Staying warm - the only agenda that matters

One area when I tend to disagree with traditionalists is over the idea girls or any other female clothing needs to be all thin and feature either a skirt or a dress not least because I grew up in cold environment where it wasn't unusually for winters to be very white.

What it means is what heat our bodies give out isn't being trapped by materials that would help keep us warm leading to a situation where girls may feel get cold quicker just because of gender norms in fashion.
 In areas like mine, because of the cold, often girls did wear warmer clothing even if over a school dress to stay warm and they did include pants or even snow pants with super warm layers which were more suited for winter play.
You often had a thick padded coat with a hood on too keeping you warm.
Staying warm and looking after yourself should never be limited by ones gender because it is a basic human need for all of us.

 In some school areas Uniform policies are being adjusted to allow full gender expression and options for all such as Western Australia that decided last September to allow pants or shorts to be worn by girls and in some UK schools boys to wear skirts if they wish.
To me this is about time because uniform is about setting standards so kids look smart at school and avoiding competition in dress and not about being an instrument of gender stereotyping or oppression.

Fashion II

Following on from last weeks post that was kindly commented on, it's time to really address a topic that lies at the core of this blog from it's original conception and the added "Pre-blog" entries from the old notes and diary entries.

One way of looking at my battle with my own sense of identity is to look at it from where it was at it's most decisive, my time in school and being predominately little is to see it in  terms of wearing the school uniform I'd of preferred. 

I enjoy wearing pinafore dresses and skirts as part recreated uniform but that is not the whole of the life a little girl.

Why should I not outside of "school" be really feminine just like any other little girl, just as I wanted to be at the beginning?

Why shouldn't my skirts be frilly, adorned with pretty bows and flowers?

I have no use for a boys purse never mind a man's wallet.

I should have a pretty ornate lacy purse that any self respecting girl would just love as a matter of course to go with any given outfit.

There is no real place for me to be anything but feminine going forward.

Making that all important change

 

So Summer is very much out as we move toward the fall with all it's brilliant colours but my thoughts are elsewhere with all the changes I've been through and my past experiences and having been raised as a boy originally, one thing comes to mind:

Dresses and skirts are more comfortable than trousers

There, I said it. I honestly don’t believe that trousers are designed well for girls. In fact, they weren’t designed for us in the first place! Yes, you can of course purchase styles that claim to flatter, and they fit my more beanpole frame but are they comfortable and especially at certain times of the month was akin to wearing a corset some days. I thought we had left those behind in Victorian times, but alas - the restriction only slipped a few inches!

Short trousers are better from an airiness point of view if they are loose in the leg and I didn't mind them so much for things like play where you might not be quite modest but it doesn't alter this:

In dresses and skirts I have more freedom of movement, and the fabric doesn’t sit tightly against my skin, or cling where it shouldn’t. I’m finding my day to day tasks haven’t been affected wearing a dress or skirt, and I’m actually more comfortable around the house than I was before. No longer having to pull at waistbands, and bending is a breeze - not to mention (ahem) going to the bathroom.

I find myself paying more attention to other touches like wearing a pair of pretty panties that match them.

I am better off wearing skirts and dresses and I want you to encourage it in me.