Abuja residents express concern about growing incidences of cross dressing in their community

RESIDENTS of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) have expressed increased concern about the growing number of cross-dressers in their community particularly incidences of men who dress up like women.

Lately, the law has caught up with some young men who have allegedly defrauded wealthy men in Lagos, Zamfara, Rivers and Abuja by presenting themselves as women. Some local FCT residents said that it was astonishing how young Nigerians seem to be accepting the idea of cross-dressing.

Joy Nduka, a makeup artist, said: “I first heard of this concept in Nigeria last year when it was in the news that some men dressed like women to dupe rich men they met at bars and hotels. I found it a bit funny at first that some men could be easily deceived in that manner by their fellow men, however, I later realised that we all focused on the men who were robbed and not on the men who were comfortable dressing like women to commit the crimes.

Victor Itamunoala, a marketer, added: “We have always had popular TV personality, Denrele Edun, who remains a controversial figure because of his cross-dressing fashion. His fashion concept has always had a hint of feminism in it be it with makeup, hairstyles, high shoes and more.

“Nigerians were against his fashion but these days, many people seem to support him and he has inspired more men to dress that way. We have gradually seen a number of Nigerian social media personalities become popular for being cross-dressers and the most popular one today is the man that calls himself the Snapchat queen, Bobrisky."

Another resident, Ndidi John, said that the trend was catching up among youths because of the influence of foreign movies and the social media. He added that you cannot eliminate the influence of social media, foreign films and now Nigerian celebrities that engaged in cross dressing on the youths.

She added: “I personally believe that most of them will grow out of it as they advance in age and become less rebellious. As some of us grow up we also dropped some attitudes and habits not compatible with our new status, responsibility or age."