Two views of masculinity

Two views of masculinity:

This is something that I have been discussing with close friends and working on what this means for myself. As somebody who is considered an academic in some sense, a lot of figuring this out means I’ve been reading loads of research articles, books, and articles online to look at loads of different perspectives and see how that looks next to the many conversations that I have had with close friends and family. The academic portion of this journey has proved to be difficult as a consequence of the white history of the term “queer” and the lack of theorization of queer masculinity for Black women that is not solely described as one for Black lesbians. As a Black person whose gender identity is queer masculine, I have been wrestling with what this means to me and working on constructing a queer masculinity that is decolonized. And by that I mean depatriarchalized, a masculinity that isn’t defined by or nested in patriarchal domination.

— Under Construction: Decolonized Queer Masculinity(ies), Shay @ Decolonize all the Things

So, so, so many people, especially musicians, have done this before me. I wear dresses on stage and to occasional fancy dress events because I do not enjoy neckties. I wear dresses to embrace femininity (adjective) but not to re-assign my gender to female (noun). I think that it is absurd to think that there is a rigidity to the identity of CIS and Heterosexual males and females -- that for a man to wear a dress or for a woman to wear pants must mean that they are LGBTQ.

— Is It Really That Strange For a Guy to Wear a Dress?, Miles Robbins @ Huffington Post