Friday, January 14, 2011

Dear Stana: What About Long Nails in Boy Mode?

Dear Stana,

I absolutely love your blog and visit it several times a week. I really appreciate the time you put into making your page worth a look and keeping it updated. Those comics are hysterical!

Now I must ask, as much as you are out and about and somewhat "open" at work, would you share your opinion on guys with long nails?

I do wear my nails long, and they have been getting longer as I've been getting braver. Today, in a meeting with two females, the more masculine one called me on it. She said "you need to clip your nails, why are they so long?"

I told her they were to claw her eyes out. The other girl remarked she must really know me well to make that kind of comment.

My employer prides itself on embracing diversity and I have little care for what "the company" would say, but it's individuals like this that make me stop and think about what I am doing. I feel sure more people have noticed, but have respectfully withheld comment.

I do love having long nails to polish on the weekend when I have more time to femulate. Do you have any thoughts?

Keep up the great work!

Robyn


Hi Robyn,

Thank you for the kind words!

I wear false pre-glued stick-on nails (Kiss brand) mainly because I never got the hang of polishing my own nails under the gun. However, for six or eight months a few years ago, I did grow my own nails out to a feminine length.

I never worried about what my co-workers thought about my nails. If one asked about my nails, I would point-blankly respond that my nails are long because I dress as a woman on weekends.

Either they thought I was joking and laughed at my response or they didn't know what to think. In either case, I never was asked twice by the same person.

As long as you keep your nails neat and clean, no one should have any complaints about them. I am a little surprised that your co-worker said that about your nails. She had a lot of nerve!

I say, you go, girl and wear your long nails and the public be darned!

Best Wishes,

Stana

Need advice concerning femulation or other crossdressing-related matters, then e-mail me and I will happily give you my opinion on the matter. My e-mail address is stana-stana at sbcglobal.net.

20 comments:

  1. I agree with Stana. Wear them long and have fun. :)

    I have tried to keep my nails long for years and rarely had any comments. Having tired of breaking nails and having to put up with either filing or cutting them all back short or having them different lengths, I decided recently that I'm going to live with gel and acrylic overlays (gel for a smooth surface that eliminates the need for base coat and prevents staining and acrylic for strength), including getting infills every fortnight as they grow out.

    Each time I paint my nails (most of the time in almost natural shades), I file them to 8mm (5/16") of overhang first.

    I've blogged about some of the colours that I've worn in boy mode. Remarkably, very few people say anything even when they were Holly red and green for Christmas! :)

    http://alicejaneinnewcastle.blogspot.com/

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  2. "I would point-blankly respond that my nails are long because I dress as a woman on weekends."

    I love that response, hon! I have to admit, I'm slowly getting to that comfort zone myself, although I'm not quite there yet. I've been letting my hair and my nails grow for a while now, and have even begun using a clear nail polish.

    I've had a few people question why, and I just tell them "because I can."

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  3. I love to grow my nails , and they've just gotten to that feminine length again after recently clipping. I was just filing them before I read this post! I go back and forth--where I reach a point and feel I have to clip --but then when they do grow out again it's such a joy to file and shape them-and I love the sound they make when I type on the keyboard! I'm sure they cause wonder in some, but I've never been called on it. But it is my little hint to the world.

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  4. Now this is a post and can really get into because I am a guy with very effeminate hands and

    I love to let my nails grow long in the winter and polish them. I buy my own polish and

    generally stay with revlon because they have so many luscious red shades. Red is definitely

    my favorite. I do my own nails and with practice I am good at it. I keep a big can of

    lacquer thinner around to thin the polish and get it just the perfect thickness. If its too

    thick it won't flow and smooth out like it should.

    I have let my nails grow for as much as two months in the winter, which makes them very

    long. I round them only on the ends. Never file the sides. No one who got a good look at

    them would believe I just forgot to cut them. Anyone with any savvy would know it has erotic

    overtones and cross dressing.

    Like you, Robyn, I do not want everybody to notice my nails and wonder about these them.

    First, though I never care if a women notices and I always buy my nail polish from women

    clerks. Several times they have asked if I am buying it for my wife and I say no I am buying

    it for myself; that I do some effeminate things. I have had several fun exchanges doing that

    although most of time women clerks look a little embarrassed.

    I do not feel that way about all the guys I have to deal with however. Here I have just

    learned to avoid situations where my nails will be on display. I can drink coffee without

    any one seeing my nails. I keep them under the table if necessary. Winter time is also glove time. I think a head and avoid situations where I will have to sign my name or use my hands in an obvious way. My advice, Robyn, don't cut you nails just enjoy.

    And, Stana, I think it would be lots of fun if you would have all of us with beautiful nails send in some pics and put them up for a vote. What femulate follower has the best nails? that's a contest I would definitely enter.

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  5. I started to grow my nails long when I was 11 and no longer had them cut by my mother, if I could reach 1/4 inch I was happiest. Hardly anybody ever questioned me about long painted nails up till my transition nearly half a century later!

    A recent radio report said that a major UK company still enforced strict dress codes like full makeup for women and a maximum of 1.5 mm of nail for men!!!

    Little wonder I had to live my life somewhere between the genders and found so little employment in that time.

    My preference is Chanel and always an undercoat, their pigments are so fine they can stain the nails otherwise.

