FASHION CULTURE, A SOCIAL FORCE SHAPING GENDER
Whether you were a fairy dress-wearing kid, a monster truck enthusiast, or more of a dungarees and red Wellington boots, rolling around in the grass kind of kid, clothing has been constructing your gender identity in some shape or form since day one.
Social forces shape gender. Gender assignment is determined by our physical appearance and body. Gender identity encompasses how we feel about our own gender. Gender expression is how we present ourselves as gendered beings. Pieces of clothing empower people to marry gender identity and gender expression through the curation of looks that represent how they feel and who they truly are. Fashion is a social force shaping gender.
Thanks to the backbone designers of the 20th century who paved the way for the creative fashion sphere that we live in today, gender fluidity has progressively become a pillar in our society. The first names that come to mind are those of Gabrielle, “Coco”, Chanel, and Yves Saint Laurent. An icon, Chanel created fluid and androgynous designs at the time of the First World War, revolutionizing women’s wardrobes by designing casual yet chic wide trousers, jersey tops, and female suits. Another is Yves Saint Laurent. Releasing the “Le Smoking” tuxedo in the late 1960s, Saint Laurent went down in history for initiating the “look” for women in business.
Androgynous fashion continued to flourish during the Gay Liberation Movement in the United States from the late 1960s to the mid 1980s, particularly in New York City.
Courtesy of The New York Times
Women in suits. Boys in dresses. Non-binary individuals in jeans and skirts. Notions of masculinity and femininity are historically and culturally contingent. In regard to fashion, the concept of gender can be denaturalized when the focus is shifted onto the freedom of gender identity expression. Over the past few decades, brands and individuals have demolished gender norms and continue to do so by tailoring neutral styles.
Brands such as Harris Reed, Riley Studio, One DNA, Official Rebrand, and Telfar are at the forefront of gender neutral clothing today. But more importantly, with the rise of social media and the influence of the queer community, dressing across gender lines and norms is not an act of defiance anymore. Public figures, such as Emma Corrin, Harry Styles, Ncuti Gatwa, Emma D’Arcy, Janelle Monáe, Rina Sawayama, Gustavo Piers Milton (known as stuccigus on TikTok), Mona Tougaard, and many more are pioneers for a world without gender limits in fashion.
As a 20-year-old student, I find that vintage shops, thrift stores, and clothing markets are great places to source gender fluid clothes. These places conceal hidden gems which, when purchased, are given a new life and take on new shapes. Regardless of whether they were originally created for women or men, second-hand clothes can be worn by anybody and tell their own story. The power that clothes hold is a testimony of self-expression and gender identity.
Featured image courtesy of Emma Corrin