First Impressions
I am constantly amazed by science. We have developed technology that can read a headline on a newspaper from outer space. We have mapped the human genome. We have raised the Hunley, and we have e-mail sites that claim to eliminate SPAM. But to me the most amazing development of the last century is the tensile strength of spandex. I bring this up because I am constantly in perplexed how some women, mostly GG’s, feel that they can get away wearing spandex. The other day in the mall, there was a woman who might have been a size 28 (and I am being kind) squeezed into a pair of size 10 stirrup pants (which was not kind to the stirrup pants). Now I know that she has every right to wear what she wants; but please, not in public. I mean there were innocent children about and believe me there was not much left to mine or anyone who dared to look's imagination. And if the fabric stress exceeded the engineering tolerances for torque foot-pounds per square inch, then the resulting incidence would certainly have made national news. We are talking about a magnitude 7 on the Richter scale and a mega-tsunamis. Oh the humanity…The reason I bring this up is that I feel that for this person, spandex and lycra stirrup pants were not appropriate attire for the mall. This is one of my many pet peeves. I do not mean to be a prude but some things are appropriate attire and some are not. Some people feel that they have a right to wear whatever they want, whenever they want. That is true but we need to stay within the bounds of some social norms; if not you will have nudists walking down the streets and I do not to be exposed to their shortcomings. Sure there is a time and place for everything. I once saw a guy who wore nothing but belts. Yes belts. Some were strategically located but that was all he had on. Now, we were in a club at the time and unusual attire was the norm so he was fine there. I doubt that he would wear same adornment to a barmitzvah. Unfortunately, not everywhere is appropriate for some places.
At the recent Southern Comfort Conference, there was a girl in the lobby of the hotel with black panties. The reason I and everyone else knew this is that her skirt or shirt did not cover her cheeks. Even though she was going out to a club where that outfit would have been fine, she should have worn a coat to keep what she had under wraps. SCC is held at a multi-functional hotel so there are guest there that are not associated with the conference. I would have hated for small children to have seen her or a few others. And then there were the gawkers on the second floor balcony over looking the lobby that got an eye full too. I am sure that they will remember the girl with the black panties and not remember any of the more appropriately dressed attendees. Unfortunately, this was probably the first contact that any of the onlookers have ever had with the TG community and you only get one chance to make a good first impression on someone. Do we want to be thought of as a bunch of CD’s that cannot keep our butts covered? Personally, I do not want to be thought of in that way.
I try to conform to the social norms. I have found that I get more acceptance from people when I present like most GG’s. By not making a scene or drawing attention to myself, I am non-threatening to people and more likely to be treated with respect and courtesy. Now there are some in our community who feel that we should be in people’s faces and dress to make a statement and we should be able to wear whatever we want. They are right to a point but I feel that since I am joining the ranks of the majority of women, that I will conform to their standards.
I normally dress down to meet the standards and I do this because to dress at higher standard would invite more scrutiny and as we all know that it is the second and third looks that get us read. I also have yet to obtain the level of confidence I need to deal with extra observation. Plus I know my limitations and I do not have a body that does justice to some fashions.
So for now I ask everyone to be considerate of the observers. Wear clothes that appropriate for the location and occasion that you are in. We are all ambassadors of the TG community and hopefully we will give people a reason to accept and support us. And please stay clear of large women in spandex. It is only a matter of time when the big one blows and it will be seen on the headlines from space.
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