For the last couple of years, one of my favorite places to shop has been my dad’s closet. He never gets rid of anything, and he has the cutest stuff that I can easily apply to my own sense of style. Really though, his old motorcycle jacket is by far my favorite article of clothing. Maybe it’s just me, but I tend to find myself shopping in the men’s section almost as much as in the women’s or juniors departments. Obviously men’s clothing doesn’t include some things I love like skirts and dresses, but I sometimes find the quality of their cardigans and accessories surprising.
Lillian made a point in class today that really stuck with me. In terms of a gender hierarchy, it’s okay to dress above your gender, but not okay to dress down from it. So with society being patriarchal and men being at the top of the food chain, it is deemed okay that I sometimes wear men’s clothing- if anybody notices. However, the converse is not accepted by society. For example, if I saw a person who was visibly a man except for the fact that he was wearing heels, my first response would not be “nice pumps.” It would be more along the lines of, “what the heck is he doing?”
Men and women get the clothes they wear analyzed in different ways. For men, clothing isn’t really noticed unless it’s specifically feminine or especially eccentric. You don’t usually walk through a crowded hallway and hear males commenting on their friend’s clothes. For women, style is noticed much more. You can tell a lot about her, from fashion sense to income based on clothing. Women tend to have greater clothing freedom in the respect that we have more power to send whatever message we want with our clothing and generally not have our sexuality questioned unfairly by society. For example, about a year ago I got into the habit of wearing a watch everyday. My watch is not nearly as loud as many of the watches made for women these days- instead of being hot pink, it’s very neutral toned, and everyone loves it. I get more compliments on it then on any other accessory I have ever worn in my life. However, even though I consistently wear a man’s watch, no one doubts that I am a heterosexual female. If the opposite were to happen and a man wore a watch that was obviously feminine, chances are he would be ridiculed and/or questioned about his sexuality.
That is not to say that a woman who shops exclusively in the men’s department wont get questioning looks and assumptions made about her. However women do have more freedom to pair a man’s sweater with women’s pants and still look appropriately feminine in societies judgmental eyes. But does occasionally wearing men’s clothing or accessories mean I should identify myself as transgender? Or that a male who wears skinny jeans from Forever 21 should? When do our clothing choices define our gender, and how does our own self-definition fit into that?
To answer your ending questions: I think clothing shouldn't define our gender and that only each individual person should choose what they identify as.
ReplyDeleteYou bring up some key points in that you voice how male's are often ridiculed for choosing female clothing instead of those traditionally made for 'their own gender'. However when I wear my boy's sneakers or a guy's hoodie/sweatpants it's almost expected.
Society needs to understand that a person's clothes doesn't define them and that style has no gender.
If a woman has a more feminine build and she wears male clothes, her sexuality is not normally questioned, but if a more broad-shouldered lady wears a man's shirt, she is seen as "butch". It seems that females wearing male clothing is only acceptable by society's standards as long as the woman still maintains elements of femininity. On the other hand, any man wearing a piece of lady's clothing is seen as gay. I've noticed this in friends and their significant others. If a girl wears a boyfriend's hoodie or jacket, it's perfectly fine for her to be wearing men's clothing. It seems to show that she belongs to him. On the other hand, if a boy were to wear his girlfriend's blouse, it would be downright ridiculous.
ReplyDeleteIf a female wears a man's watch, she is not viewed by society as transgender. If a guy wears a watch that is obviously feminine, society will most likely view him as transgender. This is a double-standard at its best. Alice, just because you wear cardigans and accessories from the men's department, you probably won't be considered a transgender by society. Now if you self-identify as a transgender, now thats a personal choice. Its all about extremities. If a woman is bluntly violating "gender-clothing" by noticeably dressing as a male, and a person has to really look to validate her gender, then transgender might come into question. But if she occasionally rocks a man's cardigan or watch, her sexuality is not questioned. Men don't have as much leeway as females. If they dress even a little bit outside the expectations of their gender their sexuality will be questioned. The clothing that is associated with gender depends no the trends during that particular time. Society decides what clothing is associated with genders. 5 years ago, a man in skinny jeans had his masculinity questioned. Today, a man in skinny jeans is fashionable, fitting right into the present trend. In the end, it should depend on our own personal definition of what fits our self-identified gender. Societal perspectives should not be at the top of our lists while picking out today's outfit.
ReplyDeleteClothing is a big part in how we express and define our self-identified gender. I agree with the idea that women who dress like men are more accepted in society than men who dress like women. Recently, the fashion industry is creating pieces of clothing like the "boyfriend jean” to allow women to wear men's jeans in an acceptable way. Like the example of skinny jeans, this piece of clothing is become more accepted for males and females to wear. Individuals who wear skinny jeans or the boyfriend jean which are originally made for the opposite gender, have been deemed appropriate and stylish by the media and the gender of the clothing is not an issue.
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