AES86 Gendered fashion

I remember when I was younger I use to say something like “im lucky that im a girl, I can wear both pants and skirts, but boys can’t wear skirts” Which is a very sexist thing to say but no one really told me at that age that fashion shouldn’t be gendered. The perception that fashion is gendered has been going along for a long time, and throughout history, it has changed. 

Back in the ages of Rome and Greek, the man was the one’s that were wearing skirts, even tho pants were invented at the time they refused to wear them because pants were seen as too feminine. Yes, you didn’t hear me wrong pants were seen as too feminine. But eventually, they had to wear pants for the sake of riding horses because it’s just more comfortable. High heels were also worn by men. When heels were first introduced into Western fashion around the turn of the 17th century, men eagerly embraced them and they continued wearing heels as expressions of power and prestige for over 130 years. 

But then women started wearing dresses and men were the ones wearing suits. But back then men, especially french men were known to wear colorful suits. They also would do their hair and would use these crazy-styled wigs. Until this was seen as inappropriate for men because it takes too much time for a man to dress up and do their hair. That’s when the manly men stereotype began, that’s the point where most men only wore more “masculine” style suits. 

Women were forbidden to wear trousers, it was seen as something that was un women like. Remember earlier when trousers/pants were seen as something that’s feminine. We can see how that perception has shifted, and now it’s a masculine thing. But what’s funny is it seems that our society keeps hating things that are deemed feminine. Since the revolution of gender equality has progressed now women can wear pants. 

It’s a great thing that women can wear pants, but why can’t a man wear a dress or a skirt? I think there is absolutely no reason that a man can wear things that are deemed feminine. Promoting gender-neutral fashion can also be a form of activism against toxic masculinity. Because gendered fashion is just weird, it’s this never-ending cycle of hating the things that women wear and men trying to prove their masculinity. Even the understanding/definition of femininity and masculinity is always gonna change. I’ve read much research that proves that traditional masculinity is actually harmful to our society. 

Fashion should be fun, it should be for everyone regardless of their gender identity. 

picture:https://id.pinterest.com/pin/774124924143776/