There are more than two genders. There are so many ways to express one's gender identity, and not everyone feels comfortable wearing the clothes that are traditionally marketed toward their body type. There are various female-bodied folks out there who feel more comfortable wearing suits and male-bodied people who prefer dresses. There are also many people of all genders who prefer to present androgynously. This seems obvious - people are different and dress differently accordingly. Though it does not seem as obvious to those who market and design clothing.
I've never felt comfortable presenting myself femininely. Even as a kid, I had an aversion to the color pink. Dresses were never really for me. This was never much of an issue - I threw on T-shirts and jeans and went about my day. It did not remain this easy, though.
Dressing formally has always been the bane of my existence. For a long time I felt obligated to dress femininely when it came to formal events. It was expected of me, so I felt an impulse to do so. While it can be easy to manipulate everyday clothes into something androgynous, formal clothing is more limiting. There is a stricter line drawn when it comes to formal wear as far as what is feminine and what is masculine. l wore clothes that made me uncomfortable to various important events in my life. I was distracted at my own graduation because I couldn't stop feeling out of place wearing a dress.
I thought I'd enjoy preparing for formal events more if I did not feel pressure to dress femininely. Unfortunately, I was wrong. Dressing masculinely has its own set of struggles. Clothing manufacturers seem to do their job with binary ideas of gender in mind. I couldn't find masculine clothes that fit right. Even when I was finally able to branch out, I couldn't find clothing that made me comfortable.
This is even more of an issue for male-bodied people who want to present more femininely. While female-bodied people can wear pants or traditionally masculine clothing, it is not as acceptable for male-bodied people to wear traditionally feminine clothing. Male-bodied people will undeniably face more criticism for attending a formal event in a dress than I will for attending in a suit.
It's time to accept that people present their gender in different ways. We need mainstream accessibility to tailored clothes for anyone's gender presentation.
