You an justify all you want. You want to pick and chose what’s cool about wearing a dress as a boy. You will eventually accept today as a fashion trend like you have in the past. It’s In your makeup as a person. You won’t change.
I’m not ‘picking and choosing’ anything. I’m explaining how and why they thought and acted a certain way, not making a judgment about it.
Again, you won’t understand the past if you insist on making it personal and viewing it through your own prejudices.