Good day, dear readers. I hope this blog finds you doing well and enjoying your pretties. I got to thinking about the difference between men’s underwear and women’s panties. Even the very name suggests a sharp distinction – for men it is underwear and for women it is panties. Everyone knows men wear underwear, not panties. Although, women can refer to their underclothing as underwear instead of panties. It smacks at that same double standard that allows little girls to do typically guy things, like climbing trees and playing ball, but a little boy can’t play with dolls.
Men’s underwear is a rather boring topic – you can wear tighty-whities, or boxers. Hmm, not much variation there. I don’t know the reasoning behind the design of tighty-whities, but they look like a medieval torture device to me. I haven’t worn any in the last 35 years or so. I tried boxers a few years ago, just out of curiosity. I found the lack of support unsettling, and at the end of the day I took them off, only to discover that my skin was puckered around the waist line from the elastic waist band. I donated them to a charity thrift shop.
I suspect the reason men’s underwear is so limited can be summed up in one word; stereotyping. If a man wants to wear women’s panties, the almost immediate response I get is 'obviously he’s not straight' The reality is that the large majority of cross dressers are straight and in a relationship with a woman, according to every survey I have read. To have a feminine side is not an issue of sexual preference. It is an issue of sensing oneself as more than a binary male.
In recent years, the men’s underwear industry has experimented a bit with design and type of material, but you won’t find lace or bows on those “underwear”. Oh no, that would be as bad as a little boy playing with dolls! So, while they have experimented a bit, onward still they trudge with very limited choice.
Contrast the boring sameness of male underclothing to the amazing world of women’s panties. The colors, styles, type of material – what fun! Until I discovered XDress and Body Aware, I wore women’s panties and enjoyed discovering all the styles to find out what worked and what didn’t for my particular form. The only drawback is that the gusset is cut for a woman’s physique and is too narrow to support the needs of a man. It was a good day when I stumbled across a men’s lingerie boutique called XDress. Wow! Panties actually designed for men! I’m sure by now I qualify for the status of Preferred Customer. Why, they even have bras designed for men. Who would ever have thunk it? Many years past, I had a choice of tighty-whities or….thighty-whities. Now, for many years, every morning is fun – what pair of panties shall I wear today. It is fun every day!
In years past, before the advent of the internet, I thought I was alone in this. If you are in my age group (as in cross dressing before the internet) I’ll bet you thought you were the only one too. If anyone discovered I was wearing panties, they probably would have hidden their children from me.
Well, we do have an internet now, and the fact that there are boutiques such as XDress and Body Aware certainly does away with the notion that there are only a few of us strange men who like to wear panties and bras. They wouldn’t have been in business for over 20 years if that weren't true. No, we aren’t just a few. We are the folks that like lace and bows and satin. I have an idea – remember when the feminists had bra burning parties? Why don’t we have a tighty-whitie and boxer burning party?
So much for my thoughts. I’d love to hear what thoughts this article might have stirred up for you. Let me hear from you. In the meanwhile, enjoy those panties!
Fond regards,
Angie
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Back again,
Handbags or purses have received considerable mention in this Blog. Stevie mentioned a Coach bag and my eyebrows went up as that is the brand my wife bought me for Valentine Day. A woman’s Coach Saddle Bag. Stevie made me think is this bag to femme? Have I become conditioned to the point where I can’t tell anymore? Maybe. I only felt slightly aware of this purse because of size. I love it though and you can carry a lot. Perhaps it helps to be older and have some grey hair when carrying a purse. I have never received a negative comment. I have received, usually from women, that they like that I carry a purse or bag. The number one reason I get is that women don’t like to be the dumping ground for keys, phones etc. That was how my wife purchased my first ladies purse.
That first purse by the way was my break in. It was small. Slightly larger than a clutch. Shoulder strap. Here was the killer though. A very pale blue silk lining which was so visible when you opened it. Making it even tougher was the makeup mirror on the flap. It took several outings before I stopped being really self conscious. Like everything else I have done (on the feminine side) you get past the self conscious mode. Unisex looking women’s tops, shorts, sox, sneakers etc. Eventually they become second nature.
Thanks guys and gurls.Great blog, I would just like to add that we have to come a long way for us all to be accepted and comfortable about our choices, I personal love to shop for underwear with my wife or on my own, it’s funny how different people look at you if you are a guy going through lingerie on your own, personally I really don’t mind and find it amusing especially if you ask for help, I love to wear lace, silk fishnet and find it not only comfortable but very sexy, my wife doesn’t mind at all and encourages it especially for our nights of fun together but I think the problem is deeper.
I am a European now living in the USA, before we go to lingerie have you been to the beach? look at European men, most wear speedos, trunks, thongs etc made from lightweight spandex materials and very comfortable for swimming, but jump to most USA beaches, all the men wearing board shorts down below their knees and a lot with boxers underneath that, ?? I don’t get it, they stay wet for hours collect sand and are heavy and uncomfortable but that is what most guys believe is beach dress. Screw that, lets get sexy on the beach and get comfortable.
Anyway one of my rants but I am definitely in with the whole lets wear what we like, for most guys most of it would never be revealed but it sure does make the day better and our outer clothes fit better. A nice pair of silky panties under your dress pants is way better than a whole bunch of cotton wrinkled up with large waistbands etc, I know you’ll all agree that wearing a dress or skirt is amazing and very free and sexy too, I quite often in the evening wear a lightweight nightdress around the house just because it feels good after a day in the office constrained in my man gear, if we are all honest men were wearing skirts a long time ago in Scotland and Ireland but they just called them kilts and those guys were tougher than tough, also going back in history men wore nightshirts to bed as well and no one thought anything of it!
Thanks for reading my thoughts and I hope you all enjoy sexy clothes and feminine products for a long long time
My. First-ever panty experience i was 5 or 6. I was out playing and soiled my undies. My grandma had me put on a pair of my cousins nylon panties to wear home. I immediately noticed a very likable difference. I am now 72 years old and only wear panties as opposed to men’s undies. I also love wearing other women’s silky things like nighties and such. My wife of 30 years approves and even buys some girly things for me to wear. I’m a happy man.
I feel the same way, why is it that a woman can walk into a mans closet and put on his things from underwear to his suit and tie, walk out and go to work, but if a man walks into the women’s closet and puts her things on he is labeled as gay or transgender, it is changing but not fast enough for me.
Greetings, my dear friend David, and thank you for weighing in, and please know it is an honor to have you post on this blog. You and Kristina have contributed so much to us who embrace our feminine side. (Please give Kristina my fond regards.) Because of your courage to step out and offer what so many of us desire, we now have a society where we can freely express ourselves, both in clothing and in conversations such as this. Yes, American society is very slow to accept us, but it seems we are gaining acceptance in a very slow fashion. It is good people like you and Kristina that is helping to gain that acceptance.
It’s interesting that the subject of purses came into this conversation. I’ve openly worn a purse for many years now, and have never had a negative comment about it, even in the very conservative part of the country in which I live. I have a male friend who uses one as well, although he calls it a murse. I don’t call it a murse or a man bag – I call it what it is – a purse. That actually is the grammatically correct name for it. Wearing women’s skinny jeans, I don’t have the pockets necessary to carry everything, so a purse is a necessary accessory.
Again, thanks for weighing in, David. You and Kristina are so appreciated for what you do!
Fond regards,
Angie