Clothes Does not Have a Gender, so why is it a big Deal?
A few days ago, I was mindlessly scrolling through Facebook
when some mixed comments came up under a picture of a man name Billy Porter
wearing a gown at the Oscars.
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| Billy Porter at Oscars |
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| Native American |
Some of these comments were rude, some expressing praise on how “brave” Mr. Porter was. I naturally rolled my eyes. Not because I am
disapproving of Mr. Porter. I don’t know who he is, because I have lived under
a rock for the last decade, raising kids, working full time and going to school
full time. Also, no cable (The horror!).
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| Ancient Egyptians |
I rolled my eyes because, since the beginning of recorded history,
men and women alike have worn long gowns. The Aztec and Native Americans of
North America, the Egyptians and Romans and even the English. Later, the founding fathers moved to wearing pants, but still got a little sassy by
wearing wigs.
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| Christopher Columbus |
I digress.
Now lets talk about historical women, who also wore long gowns and later, much later, fashion accepted women in trousers. So are pants male or female? Are gowns male or female? Are colors gender specific? I think we have seen that the answer to these questions. No. History and current fashion shows clothing is not gender specific.
It is not uncommon for a man to wear a kilt, or Indian man to wear a long shirt (shalwar Kameez), and our famous Canadian friend Justin
Bieber sports a long gown also known as a... Ok, I don't know what he's wearing?.
So what is the BIG DEAL for Mr.
Porter or other males to wear an evening gown? For women to wear suits and ties?
Would it have been less shocking if he wore a
kilt or toga to the Oscars?
So if a person looks nice in what they are wearing, please
let them know, but if a person is wearing something you don’t like, or agree with, first think, would you disagree with Christopher Columbus' outfit or George Jefferson wig? If not, then walk away.
For more articles on gender stereotypes, or clothing stereotypes, please follow these links and feel free to add links to articles you find interesting in the comments.
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