I see a gentleman with an unusually large adams apple or huge nose, it kind of looks a bit funny, but I say more power to ‘em! One of the boys who goes to my friend’s daughter’s high school joined the cheerleading squad, and although they alow him to wear dresses and skirts to his other classes, they won’t let him wear a girl’s cheerleading uniform, he has to wear pants. Not sure why. One thing I will say is that a man wearing a kilt is a wonderful sight to behold!

I’ll jump in on the “envious of super sexy legs” bandwagon. Otherwise I can’t think of anything specific that forms automatically, it always depends on the person. It’s hard for me to think of any generalization that I could throw out there and would apply to every person I’ve seen dressed in drag. I’m not sure that there is one.

I enjoy looking at a man in good drag. It generally makes me feel quite positive. I tend to think that they must be very at ease with themselves and their sexuality and there’s an air of confidence that can make men in drag very mesmerizing for me. I’m definately a fan.

If it’s someone else, and they’ve really pulled it off, I think, “Damn, that must have taken forever to put together” or “Hmmm, I’m strangely attracted to her.”

If it were me, I’d think, “Gotta get a bigger dress”.

People in drag make me happy. I admire people who are that comfortable with themselves.

I applaud him

I assume that he is gay. There is however a chance that he is not. Maybe I’m jumping to conclusions but oh well.

I take a look at their makeup in wonder.

Having worked in Manhattan for several years I wouldn’t have an opinion at all, but I’d be happy to give him directions when he asked me for them.

I study her very closely to see if there’s anything I can do better the next time I wear drag.

Rupaul does it very very well : )

I usually get jealous.

For example. Tell me that Dave Foley doesn’t look like Isabella Rosselini here and you’d be a liar.

I saw that Franco picture and it just reminded me how much I dislike Terry RIchardson. He’s an awful, awful man. Franco himself has just the androgynous features to pull of a “femme in make-up” appearance. A lot of men don’t.

@aprilsimnel Wow, he really does!

Not someone I would want to know.

@Jabe73 Why not?

I wonder whether they are trying to pass as a woman or they are just wearing the clothes because they want to. That’s about it.

Nothing much except whether they’ve done a good job of it or not. Too often, the result is somewhat stereotypical, like a caricature rather than a real woman, and I think that spoils it sometimes. But it doesn’t bother me at all and I don’t really think more or less of them. Mostly it’s curiosity, wondering if they’re genuinely transgendered.

Hmmm. Really, the only place I see them is in video or film. The kind of gay men I know don’t do drag, and I don’t know any cross-dressers.

Now, if we’re talking butch dykes—them I see all the time. I think I live in Lesbotopia. Or at least, one of the several Lesbotopias that can be found in the States.

I often wonder how they got so good at makeup (provided he’d done a good job). I’m a 30 year old woman who has had unlimited access to makeup my whole life, and I feel like I’m just getting decent at eyeliner now.

Other than that, I don’t think much.

Also, James Franco is amazing no matter what he’s wearing. I love that man.

@wundayatta Are the inhabitants of Lesbotopia vagitarians?

my first impression is that he is confused and looks quite silly. maybe i’ll cross too….to the other side of the street.

@mrentropy Yes. Vegetarians, too. Also vegans.

@wundayatta You misspelled what I said.

I say, “You go girl!!!”

@downtide I have an issue with the term ‘genuinely transgedered’ – perhaps I use the umbrella term transgender more loosely than you but a person in drag (who didn’t do physical changes) ...if they identify as trans (and they often do), they are. And those caricatures you speak of, sometimes that’s what (to them) a ‘real woman’ is like.

@mrentropy I wasn’t repeating what you said. It was my feeble attempt at humor. Never mind.

First, I wonder if it is someone I know (I know a boatload of Queens), then I chuckle when I recall my need for an evening gown for the Clinton inaugural and I knew exactly where to get that beaded gown to wear out in our nation’s capitol. Went to several balls and had a blast!

What guts!

Well if I know it’s a man, I think to myself “it’s not working”.

@Simone_De_Beauvoir the sense in which I was using the word meant basically, “are they genuinely trans… or genderqueer in some way”, as opposed to a man just dressing ip as a woman for some other, non-gender-identity reason. Like acting, or going to a fancy dress party, or doing it ona dare or something. I used the term transgendered rather than transsexual because transsexual is much more limited in its meaning.

If you can think of a better word to describe what I meant, I’d love to know what it is.

I think,“damn, that guy has balls”. I don’t think I’d ever be that brave.

I’d probably first think “oh”!, because that’s not the kind of thing you really see where i live, i think i’ve only ever seen one person like that. Then i’d have a quick look without staring, just to see more of what they look like, because it’s something different, similar to what i’d do if i saw someone where some sort of exotic outfit that i’d never seen before. I don’t think anything of them really, and certainly not as less than anyone else.

@downtide I suppose I’d say “I would wonder whether they’re trans or dressing up for reasons not related to gender’ – which, I suppose, sounds like what you said…but I just find, sometimes, people (trans or not) make such an issue out of ‘genuine’ this or that…I wanted to probe your comment further.

Let me give you a better answer. I will think that he is gay, simply wanting attention, or maybe he has a bizarre hobby of putting on a show in drag. Who knows. You have to ask the person to come to a correct conclusion. People do some strange things and really don’t have a reason. Maybe he is just trying to bring a something a little different to monotonous life :D

@wundayatta I got your joke. Keep it up, we need more humor around here.

@mama_cakes Depends on what the reason is. I would justify it for Halloween or a costume party, something of a similar nature.

If they want the attention then I guess they will get it then. I also do not think “having balls or guts” is a worthwhile characteristic to be judging somebody on as a necessarily always positive trait.

@Jabe73 I’d love to hear when cowardice, fear, and self-loathing to the point of repressing innocuous behavior are positive traits.

@FutureMemory So you do not think some people go too far with this? Wow, he had the balls to sleep with my girlfriend. Wow she had the balls to make an utter fool of herself and not be bothered by it. Get my point, there needs to be a fine line here. I do not understand why you needed to add words I never said. There needs to be standards for people to a reasonable degree, when we start using someone’s lack of cowardice as the most important thing to judge someone on over other qualities I do not think it’s a good thing.

Obviously the dividing line is whether or not the behavior harms others. Fashion doesn’t harm anyone.

Is this really that hard to understand?

i wonder if he is doing this for fun or if he really wants to be seen as a woman ?

Truthfully? I usually have to adjust my pants a bit…