To challenge gender norms, married man wears skirt

[Silver]

New York Post

For one dad of three, getting dressed can be a real drag.

Mark Bryan, an American robotics engineer living in Germany, wears towering high heels and skirts every day to prove “clothes have no gender,” he told Bored Panda.

Bryan has shared his style shots on his now-viral Instagram, @MarkBryan911. There, his bio explains further: “I am just a straight, happily married guy,” he wrote to his 62,000 followers, “that loves Porsche’s, beautiful women and incorporating high heels and skirts into my daily wardrobe.”

His daily wardrobe includes red pumps, plaid miniskirts, and seasonally appropriate suede boots, which Bryan paired with a sensible mid-calf beige pencil skirt.



“I prefer skirts to dresses,” said Bryan, 61. “Dresses don’t allow me to mix the genders. I prefer a ‘masculine’ look above the waist and a non-gendered look below the waist.”

When it comes to footwear, Bryan, who also coaches football, prefers heels from the brand Lost Ink. He has pairs of strappy stilettos and open-toed sandals from the company, because they “are great for men as they offer a wide fit in most of their shoes,” according to his Instagram.

Bryan insisted that his sartorial choices are for “non-sexual reasons.” The habit began in college with an old flame — the two would practice dancing together, both in high heels. Then it quickly became normal for him.

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He compared the experience of teetering around in public to having green hair. “You look up and see this person, your mind tells you it’s a person with green hair, you think to yourself, ‘That’s odd or interesting,’ then you go back to do what you were doing and don’t give it another thought.”

His wife of 11 years helps him pick out clothes, and his daughter often wishes she could borrow his shoes.

At 6 feet tall without the heels, Bryan is quite the towering figure when he’s all gussied up. Even while working from home during the pandemic, when most former office-goers took the opportunity to dress down, Bryan wore business dress at his home desk.

His advice for men? “If you are asking about heels, then I would say to start with a low heel and work your way up as your confidence gets higher.”