Growing up in a small city, John* felt he could never expressed himself fully. Looking back on family photos, he says, he can tell his smiles were faked. But after moving to Chicago for college, he started exploring other facets of his identity. In the back of his mind, he knew that Halloween would be the perfect time to debut this new part of himself: a person who identifies as male, but enjoys dressing as a woman.
That’s why this Halloween weekend, John stepped out in his new favorite outfit: a long brown wig, women’s clothing, and black eyeliner winged to the heavens.
Eventually, straight people just joined in.
“Halloween, Carnival, these kinds of dress-up holidays are a moment where people can cross-dress relatively safely,” Louisiana State University professor Catherine Jacquet told Revelist. “…We’re just so limited with this strict gender binary that when when people have an opportunity to go beyond the binary, a lot of people will take it up — not just queer or gay people.”
Jacquet also cautioned that this permission to experiment with gender rarely lasts longer than Halloween weekend. Even the performers at the famous Chicago drag balls, she said, would often be chased down afterward.
For Talusan, the positive response to her Halloween costumes continued to embolden her during her transition.
John says that based on the positive response, he’ll try out cross-dressing again soon. In fact, he even made a mental note of how his friends did eyeliner, so he could do it again himself.
“This experience convinced me that I can change my gender identity temporarily, if I dress up like I did on Halloween, and not feel ashamed about it,” John told Revelist.
“I wouldn’t dress up all the time, but I do intend to do it more frequently, because I love the way my smile looks when I’m dressed up.”
*Name changed to protect identity.
title: “Halloween Allowed One College Student To Cross Dress Like He Wanted” ShowToc: true date: “2024-10-21” author: “John Kerrigan”
Growing up in a small city, John* felt he could never expressed himself fully. Looking back on family photos, he says, he can tell his smiles were faked. But after moving to Chicago for college, he started exploring other facets of his identity. In the back of his mind, he knew that Halloween would be the perfect time to debut this new part of himself: a person who identifies as male, but enjoys dressing as a woman.
That’s why this Halloween weekend, John stepped out in his new favorite outfit: a long brown wig, women’s clothing, and black eyeliner winged to the heavens.
Eventually, straight people just joined in.
“Halloween, Carnival, these kinds of dress-up holidays are a moment where people can cross-dress relatively safely,” Louisiana State University professor Catherine Jacquet told Revelist. “…We’re just so limited with this strict gender binary that when when people have an opportunity to go beyond the binary, a lot of people will take it up — not just queer or gay people.”
Jacquet also cautioned that this permission to experiment with gender rarely lasts longer than Halloween weekend. Even the performers at the famous Chicago drag balls, she said, would often be chased down afterward.
For Talusan, the positive response to her Halloween costumes continued to embolden her during her transition.
John says that based on the positive response, he’ll try out cross-dressing again soon. In fact, he even made a mental note of how his friends did eyeliner, so he could do it again himself.
“This experience convinced me that I can change my gender identity temporarily, if I dress up like I did on Halloween, and not feel ashamed about it,” John told Revelist.
“I wouldn’t dress up all the time, but I do intend to do it more frequently, because I love the way my smile looks when I’m dressed up.”
*Name changed to protect identity.
title: “Halloween Allowed One College Student To Cross Dress Like He Wanted” ShowToc: true date: “2024-10-05” author: “Katherine Yeargin”
Growing up in a small city, John* felt he could never expressed himself fully. Looking back on family photos, he says, he can tell his smiles were faked. But after moving to Chicago for college, he started exploring other facets of his identity. In the back of his mind, he knew that Halloween would be the perfect time to debut this new part of himself: a person who identifies as male, but enjoys dressing as a woman.
That’s why this Halloween weekend, John stepped out in his new favorite outfit: a long brown wig, women’s clothing, and black eyeliner winged to the heavens.
Eventually, straight people just joined in.
“Halloween, Carnival, these kinds of dress-up holidays are a moment where people can cross-dress relatively safely,” Louisiana State University professor Catherine Jacquet told Revelist. “…We’re just so limited with this strict gender binary that when when people have an opportunity to go beyond the binary, a lot of people will take it up — not just queer or gay people.”
Jacquet also cautioned that this permission to experiment with gender rarely lasts longer than Halloween weekend. Even the performers at the famous Chicago drag balls, she said, would often be chased down afterward.
For Talusan, the positive response to her Halloween costumes continued to embolden her during her transition.
John says that based on the positive response, he’ll try out cross-dressing again soon. In fact, he even made a mental note of how his friends did eyeliner, so he could do it again himself.
“This experience convinced me that I can change my gender identity temporarily, if I dress up like I did on Halloween, and not feel ashamed about it,” John told Revelist.
“I wouldn’t dress up all the time, but I do intend to do it more frequently, because I love the way my smile looks when I’m dressed up.”
*Name changed to protect identity.
