What are Bravehearts?
Bravehearts are men who wear kilts or skirt-like
items that may be stereotypically associated
with female fashion but are given a distinctively
masculine presentation or otherwise incorporated
into a unambiguously masculine fashion statement.
In the case of kilts, which are a traditionally
male garment, it is simply a matter of educating
the general public as to the feelings of
heritage and history the kilt holds among
Scots, Scottish-Americans and those of Northern
European decent. Most Bravehearts do not
want the kilt to be seen as a costume, but
as a serious men's fashion garment for regular
and everyday use.
There are also many other generally acceptable
non-bifurcated garments for men of various
ethnic backgrounds (or wishing to pay honor
or respect to the cultures from which they
originated), such as; the fustanella, hakama, kikoi, lungi, sapeta,
sulu, tupenu, sarong, kikoi, lava-lava, kimono,
yukata, dashiki, caftan, djellabah, giermak,
galabiyah, gho, longyi, robe and cassock. |
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Each is an accepted male-unbifurcated-garment
(MUG) that has traditionally been employed
by a specific ethnic group (or groups) or
seen use widespread and acceptance in a particular
region or culture. In our multi-cultural
world, Bravehearts feel all men should be
free to wear these men's garments, anywhere
and any time, regardless of the wearer's
personal pedigree, documented ancestry or
place or residence.
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Bravehearts are generally considered the
most conservative "members" of
the Men's Fashion Freedom (MFF) Coalition,
because while they do generally agree men
should have the freedom to wear male unbifurcated
garments, such as kilts, they see these items
as men's garments and generally ensure they
are presenting their outfit in traditional
or at least, in a clearly masculine way.
The masculine Braveheart approach to kilt
and MUG wearing is motivated by comfort and
compatibility with male anatomy, rather than
discomfort with the masculine gender. Bravehearts
believe that the popular acceptance of men's
kilts and MUGs will be aided by maintaining
a strictly masculine image. |
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What are Freestylers?
Freestylers are men that use aspects of female
and alternative fashions to adopt an androgynous,
unique or individualistic appearance. They
may wear clothing or use accessories that
are traditionally associated with female
fashion, but generally they are not trying
to look or act like women. This group is
often called the "men in skirts"
movement. In many cases, Freestylers are
trying to make a statement, about themselves
and about our society and it's unbalanced
view of gender roles, fashion and power.
Freestylers are a major segment of the Men's
Fashion Freedom (MFF) Coalition. They generally
believe men should have the equal right to
wear whatever they want. They feel fashion
should be completely gender blind and men
should have the same variety of fashion choices
that women enjoy. While this may seem like
a noble cause.. "fairness and equality",
in many cases, there is a certain degree
of "fetish" involved in this particular
pursuit. Whether it is a sexual or non-sexual
motivation, this is something most Freestylers
openly acknowledge and tend to openly revel
in.
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Please keep in mind that while the general
"cause" of men's fashion freedom (MFF) may be similar, in theory, among its various
groups, this does not mean that members of
each of these groups support or even appreciate
the ideas, practices or principles of
the others.
As is usually the case, there
are a wide
variety of opinions among various
subscribers
and there may be those that feel
these other
segments, while similarly aligned
in theory,
are actually doing harm to their
own faction
or specific cause.
For example, many straight (heterosexual)
Bravehearts feel resentment or animus toward
Freestylers, transvestites and even homosexual
or bi-sexual Bravehearts, because they feel
those of a more flamboyant or openly effeminate
bent may be unintentionally harming the "men
in kilts" cause, in the eyes of outsiders.
Some feel members of the general public cannot
clearly differentiate between these three
distinct MFF philosophies and may unknowingly
group them all together, while rejecting
one group due to their issues or for dislike
of the particular traits or perceived eccentricities
exhibited by one or more of the other groups.
Many Bravehearts believe this works against
the general acceptance of the kilt as a serious
men's fashion garment. For this reason, among
others, many in the Braveheart camp have
rejected the idea of any type of "cause"
or "coalition" among men's fashion
freedom advocates. Their position is simply,
"Screw everyone else and what they say,
think or believe. I wear a kilt and if you can't
deal with that, tough!"
Similarly, those that practice various forms
of freestyle fashion often resent the fact
that some Bravehearts claim to espouse men's
fashion freedom when it comes to kilts, but
they are not accepting of men adopting various
aspects of women's fashion or cross-dressing. |
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Are Freestylers actually cross-dressers?
If you consider men wearing various garments,
items and accessories that are traditionally
and almost universally associated with women's
fashion to be cross-dressing, then, yes,
they are cross-dressers. If you feel men
that act like men and "carry themselves
as men" can wear whatever they please,
just as women do, then maybe you might not
consider them cross-dressers.
Take a moment to look at the guy in the picture
(left). I see a guy in a skirt, pantyhose
and pumps. He is clearly a cross-dresser
in my book. But, he is obviously a man. He
is not trying to otherwise portray himself
as a woman. Did you notice the woman to his
left in the denim jacket? I know, she is
covered a bit, but would you consider her
to be a cross-dresser too? Why? Do you think
women that wear men's clothing items are
cross-dressers? What about "boy cut"
briefs or swimsuits for girls and women?
How about women wearing "men's style"
pants or other masculine clothing items in
general? In your opinion, is there a double
standard? |
| What are the differences between Freestyling
& Transvestism? |
| In that both are a form of fetish behavior
at some level, many feel there is a very
fine line between the two. The biggest difference
is that by-and-large, Transvestites don’t
just dress in stereotypicaly female clothing,
but they often wear wigs, hair extensions
or style their hair in a particularly feminine
fashion. They generally wear make-up, have
false breasts of some type, adopt female
names and try to imitate female mannerisms
and inflections. All this is most often done
with intention of deceiving people into thinking
they’re a girl, something they most often
call "passing." On the other hand,
most Freestylers are not attempting to conceal
their gender, but rather employ a mix of
both male and female fashion as a form of
self-expression, without trying to pass as
women or adopt a false female persona.
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| Famous transvestite, RuPaul. Photo by Albert
Sanchex www.RuPaul.com |
What are the differences between Freestylers
& Bravehearts?
The biggest difference is that Freestylers
attempt to create a personal "look"
by dressing in various clothing items that
are often traditionally considered within
the realm of female fashion, while Bravehearts
pretty much just wear kilts, sarongs, macabi
skirts or other traditional and updated/modern
men's unbifurcated garments (MUGs). Bravehearts
consider kilts (both traditional tartan kilts
and modern casual, sport and utility kilts)
and other traditional MUGs to be acceptable
male fashion while Freestylers generally
seek to adopt stereotypically female articles
of clothing and ladies accessories, in many
cases, into what they consider to be a more
unisex wardrobe, in other cases, it may be
a hyper-sexual, bi-polar (male/female) or
shocking/fetish, industrial or non-stereotypical
look they are trying to achieve. In most cases, the non-masculine (feminine)
look Freestylers, Cross-dressers and Transvestites
adopt is an attempt to satisfy their need
to openly "free themselves" from
the confines of masculine stereotypes altogether.
In this way, both Freestylers and TV/CD are
very similar and quite different from the
Bravehearts.
Members of all three groups generally agree
there is an unreasonable expectation in Western
culture that men must always wear some form
of trouser (bifurcated) garment. Many in
the MFF coalition call the people that resist,
obstruct or impede their cause of fashion
equality, "Trouser Tyrants."
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