Quote Originally Posted by Awha View Post
I will grant that in today's society clothing does have an inherent tilt towards masculine or feminine. I am of the mindset that it is more if a spectrum but that is neither here nor there. This is one of those points that no one would really be able to sway the otherside. I just find it interesting that Pants are considered more natural now even though for the longest time they were firmly considered more masculine attire proving perception can change. Yet dresses are the hill people want to die on.
Today's society has, or is attempting to abolish gender norms. Ironically, clothing is what has not deviated from these established constructs in society, which is why a male wanting to express femininity would choose a dress or skirt over pants. I'm not a fashion design expert in the sense I have never done it professionally, but I do know that when designers that make the big bucks try a more androgynous approach to their display cases, it tends to not work out. I would even wager that cash shop items that appear more gender neutral will not sell anywhere near as well as the stuff clearly designed for males or females, because a masculine or feminine look is what the player(s) will be striving for.

Quote Originally Posted by Awha View Post
That is the thing should the reasoning behind why someone prefers one piece over the other matter? Should pants are more practical, but in the end should the reason matter as to why someone would want to wear something? This is the part that confuses me regarding all of this. People are more likely to defend the ability of females wearing pants, yet when a dress comes into play it causes some conflict. If one option that goes against established gender norms, then why not another? Granted, I get one is considered stranger then the other by most standards.

Overall maybe I am just weird cause I just do not see the difference between a female asking for more pant options and male asking for more dress options.
From my own PoV, it does not matter to me what someone wears. A male can wear a dress, and I won't ridicule him, or even pay him much mind. The issue I have is when this male carries an expectation for me to conform to these ideals when I've was raised to think entirely different. If that dress makes him feel good, then by all means he can wear it. Just don't expect me to see anything other than a man in a dress, or a male trying to embrace femininity.

Pants don't receive the same negative connotations for females for several reasons. For starters pants are more gender neutral than a dress. Pants are a practical item of clothing suited to keep the legs covered and warm. It makes sense that these are available for women, especially those in colder climates. The other thing is that lady pants are very much designed with a female flair. It is very easy to differentiate between pants for males and pants for females. Like dresses, they are designed in a way that accentuates their features. They are usually more form fitting, and enhance the shape of the legs and the bum. Male pants are almost always strictly utilitarian. The last, and something that gives your argument some steam is that fashion is associated with females far more than males. A female can wear a three piece suit clearly designed for males and still be considered feminine. The opposite does not hold true for a male in a dress.

There are reasons for this as well. For example the female in a tux is still going to express femininity. Her gestures, demeanor, use of makeup, and desire for presentation don't deviate and all help sustain the feminine image. A male in a dress can and likely will behave more like a female, even if only by pure happenstance. The dress will not allow him to pick something up like he normally does, or sit in the same manner as if he was wearing pants. He will have to cross his legs instead of manspread. He won't have pockets and will likely have to carry around a purse. Then there is simply the matter that he just can't pull off the look as well as the female in the suit. This is definitely a privilege females have, own, and don't plan on relinquishing anytime soon.

I don't mind much when a pants option in the game turns into a skirt because my character is female because we still have a boat load of pants options to choose from. Out of all the jobs I play and glamour (this includes DoH and DoL) only my WHM and SCH are in skirts. All others are in pants. Coincidentally enough, both of those skirts are pants when males wear them. Instead of griping about that though, I simply just went with it and chose glamour options that went well with the skirts, and I would do the same if I played a male character.