I’m reading “My Husband Betty” and Helen Boyd makes an asute observation that cross-dressers often are envious of things women take for granted: “They envy the easy friendship between women, the casual way women touch each other when they talk. Imagine a man gently brushing another man’s hair out of his eyes while they’re chatting! But women do that kind of thing all the time, even ones who aren’t especially feminine.”
(The reverse is also true for women. I know many women who envy men’s freedom to move in safety—something I didn’t truly understand until going out en femme.)
Maybe this is one reason it’s difficult for women to understand why we do it. Partly, I think we’re not always able to clearly articulate some of these things precisely because they’re so taken for granted. Partly, it’s when we do, women have a hard time seeing why these sorts of things might be special to us—I’ve often heard women express puzzlement about our attraction to make-up. Of course, there’s also a big difference wanting to do something—like wearing skirts or make-up—and feeling obligated to do it.
Thoughts? What things taken for granted by the opposite gender do you envy?
