Dressing in Drag at school

[Beachboi92]

ok so i wanted to catch peoples attention for this
I am doing a project with this other guy in my philosophy of knowledge class. He is straight but a very open minded person and i am gay (everyone knows by now xD). Basically we are going to keep a record of what we have to go through when dressing in drag from when we first try and get approval all the way to the day of us doing it.

We got approval for the project but interestingly where told we could only do it for half the day then needed to change, so there is the first bit of info on it. We are not planning to go all out either, in fact we wanted to keep it very safe (fitting into dress code, no stuffing, nothing skanky, just regular cloths and maybe wigs like a regular cross dresser might where if they where just out and about). We don't want to make it look like a joke, we are going to journal everything we deal with that day, and also try and get a spot on the announcements where they interview people about it and ask us what we experienced.

We are even thinking about getting a friend to videotape some people secretly to see how they act when they see this.

Part of me is a little worried about getting harassed, and if i do it i don't want to be walking around going "oh its for a project" cause i want to get legitimate reactions. But i think i have the courage to go through with it and i know the other guy does. Part of the project is going to be the difference between an openly gay guy doing it and a supposedly str8 guy doing it.

We where both surprised when told we could not do it all day even if we abided by the dress code and kept it clean and not over the top. Not sure how much longer before it gets underway but wish me luck xD

leave questions or comments or whatever and i'll reply and keep this thread updated on what we do and how it works out

-in addition for those who don't know me I am completely out at school but not at all flamboyant or "stereotypically gay"

[biisme]

I think it will be very interesting to see the results of, but I also think the school should allow you to do it all day. Or, quite frankly, whenever you want as long as you adhere to the dress code.

[Connor22]

sounds quite a brave thing to do, hey be sure to let us know of the funny reactions

[Beachboi92]

Originally Posted by biisme

I think it will be very interesting to see the results of, but I also think the school should allow you to do it all day. Or, quite frankly, whenever you want as long as you adhere to the dress code.

yeah like i said it was kind of annoying to both of us when we learned that people who want to express themselves that way aren't aloud to

[donnie5]

yea like biisme said it's kind of ridiculous that they wont let you do it for the whole day it just seems pointless... but you are very brave i would have never done that when i was in high school.

[Beachboi92]

to be honest im scared shitless about doing it but part of me wants to know what it will be like and wants to reveal the ignorants and prejudices. My brother said i was stupid to do it so i had to have a talk with him to make him realize that the only thing hes freaked out about is the fact that one of his ideas of gender norms is being broken :x

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also i want to know what my Aunt (who was trans mtf) went through on a regular basis living in west VA

[xCrazyInsanity]

Originally Posted by Beachboi92

also i want to know what my Aunt (who was trans mtf) went through on a regular basis living in west VA

You sir, are far more mature than most people. Including your school.

[biisme]

Is it possible for you to wear a wire/camera, like one that can fit in your pocket?

[Beachboi92]

we have tried to figure something like that out we may end up trying to get a friend to sort of hide around where we go and take camera shots or pictures

[Chandra]

Wow. Definitely interested to see how this goes.

[paint]

I love it

[Revan]

Good luck!

[nate16]

I can't wait to see how it goes! I personally like to dress in drag for shows. Good luck!

[Just Adam]

you are focusing on possible negatives.. guys might just find u hot lol it will prob scare them to much to think of harassing.... and if hey say anything just say you think they protest a bit too much ... see which one of them blushes and looks away first

hehe

youll be fab

[nickmc]

Oh wow! Good luck! I, too will be keeping a close eye on this thread to see how it all went That's incredibly brave of you so kudos

[Beachboi92]

ok so i hit hurdle number one when i told my mom and brother my plan. They both freaked out, my brother first asked me if i liked to cross dress or was trans xD then said i was being antagonistic and dressing like that is weird etc etc i responded "you like wearing those sweat pants and that sleeveless shirt because you are comfortable in it right, just like i like my element tee it is sort of just us, we are comfortable in it and it is how we express ourselves. So why cant a person be comfortable in the opposite genders cloths, it is who they are and how they express themselves and are comfortable. To make those people deny who they are simply because what they do breaks what is considered socially normal by you is wrong because to deny who you are is to drive yourself insane." he then said i was right and ended discussion :x

My mom got really scared and worried i was gonna get beat up or something and we had a big BIG fight over me doing it, her saying it was rubbing it in people's faces and that the people who want to do it should be standing up for themselves. After running my head into a wall for an hour i finally just told her to keep her stubborn opinion and went upstairs. She came to talk to me and i said "these people face more stigma than even i can imagine and far beyond what you can understand" (que argument for how she was around her sister (mtf) when she dealt with it all and knew what it was like. I had to tell her that empathizing with it and experiencing it is a whole different boat and this took a lot, A LOT of arguing to convince her) "someone has to stand up for these people and speak for them. They deserve to be treated equally just like i do and it is harder for them. The ignorance needs to be faced head on and shown for what it is and people need to be educated, no one got anywhere by staying silent because they where afraid of getting hurt." i told her to hope for the best and stop stressing me with might go wrong because i already understand the danger and don't need help scaring myself shitless about it.

Finally she dropped it and the day was won xD
although my younger brothers friend gave me the idea to do this experiment in public one day so we could better control what we record and what happens and also to give us more time to do it since the principle was only giving us 2 blocks of school. Plus she figured it would be a safer setting :x idk but i thought it was actually a good idea and maybe what we might end up doing.

[nickmc]

Wow! Sounds like a bit of an explosive day!

I think you handled it really well though Perhaps you might like to talk to your mum about her handling of this issue and things like her treatment of your aunt when the situation isn't quite as volatile though- just a suggestion.

Also, if the project works out well, make sure you tell her. She may not want to hear it, but the more positive the reaction was etc., the more likely she is to face the issues you tried to highlight by doing the project in the first place.

[Beachboi92]

its not that she is not accepting she is just worried and was trying to kind of convince me not to do it...

[BlasttheCloset]

Originally Posted by Beachboi92

to be honest im scared shitless about doing it but part of me wants to know what it will be like and wants to reveal the ignorants and prejudices. My brother said i was stupid to do it so i had to have a talk with him to make him realize that the only thing hes freaked out about is the fact that one of his ideas of gender norms is being broken :x[COLOR="Silver"]

Wow. First, I want to just say that you are incredibly generous and brave in doing a project like this, more than most people ever see. So thank you for fighting ignorance and prejudice, and congratulations on your first success with your brother.

Second, is your school dress code gender-specific? Is there any rule that says that you can't wear girls' clothing? I would suggest pushing the envelope with the principle to see why you aren't being allowed to cross-dress the entire day, but maybe that's just me being a devil's advocate (especially since I am nice and safe behind my computer screen, not taking the actual risks; disregard my suggestions if you're not comfortable with them.)

And beyond that, Good luck on your project and please keep us updated: I'm fascinated about how it will turn out and what you will be able to teach people.

[Beachboi92]

we do not have a gender specific dress code but the principle did say she is not aloud to let us be disruptive, which is apparently what dressing in drag is considered. Really the fact that we can only do it 2 blocks was a compromise like saying "i shouldn't let you do it at all but i'll give you half the school day" sort of thing.