a fetish for fishnet

After the brouhaha over Oscar Dela Hoya's alleged tranny pics, I can't help but think: What's the big deal?

Cross-dressing is more common than most people think:

1. In Greek mythology, Achilles (the hero of the Trojan War) dressed up as a girl in the court of Lycomedes to keep himself safe.

2. In The Odyssey, Athena, the goddess of wisdom and war, often came to the aid of people disguised as a man.

3. Joan of Arc, a French heroine and a Catholic saint, was burned at the stake after being convicted by a religious court. Her dressing up in male clothing was cited as one of the principal reasons for her execution.

4. Amandine-Aurore-Lucile Dupin, an early 19th century French novelist who is better known as George Sand, preferred to wear men's clothing exclusively.

5. William Shakespeare made substantial use of cross-dressing for his literary female characters. A lot of his heroines wore masculine clothing in order to carry out certain tasks. In Twelfth Night, for example, Viola disguised herself as Cesario in order to find employment.

6. All roles in Japanese Noh dramas are traditionally played by male actors.

7. Likewise, since it was illegal for women to perform in theaters in Renaissance England, men took over women's roles.

8. In China, a famous cross-dressing opera singer is Mei Lanfang.

9. Rock sensation Marilyn Manson cross-dressed his way to fame and fortune.

10. Kurt Cobain, lead singer of the American band, Nirvana allegedly wore women's clothes at home and on stage.

11. And then there was Boy George.

12. In some parts of the world, men wear skirts called kilts.

13. I just saw an antiperspirant ad on TV featuring guys dressed up as cheerleaders.

14. What were traditionally men's clothes – pants, vests, and blazers, etc. – are now ordinarily worn by women. Even oversized men's watches on ladies' wrists are considered chic!

It's possible that one day, 'unisex' will be the operative word. And Dela Hoya will have the last... giggle!

The 'Glow-in-the-Dark' Madness Be@rbrick (top, left) is by Nexus VII, the next generation streetwear brand from Japan. The goods are available at R*izm, the Nexus VII flagship store in Tokyo. / Dela Hoya pic (top, right) is from X17online.com / Info from Wikipedia