I feel like cross-dressing is different in kind than wearing yesteryear's trends.

That would probably be quite unfashionable. Or largely ignored, I don't know.

But the parent comment did provide further context:

> Fashion is very much about who is wearing it, why, and how.

In my experience some of the most toxic criticism short of physical violence comes from not acknowledging what someone believes are logical conclusions.

So wearing a dress is fine if the person wearing it is willing to concede at every moment that they're being socially deviant. The moment that you just wear a dress and make no attempt to justify yourself in terms of larger culture is when things get bad. Wearing a dress and acting like it's no big deal is an affront to the logic of someone who knows for a fact what you're doing is deviant..and they're convinced that you deep down know it too. You're more or less saying they think wrong in a very fundamental way. That gets people very upset.

Dunno, if I saw a guy wearing a dress I won't see it as "deviant" at all. I might glance for a second, acknowledge, and continue about my business. I don't care what people wear. That said, many people _do_ care, which I don't really understand. Unless it has racist/sexist/prejudiced text on it, wear whatever you want.

It's deviant in the literal sense - that is, it's not normal. I don't the he was trying to pass moral judgement or suggest that the dress wearer is some sort of pervert.

If you saw a guy in otherwise ordinary circumstances wearing a dress and didn't think it was unusual, well, you lack situational awareness.

And yet... make it plaid and put a belt and sporran on it... you've got a kilt, which is very masculine and likely more accepted (esp at formal events).

There's also the utilikilt...

Today I learned elsewhere that the US ranks high on the masculine.

As ranked in Hofstede

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hofstede's_cultural_dimensions...

https://www.hofstede-insights.com/country-comparison/the-usa...