How often do you see working women and young girls wearing shirt and trousers or jeans and t-shirts to their workplaces, colleges or for any outings. Many times, right. How often have you seen a man or a young guy wearing a skirt to his college or office? In all probability, your answer would be no. So, while it has become increasingly normal to see a young girls and women wearing trousers, shirts, jeans, t-shirts, the same can’t be said for the men, who wish to try out clothes worn by girls. Men who crossdress are looked down upon, made fun of and even called ‘names’. There is still little understanding and acceptance of the basic human rights like choosing what to wear and eat. So, when two young men in Delhi decided to crossdress and wore skirts. What happened next is obviously amusing and to an extent predictable.
Atul Khera, team leader at Pravah ICS (International Citizen Service), wore a long skirt and decided to take the most-favoured public transport of Delhi, the metro and reached Connaught Place, the most popular shopping hub in Delhi. In his blog, Atul writes that while it was not easy for him and he was constantly aware of eyes scanning him and being judged by people, he still went ahead, and as he puts it in his blog he did not wish to do a social experiment or to challenge stereotypes, but in the end, he did. Surprisingly, he wasn’t mocked by everyone, there were a few who praised him for his ‘bold move’.
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He writes, “Amidst the laughter and smiles, there were 2 people who complemented me how beautiful I was looking in that pink long skirt. And how daring and gutsy I had been by wearing something which challenges the mindsets.Honestly, I didn’t feel that I had put in my guts to do it. I didn’t make any eye contact. I tried to be as natural as possible, the way I am, in my usual days. But a constant thought of what I am wearing was always there. A constant thought of not having an eye contact with anyone was always there.”
Another young gutsy guy is Mubarak Vazhakkad wore skirt to IIT Delhi and as the Facebook post mentions, ‘performed an invisible theatre’. In his Facebook post Mubarak shares, “I got some non interested smiles as responses when I told them I choose my dress which comforts me and who labelled this as a ‘her’ dress. Some people accepted and stood on my side and some we on the other part of the coin.”
Do share what do you think about these two young men’s idea of crossdressing and moreover, about the freedom of choosing how to dress and what to wear, in the comments section below. Isn’t it high time we stop moral policing people and live and let live?
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