I should probably say first that I have no plans to transition anytime in the near future. Alrighty, so, I've been considering expressing my "other side" for a while now, except I have zero experience or knowledge when it comes to cross dressing, or the like. As it is, I already have boyish features, small proportions, and little body or facial hair. I'm looking for something on the androgynous/tomboyish side... think punk rock/goth/alternative styles. It doesn't stop at just clothes! Make up, jewellery, and other accessories are also welcomed! I'd even say bodily grooming, hairstyle, and hygiene suggestions are welcomed, but for the sake of staying on topic, I won't stray too far from clothing (though mannerisms, voice training, and the like wouldn't hurt at this point, either)... A lot of what I wear right now could be considered fairly gender neutral, but I'd like to take it a step further into female territory.
I know you are genderqueer and not completely mtf, but if you Google "Passing tips for mtf" there should be a great WikiHow link! Sorry, my phone can't posts links, but it'll be one of the top links there it has some pretty good advice on how to feminize yourself n.n
im not really answering the question but how exactly does genderqueer, pangender, etc work? Like what is it?
Great thread, I think a lot of us could benefit from it I'm still having trouble myself. It's a day to day struggle and learning experience. It has happened a few times that I've been ma'amed but sometimes my confidence is just shot and I'll throw on a guy's shirt over what I'm wearing still. I think a lot of things I'm finding are about starting out exaggerated, getting used to the way it feels, and then toning it back down. That's they way most people teach voice on the internet, that's something a lot of the make up and fashion tips I get from drag queen friends have in common, and I think it's just a good principle to keep in mind. So yeah probably a little more theory and less practice than what you wanted. It's just the way I think. But I think it lends itself to a lot more practical advice than what I could give. I've been experimenting with just wearing things a boy would not be caught dead wearing. Especially skirts and v-neck shirts. And starting there I then look at what looks good on me. The other big obstacle I find is the "back and forth" areas. Where making a change to make you look more feminine, has costs when you want to go back to looking masculine. Think eyebrows, arm and leg hair, haircut, that kind of thing. So this is where I feel like I have a little bit of an advantage since I'm trying to transition anyway. I can just flat out wax or epilate my arms and legs. But I still haven't, for example, shaped my eyebrows. I think with these sometimes you can compensate - wigs for example - but sometimes you've really just got to figure out what your limits are. Make-up to me started out being purely about covering up my facial hair. I've since had some of that removed. Believe me I remember how much of a PITA that was. Since then I feel like it's kind of freed me up to explore a little. I don't wear it every day like I used to. So what worked for me for covering up the facial hair the razor wouldn't get is foundation, and then blush. After a while I stopped using tone correcting powder because it wouldn't be as effective as the blush over the foundation was. I have black hair that shows up really easily. When I apply foundation for covering up, I'll just ignore everyone's advice and paddle it on where the hair is the thickest, and then blend it in with the brush. But I don't ignore everyone's advice completely. You still don't want to look like you're wearing make-up. But when I'm putting it on to look more feminine and not merely less masculine, what I do is I start with a foundation one shade darker than my skin, put it everywhere, and then use a shade lighter on my cheeks, nose, and chin. And then I'll just use blush on my cheeks. One thing I want to mention avoiding. I know they are so tempting. I know you can probably figure out a gaffe and how to get them to look feminine. But jeans - except cut-offs - make everyone look more masculine. They do have the benefit of allowing you to switch back to boy mode in a hurry without using a restroom. But if you're wearing them you're going to have to compensate. That's all I have. I would love to learn some things from other people. Like I said at the get go, I am still a work in progress. Oh wait, the other two. Jewelery and mannerisms. Okay well the thing with mannerisms is that they just can't be faked. The only thing people are going to see is confidence. Now voice CAN be learned and shouldn't be confused with mannerisms. Alright. So this is already pretty stream of consciousness and I apologize, but I want to get to bed pretty soon so I'll keep going and won't edit. But voice. One thing most of the voice lessons I've heard have in common is that they tell you to use your "head voice" (almost nasally) instead of your "chest voice" to control pitch, and to breath out a little more when you talk to control timbre. Jewelery, I believed when I first came out that necklaces were good for drawing attention to your chest. I still believe that necklaces are very feminizing, especially with a thin chain and especially again if it's something a boy wouldn't be caught dead wearing. Earrings are much more so though in my opinion. The cool thing about earrings is you can get away with the right ones even if you are dressed as a man. Alrighty. Now I think I'm done ---------- Post added 17th Aug 2013 at 09:28 PM ---------- Just answering for myself, but to me "queer" means "my orientation is something I'm figuring out or am just not comfortable labeling but I'll identify with the gay community", and so "gender" queer is that for gender instead of orientation. And I think "pangender" means that someone has given it a lot of thought and has decided or discovered that whatever they are, it's not male or female. It sounds a lot more well defined to me than genderqueer does.
