Gender, Society & Fashion

Gender Fluid Dressing

1. Describe

For topic 5 on the programme, we studied gender, society & fashion, so, for this reflection topic I have chosen to write about gender fluid fashion. I was particularly interested in this aspect of the gender in fashion conversation as I find it fascinating that men do not seem to have the same freedom of expression through fashion as women today when it comes to dressing fluidly. It is interesting to see that women actually have a lot more freedom to dress how they like than men do - this is very strange in the context of gender roles and what we have seen throughout history where men normally have more freedom when it comes to things than women. For centuries women have fought for equal rights which were, and in some cases still are, suppressed by male dominating figures, in the household, in the workplace, and in society. This was reflected in clothing, men wore suits, women wore dresses - associating a woman with wearing a suit would be unheard of as this would not be practical attire for their duties in the household.

2. Interpret

In the mid-nineteenth century when women began taking steps for change, some of those involved in the suffrage movement were perceived as masculine in society as they wore tailored suits while they campaigned. Once the waves of feminism occurred, women could speak and act more freely and expressed this through fashion. They began leading, taking on roles of importance and wearing suits - long before only associated with powerful men with big jobs. This can be translated to modern day when Kamala Harris’ chosen attire of a white Carolina Herrera suit while delivering her victory speech in November 2020, was a symbol for the continued fight for women's rights.

Women today use fashion as a power tool, we wear tight clothes to show off our bodies, oversized clothes to hide ourselves, white dresses on our wedding day to feel feminine, beautiful and pure, and we wear suits to feel powerful and command attention (we don’t have to - but we do). Dress can be a powerful means of communication, this was highlighted to me after watching the ‘American Male’ short film by MTV. There are so many more barriers that men face when it comes to dress due to the fear of being perceived as something they are not or something they are ashamed of because of what others might think. Their wardrobe is so restrictive, metaphoric for society in a way as they are pigeon holed by their gender role and expected to behave as the hegemonic male archetype, internalising the toxic masculinity. Gender roles come from conforming to the labels given to us and therefore men seem to feel they need to wear the hegemonic mask to fit the label, this keeps the vicious circle going, discouraging any man from breaking the mould.

It is clear that fashion still plays a huge role in determining where we fit in society when we wear what we wear. Nevertheless, women have a choice. We have a choice of what to put on in the morning to prepare us for the day ahead and no passerby would think twice if they saw us in a pair of trousers and a blazer vs a dress. Academic, Barry (2018, p.640) said “...however, research on men, masculinity, and fashion has been limited to specific social identities and contexts in which clothing is worn”.

Meaning men do not have this same choice. Why?

Women have been donning men’s clothing for decades and calling it subversive but it now seems we have hit another crossroads when it comes to the male expression of dress.

3. Evaluate

This new probe pushed me to examine when men began to break the mould and what influence it had on society. At this point, I would like to note that it is only since the 1980’s that this toxic masculinity notion has taken over the male gender role. Historically we know that men wore makeup and frills to show a sign of status within society, and skirts were once the only practical attire to wear into battle - both of things traditionally ‘manly’ in the form of showing wealth and power. Bringing it back, gender fluid fashion has been a social-construct breaking movement since it’s corrective attempts on rigid stereotyping in the 50’s. It began in 1966 when the YSL Smoking Suit was designed for women by a man. In the 60s & 70s, male icons in the music industry began blurring these lines, with the introduction of androgynous fashion which sent trend waves across the globe. Weathering the inception of toxic masculinity, in the 1990s grunge enabled a resurgence of the unisex dressing where lumberjack shirts and combat boots were in style for both sexes. And the movement has only become more mainstream in recent years.

Today, celebrities like Harry Styles have shown there is a lot more depth to masculinity than what has been so recently socially constructed. He constantly helps to redefine the term by supporting gender equality movements such as HeforShe, and the resurgence of gender fluid fashion. Not long ago, he donned skirts and dresses on the cover of Vogue and is often spotted out wearing YSL womenswear setting new trends for the upcoming generation. This unlike the grunge trend, is a lot more expressive of femininity. Whether male or female, regardless of sexual orientation, we all carry a feminine and masculine energy which should be allowed to be expressed freely in society without judgement. I have mentioned that dress is a powerful communication tool for many things, and I feel it unfair that men cannot use the same tool as women to express themselves and their creativity today when women have spent so long fighting for a similar thing.

4. Plan

I wear gender fluid clothing everyday without thinking about what happened in history to allow me to do so without restrictions. I now realise that it is not as easy for a man who does want to express themselves through fashion. I believe that gender fluid fashion is cyclical and elements of it reemerge every few years so I hope this will continue and society will become more aware of this as an issue. It could be implemented in fashion through product development more as we have seen on the AW21 Burberry runway. I find this topic really interesting and will continue to monitor the conversation throughout my degree and moving into my career. I hope I can assist in the change.

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Bibliography:

Barry, B. (2018). (Re) Fashioning Masculinity: Social Identity and Context in Men’s Hybrid Masculinities through Dress. Gender & Society, 32(5), 638-662.

Bhalla, N. (2020). This Is How Gender-Fluid Fashion Has Made Its Way Back To The Mainstream. Retrieved 10 March 2021, from https://elle.in/article/gender-fluid-fashion-2/

McNamara, B. (2019). Harry Styles Is Very Ready for Gender Norms To Fade Away. Retrieved 11 March 2021, from https://www.vogue.co.uk/miss-vogue/article/harry-styles-gender-norms

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