Quote:
Originally Posted by LediskoLove99
Thanks for all of the wonderful replies. It actually makes me feel a little stronger. No matter how nervous I feel I'm going to shop where I want and be the person I want to be whether people agree with it or not.
When you've been force fed the idea that girls shop in the girls section and guys in the guys section and they must not mix it's kind of hard to deprogram yourself. And although I could live without the looks that make me feel like I'm from another planet altogether and the occasional comment you are all right that I shouldn't let someone else's small mindedness stop me.
The way I try to keep myself from feeling too uncomfortable when I get dirty looks from men is I just keep telling myself most of them are jealous that I can pull off most of those clothes better than they can haha. And with some of the guys that I get it is true haha.
Anyway thank you everyone.
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I think that the more comfortable you get with being yourself, the less what other people think will matter. That is how it was for me. I remember when I first started shopping in the mens section, I was so freaked out by other peoples reactions. I was hyper-sensitive and actually looked to see if people were staring at me. It was a function of my own sense of shame and fear that maybe I was trying to be something I didn't deserve to be. That was years and years of programing going on - internalized sexism and transphobia.
Now I have become very confident and secure about who I am and my right to express on the outside who I am on the inside. It was a process to get here. When I shop for clothes, I pay zero attention to others around me. I walk up to the counter to pay with complete confidence. I can do this because I am ok with me. Others can think what they want, but they don't matter. What matters is that *I* know who I am and I have a right to be true to myself.
I think with time, and especially being part of *this* particular community, you will feel more comfortable in your own skin. Then what others think and how they react, you will see it is *their* problem and not yours. Just don't stop shopping where you want. It is your right to do so. There is nothing wrong with *you*. You are fantastic!
