Highly variable - as per my post about attire at Aussie polling booths - although to be fair that booth was at Bondi in Sydney where even “Budgie smugglers” are acceptable attire but that would not be acceptable in the nearby precinct of “the rocks” - wouldn’t be arrested but might get some looks.
I am hard core libertarian -if a dude wants to wear a mini with fishnets and heels-I don't care and furthermore, if I laugh at him I know I can outrun him!
Look it should be “live and let live”. I am more affronted by the colour blind “fashionistas” whose clothing is so bright/hideous your eyes start watering. I went to a drag show though in a regional city. The MC of the show had us in stitches with a tale of how they had landed in the city that day but their luggage had not. So the local op shop/lifeline had come to the rescue. The MC was kind enough to heap praise on the volunteers who dropped everything to help. Then they started to trash the dress. We were doubled over!
Ha ha. A sarong is female attire in Fiji a Sulu is the male attire though be buggered if I can tell the difference
When I just said... "In regards to pointing out what you see as contradictions such as kilts or whatever it is that you are saying about the Maori etc., I would say that what is "normal" attire for genders varies by culture. Normal attire for genders is whatever a particular culture says that it is." How is it rational in your mind to reply by saying "Are we wearing the same clothes as say, the 17th Century? The clothing you wear in America may not be acceptable here in Australia and vice versa. "? It is as if you are trying to pretend like that somehow refutes what I just said, but it does no such thing. Yes, different cultures view different garments as normal attire by gender. I said nothing to the contrary. Of course they do, and this changes absolutely nothing in the debate over gender-based clothing.
Whether a person is macho, fem, butch, or whatever else, there is always an element of performance to it, even when the actors don't realize that they are doing so. Your post reminded me of a story I'd heard Kirk Douglas tell, of how fellow tough guy John Wayne, had not been able to understand how Douglas could play some fruit-loopy artist, in Lust For Life, the Vincent Van Gogh story, instead of playing a real man. This is what Wayne apparently considered himself, though he made his living, wearing actors' makeup, and pretending he was a cowboy, for the most part. That seems more like the activity of a little boy, who has also gotten into his mom's makeup case...or, if it were Wayne's son-- his dad's makeup drawer.
Not been able to read this entire thread but thought that I would offer my own perspective anyway. There are two terms, Drag and Drab, used among the crossdressing/trans/drag performer community. DRessed As Girl = DRAG. DRessed as Boy = DRAB. Yes, there are female Drag KINGS out there too. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drag_...mostly female,synching to pre-recorded tracks. So the PERTINENT question is WHY is there such a fuss when MEN do it while WOMEN wear MALE clothing on a DAILY basis? I find myself mixing and matching my own attire to the weather and what I am doing that day. If it is hot and sunny I will wear a caftan or a sun dress and sandals, if it is cold and raining I will wear leggings, slacks and layered tops. I wear earrings on a daily basis and have my eyelashes dyed but only put on lipstick if I feel like it. Since my clothing is all age appropriate and I am 6'2" I rarely get a second glance in the mall or out somewhere in public. Nobody grabs their kids and tries to stop them from seeing me. The sales staff are always polite and helpful. Finding something that fits is always nice. That is how it SHOULD be, for EVERYONE. Wear WHATEVER feels right and EXPRESSES who you are. According to the Xtofascist's book of myths and superstitions I am going to spend eternity burning for the sin of wearing clothes that express who I am. My response when I turn up at the Pearly Gates is to ask St Peter what exactly is the difference between his long hair, flowing garment and sandals and mine? When you look at the clothing of that period there was very little that was significantly different between what men and women were wearing. If it weren't for the Xtofascists getting their own panties wadded up about this issue no one else would care what others are wearing. Senator Fetterman wears whatever is comfortable and it works for him. We need more people like him in Congress.
Again, as always, the left has decided to obfuscate a concept we all understand. Put simply, drag is the transmogrification of femininity. Here are but a few examples that illustrate this basic concept: In short, it is analogous to blackface:
Taken from Republican's playbook when one of theirs gets caught doing no-no's or indicted and insists on staying in office "vote em out". Just like parents can opt their kids out of any sex education classes no matter what grade their child is in.
That was inherent in my statement, and on top of that.....so what? What is your larger point? In other words, why is it important that as you pointed out what is worn in Australia may not be acceptable in the USA?
When do 5 to 10 year olds get schooled in sex ed, what alternate universe do you live in where this is ok? When a school was a normal school, with normal values and lessons taught by moral and ethical teachers governed by the same principles by the school board, until the freaks were let loose. Would you like to answer these questions you were deterred from earlier? So what makes it ok for the freaks to be teaching children their twisted realities? Young people do not have the mental ability and maturity to conduct the above, what makes anyone think that it's all right to teach them and attempt to transition them into their freakish world?