From an early age I have loved ‘pretty things’ and take great pleasure in admiring beautiful creations. Although, as a guy, this is not something society advocates. Whenever I revealed glimpses of these secret desires, I was strongly encouraged to hide them. It felt horrible that I couldn’t freely express myself and at a young age I became very unhappy. That’s why I’m questioning the social norm by asking, why can’t I wear a dress?

What’s wrong with guys wearing girls clothes?

Due to being an only child, I always felt deprived of experiencing playing ‘dress-up’ with my sisters and all the magical things you do when you’re young and free. However, don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying I want to be a crossdresser or wear a dress full-time, but I would love that option to be open to me and others who share my feelings. Guys should have every right to walk along the high street in a sparkly little number without anyone batting an eyelid, yet this is still not the case. For people to be ostracised just for breaking social convention is totally unfair and unjust. These ‘rules’ that society brainwashes us with from an early age have no logical origin, and therefore I intend to break them.

“Guys should have every right to walk along the high street in a sparkly little number without anyone batting an eyelid”

The fact that certain things are labelled ‘for him’ or ‘for her’ is utter garbage. No person should be defined by an outdated tradition, especially not in the case of material possessions. Any guy without a girlfriend will tell you how uncomfortable he feels whilst perusing the woman’s section alone. It would be so much easier if there was no divide in fashion and all clothing was available to everyone. The allure of the shopping paradise shouldn’t be exclusively for girls.

Nevertheless, we are beginning to see this ideology challenged in multiple aspects of life, for example unisex toilets are now in discussion. For far too long we have been blinded by the vision of normality that society paints. We do still have a long way to go, however. As the rigid boundaries of gender ‘norms’ begin to dissolve, the true question I ask is: what is truly normal? There is no such thing and even if there was, surely it would be the most boring, generic thing you could ever imagine? I, for one, would much rather be unique and quirky, and I’m sure a vast number of people feel the same.

I’ve now reached an age where I can act and behave how I want and it feels great. Thankfully the people I do really care about accept me now for who I am. For anyone who wants to ridicule me by calling me ‘gay’ or ‘weird’, go ahead because I know exactly who I am and I’m proud of it. I just hope that others like me are lucky enough to have the same network of support and feel just as confident.

The philosophy that I live by is just to do whatever makes you happy. Don’t listen to narrow-minded individuals; as long as what you’re doing isn’t hurting anyone then there is no harm whatsoever. Life is too short to be bludgeoned by those around you. Be different, be extraordinary, just be you.