It’s thrown in our faces day in and day out – GENDER! MEN AND WOMEN! BOYS AND GIRLS! LADIES AND GENTLEMAN! Always such a divisive, construct gender. But as of late, it seems to be less and less important to people when making purchases - which is really encouraging. I have a lot of friends who use men’s deodorant because they say it works better. Skincare, a commonly feminized product range, is becoming popular for men as well. So why is it then that clothing is still as segregated as it is when it comes to gender?
It’s the same in every single store – you walk in and there’s a clear men’s and women’s side. It trickles all the way down to children and even infants; infants who have no concept of self - let alone gender, might I add. While I understand that some articles of clothing must be fitted differently for men than women, and vice versa, there don’t need to be such rigid boundaries in place as there are at the moment. All clothing is, is a construction of fabric. That’s it. That’s literally all you are putting on your body – fabric. Why does women’s clothing have to be labeled “menswear inspired?” Why are deep v-necks for men’s tees considered to be “feminine?” Why can’t it just be “clothes,” because that’s what it really comes down to.
Now some people may argue about fit, and like I said, I get it that anatomically speaking there are some things that need to be accommodated. A notion I cannot get behind however, is that men’s clothing won’t fit women the right way. For something to fit a woman does not mean it needs to accentuate her figure, show her curves, or try and prove somehow that she’s a “woman” (notice here that woman is in quotations because your gender is not defined by the size of your chest or the width of your hips). Fit can be whatever you want it to be. I tend to live in oversized sweaters and flannels in the fall and winter, and I’d say that my clothes fit me perfectly. Sure it may cover and hide the general shape of my body, but it still fits exactly how I want it to. So who’s to stop me from going into the men’s section and finding some really great sweater to throw on with some jeans? Why is it that when a friend asks where I got it and I say “the men’s section” suddenly it becomes less attractive to them?
I suppose it’s easier to make this argument for women wanting to browse the men’s section. I have a feeling not a lot of men are all that inclined to shop in the women’s section of stores. I reckon it’s mostly because women’s clothing is made to be so form-fitting and very obviously not intended to be worn by anyone other than a societal-ly defined woman.
I would love to see the day when I can walk into a store and there are no designated sections. Where there are just racks of clothes waiting to be sifted through. I look forward to the day where my guy friend and I show up to class in the same t-shirt, and people aren’t made uncomfortable because I shopped in the “men’s” section. The moral of the story here is this:
Not everything needs to be gender binary (really nothing needs to be, but that’s a discussion for another day). Clothes are for people and we are all just people, so wear what you like, shop wherever you want, and look and more importantly feel great doing it.
