Women who work in traditionally male roles?

Great

When I was in the Army I would just take a shower after work and put on my normal female clothes. I would wear nice undies under my BDU's too, so that helped me feel more girly. On the weekends I would do my make-up in ways that regulations would not allow during the work-week. I did end up getting in trouble for having my nails done a few times...woops.

I work as a freight stocker in a hardware store... it's not "traditionally" male, really, and there are plenty of females at my store, but the dress code does not allow jewelry, heels, or any hair color that isn't pretty natural-looking. I usually don't wear much makeup at all either because for one, I don't feel like doing it at 4 a.m., and two, the usual clientele early in the morning are male contractors and construction site workers who stare at you funny if you're all dolled up.

When I was attending school in the spring, I used that as my time to be "girly" with makeup and jewelry, and wore dresses and skirts often. Especially now that I am losing weight and feeling more confident, I pretty much use any excuse I can to wear a dress! Even just going to the store, I don't care. It's not like I get all glammed up to get groceries, but wearing a simple day dress makes me feel pretty and fun instead of sticking to my old safe zone of jeans and a t-shirt. Plus I love wearing bright colors, pinks and yellows and reds especially. I found a pair of brand-new pink Target jeans at Goodwill for $5 and I wear them every week!

I'm a geologist and I spend my time with drillers looking at soil borings. I wear the same garb you do! But now I don't own any nice clothes since they get ruined at work. I've been trying to slowly add a few pieces of nice clothing that i'm not allowed to wear at work so they stay nice for when I want to dress up.

I worked 15 years in Aviation Electronics, usually the only female. I wore uniforms, and steel toe boots. I didn't worry about it. and I usually only dressed girlie on special occassions otherwise. I am more comfotable in jeans and a t-shirt. :happy: even when I was younger.

Now I work in an office, am only 1 of 6 females out of a program 150 strong. while I have to wear office attire, I am still not overly girlie with it. I never worry about make-up or such. :laugh:

I am married, with boys..... I'm just Mom.... my husband loves me dressed up or down. 1/2 the time I'm not sure he notices....

so overall I wouldn't worry about it..... just go with what works for you!

I'm a fisheries biologist so I spend a lot of time doing field work in boots and waders. I think I overcompensate on my free time and wear a lot of skirts. I don't think you should have to wait until you have free time to feel feminine. Just find what makes you feel good about yourself and incorporate it into your life. I bought a pair of pink steel toe work boots to wear out in the field. I feel pretty girly tromping through the mud in those things. :-)

I don't work in construction or anything, but I am an executive in a male-dominated field (finance/accounting). I deal mostly with men. I have to be a ball-buster sometimes because not only am I female, I'm also pretty small in stature, so people don't take me seriously if I play up the "sweet, innocent girl" thing. It can be difficult, mentally, to transition from that to being feminine and girly outside the office.

One thing I would suggest is wear skirts and dresses as often as possible when you're not working. That's pretty much what I wear all the time, whether I'm working or not, because I think it makes me feel, speak, and move more like a woman. If that's not your usual wardrobe, it may take some getting used to, but I think you will also start to see men responding to you differently when you are dressed in a more feminine style.

Also, take care of the personal maintenance stuff ... regular haircuts, pedicures, facials, massages. All of that will make you feel better about yourself and more in-tune with your feminine side.

I was a professional carpenter for 8 years....I only subcontracted on construction sites a couple times and hated it--tried to avoid it if I could. My hats off to you!

My hair was often dry or damaged due to working conditions, solvents, saw dust, dirt, sun, cold...etc... so was my skin. I would suggest getting a really nice hair cut and hot oil or shine treatment. and if you can, take a day once in a while to soak in the tub/moisturize/exfoliate. I never kept my nails conditioned because my hands were (are still) always beat up, but you could definitely use a very heavy moisturizer and polish nails and trim hang nails and tend to cuts.

Be sure to use a non greasy sunscreen on site!! I swear most of the aging and roughness of my skin was from working jobs in the summer. I stopped working construction last year and did a series of 25% TCA skin peels all winter. I swear I could see all the sun damage, brown spots, and fine lines just peel right off my face.

Good job on keeping up the profession!!

I wear tactical pants and polos everyday, along with black combat boots and my hair pulled back in a bun. I am authorized some makeup and jewelry (must be "natural" looking and not distract from the overall appearance of the uniform). We do, however, have casual Fridays, but then its just jeans and a nice t-shirt and sneakers, again with minimal makeup and hair is usually pulled back in a bun then too b/c I am lazy and want to sleep in rather than dry my hair.

I have also worked construction in the past (as well as a heavy equipment operator in the Army Reserves), so I have also struggled with wanting to be more feminine and girly on my off days.

I have decided that this is the summer of skirts and dresses and have stocked up accordingly! I also feel better (and apparently look better - since people ask if I am ill when I don't) when I wear mascara to work. I have those really ginger blonde eyelashes that totally wash me out if I don't wear anything.

I dab some good BB Cream on daily (for the skin tone evening and the spf), put on some mascara, and a quick swipe of blush and a peachy/pink sheer lipstick - it just gives me color and makes me look alive.

I do recommend taking really good care of your hands; I wish I put sunscreen on them when I worked construction, as I think they look far older than I really am and it bothers me.

My field is predominantly men still, but that's changing and it's an office setting so it's not difficult to be girly. However I do have a suggestion.

I used to work in a jewelry store and I had a client who worked in construction or something like that. She obviously couldn't wear huge extravagant jewelry, but she liked to wear rings under her gloves, and she would get custom-made ones made out of the traditionally male metals that looked like they were for girls, but made out of strong metal.

I'm one of two women in our building department. I do plan review and am around contractors and inspectors all day. But I find that since they act like a bunch of high school girls, it's really not all that unfamiliar. :laugh: :laugh: :laugh:

I have learned to speak with confidence and choose my arguments wisely. I don't dress or do my makeup differently--just appropriately for my profession. I refuse to try to pretend I'm "one of the guys". I'm one of the *professionals* who works there. If they can't get past the fact that I'm a woman, that's their problem to deal with, not mine.

I used to be a hod carrier for my ex husband's masonry company. I was right there with the guys all day getting dirty, mixing mud and carrying bricks and blocks. I felt fantastic and strong and that made me feel sexy. I've never been super feminine or girly and that's okay. You don't have to be girly to be sexy.

I work for a heavy machinery company and it's all men! I still dress feminine, makeup and all of that but after 8 years I've noticed I've been desensitized. I'm not very "lady like" anymore. :blushing: I could probably give them all a run for their money.

If you don't want to be girly and feminine in your free time, you don't have to be. If it's a "struggle" just be yourself and do what comes naturally.

Yep, this!

I am in training to be a reactor operator at a nuclear power plant. I wear khakis and a blue polo to work like everyone else. I also wear safety shoes, a hard hat and safety glasses. I've made small adjustments to my uniform to make it more girly - pink shoelaces and a pink lanyard for my security badge, I wear makeup to work everyday, and as previously mentioned girly underwear.