    No pictures from me at the moment, clearing snow for nearly two months has broken several and I am in mourning.

    Caroline xxx

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  6. I forgot to mention that, if I'm not game to come out to someone, my intention is to respond with "Because it annoys people."

    I haven't got to use that yet. :)

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  7. I've been getting my nails done professionally for about five years now, and most of my employers have never said a word. Last month I got my first set of acrylics, and got an American manicure (clear with white tips) to boot. Three weeks on and nothing's been said, apart from a few people who've told me how nice they look.

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  8. I use to wear my nails long at work and I thought nobody noticed. However, one day a work I accidentally dropped something on my finger. There was a thud and I swore... one of my technicians asked what happened and another answered, "He just broke a nail." So much for them not noticing. :-)

    I have notice that since I have been on hormones, my nails have gotten brittle and I can't grow them as long as I use to grow them.

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  9. @Diana, mine went brittle and were splitting into layers so I had a rest from years of constant varnish and applied almond oil for a couple of months and am back to strong nails, not quite strong enough for snow clearance but for nearly everything else.

    Caroline xxx

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  10. I started growing my nails long 6 or 7 years ago because I couldn't find any false nails that were large enough for my thumbs. Generally I keep them about 1/4 to 5/8 of an inch long, using OPI Nail Envy to keep them strong. People do notice, but they usually don't say anything. When someone does ask, it seems like they try to figure it out in circuitous fashion by asking me if I play guitar... my usual response is "not very well" unless it's someone I want to out myself to, and then I'll fess up.

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  11. A bit like Caroline, I started growing my nails long when I was nine or ten, when my mother stopped cutting them for me. My mother supported me, but my father didn't - he was always trying to get me to cut them. So I used to try and hide my hands from him - difficult at meal times!

    I work in the UK in the public sector, which thankfully is big on diversity, so my employer is fine. Some of my colleagues have noticed and made comments - not nasty ones, but things like: "oh, aren't your nails long for a man?" I reply: "yes, that's how I like them" and leave it at that. I use clear OPI Nail Envy polish - usually matt, but sometimes glossy, if I'm feeling daring.

    I love wearing my nails long - they're usually about half an inch beyond the fingertip. I want to grow them longer when I retire.

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  12. I try to grow my nails but they always break. I manage to get them to that point where they are a touch to long for a male. I do enjoy painting them pink or red and going shopping. If I am feeling daring I will wear matching lipstick and mascara. Nobody has ever commented, but I have had a few small grins from females who thought it was funny. I thoroughly enjoyed it because it meant they were looking at my nails. I have had some people stare at them quietly with blank looks on their faces, again, I feel very proud when it happens. I am telling the world I am feminine.

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  13. AnonymousMay 08, 2012

    I recently had surgery which allowed me to lay around for about a month in which time I have been watching my nails grow nice and long. I love to enhance their feminine beauty with cuticle oil, file to a rounded pointed shape, smooth surface, base coat, two color coats (usually a crimson red)and a top coat. I also have been treating my toes to the same beautifying treatment. My husband says she loves it.

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  14. I recently got acrylic overlays and have started to let my nails grow out. Prior to letting them grow i started wearing polish to work. No one has said anything about them getting longer yet. I've decided, I don't care what they think I'm going to grow them to a length I like. I love painting them and doing nail art.

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  15. grow my nails long forever. off. and on. my wife hate it when they start growing. last month was a turning point. I was biting my nails all the way down. I almost lost a complete nail bed. only a small white part of the nail bed or showing. at that point I said thats it.. I got scared because I thought I was going to lose the complete now from chewing on it. I'm so happy now that my nails are growing back with the full nail beds. they're all about it 8 of an inch long now. cut straight across and very hard.

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  16. I love growing my nails long. Dont know why. Just do. I guess because I can and most people cant. Its like I can, so why not there thick and hard. ( there's a cool feeling about having claws at the end of your fingers . Alot of people can't understand that because they can't grow long fingernails ). Now for years I was told not to bite my fingernails. Now there long and people want me to cut them. L. O. L.... If any guy out there wants to grow long fingernails. Go for it. W. H O. . C. A. R. E. S. I dont care what people say anymore. : )

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  17. I finally stop biting my fingernails no more bloody stumps but now they're getting long now everybody wants me to cut them. (( see nobody's happy. nobody can understand why I want them long (((( I don't want to go back to bloody stumps. ))))

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  18. Finally getting brave enough to grow my nails. They're really growing fast. I think it's because of all the milk and vegetables fruits I'm eating. I massage them and push back the cuticles every chance I get. They are crazy rock hard

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  19. Feeling very proud I haven't gone back to biting my nails. Hopefully I broke the biting habit . Time will tell. Growing them out to my fingertips. A little just to the point to where they're starting to get too long. Then as long as I clip them back but there's still plenty of White showing. I won't be tempted to go back to biting them again. It seems to be working. The sad thing is once a nail-biter always a nail biter. There's always that want to go back to biting them. Its been about five or six months since I stopped biting them. My new years resolution is to never fight them again. : ) r

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  20. I think I finally stop biting my nails. Amazing my nail beds are almost twice the length. Just using a nail brush and that's it. Very light filing of nails. heavy on the finger massaging to get blood to the tips. W. O. W. It works to good. To much fingernail growth. . Growing to fast. R

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