Women are your bosses. They are actively participating and progressing in sectors that are traditionally male dominated—science, technology, engineering, math (STEM), military, and politics—, all the while still being 100 percent women. Women have been crossing and blurring the lines in music and fashion and art. Women are making music like men do, same style, same depiction, same skill. Women are wearing clothes that are men trademarks—baseball caps, baggy jeans, Jordans, athletic wear, ect. Women aren’t making these clothes more feminine, they are removing the notion of gender from the clothing. Even in terms of sexual orientation and sexual identity, there is a stark difference in response to how men and women choose to identify themselves. When men try to cross the gender lines, in whatever area of life and society, their manhood is always questioned. The pressure of hyper-masculinity society places on men can really distort what it means to be a man.

There is this idea that men cannot be bisexual—they are either gay or straight. It doesn’t matter if he has been with women at all, the second he is with a man, he is gay. For example, Frank the Traitor Ocean has identified himself as a bisexual man, yet he is regarded, especially by the black heterosexual male community, as gay, disregarding he is attracted to both men and women. The gay label put on him is not misunderstood use of terminology, it is fully intentional. On the other hand, women who identify themselves as bisexual are seen as a person who is attracted to men and women. Neither groups of her sexual interests are invalidated, but for a bisexual man, he can’t like women if he also likes men. Additionally, a man’s sexuality is often used as validity of his character, but that doesn’t apply for women. DeRay McKesson, a BlackLivesMatter (BLM) activist, is a black gay man. His influence and message has been a positive effect on the black community, and he is practically a figurehead for the BLM movement. From Twitter alone, I have seen many black men attempt to weaken the strength of his character by saying his efforts of generating a following is weak because he is a gay man. They say if he was a straight man, then he would be a stronger leader. Ironically, the movement was created by three black lesbians. Not once has their sexual orientation been used to tarnish the image of BLM, not once has it been used to discredit the movement. Yet, DeRay’s sexual orientation is something of a problem for certain black men to stand behind.

Fashion is a living expression of art. It constantly changes, going back in time, representing the future, even taking inspiration from other countries. Women and men have always dressed distinctly different—unless you count medieval times where everyone wore stockings, and dress/robe garments. At this point in time, gender neutral clothing has become popular. You can see both a man and a woman wear the exact same outfit and think nothing of it. For example, athletic wear is gender neutral, and even many sneakers too are being manufactured for both men and women. It has to be noted that most of these gender neutral attires were designed for men initially, then a woman’s version came out, but eventually they became marketable to both men and women. If that is the case, why is it still not socially acceptable for men to wear more “feminine” clothes? A$AP Rocky, Kanye, and Jayden have been known to wear dresses and skirts. They have been in the midst of controversy about it, but they all say relatively the same thing: it is fashion. Especially in high fashion, the goal is to attract attention and wear art. It isn’t supposed to be every day wear, it isn’t supposed to be what everyone else I wearing, it is supposed to make you stand out and be unique. Frankly, as someone who wears dresses and skirts are incredibly comfortable and offer greater access to mobility. Clothes should not have to define gender; it is a form of expression to show who you really are. Colors and clothing are not the definition of masculinity; Character is.

What is the definition of masculinity? Masculinity is supposed to symbolize the strength of character, yet it is so fragile that it constantly has to be defended and proven what it takes to be a man. The road to manhood is treated like a singular path, and those who do not stick on that path are not true men. Women are continuously changing themselves and progressing forward. There is no one path to womanhood, because being a woman should mean you can be whoever you want to me. I feel that should be extended to men too.