Fashion is ... Gendered?

For today's installment of my "Fashion is..." series (see here and here for the previous posts), I am proud, thrilled, and excited to bring you Chelsea from Bright Side Dweller, to talk to us about the socially gendered element of fashion. Chelsea is wonderful (I've already sung her praises in the Airing Her Dirty Laundry feature I did with her awhile back), and I am so excited to wish her a BIG congratulations on her recent engagement!!! If you read Chelsea's blog, it's obvious how in love her and Nic (her now-fiance!!) are, and I couldn't be happier for them. Anyway, I'll leave you now with Chelsea's lovely words of wisdom.

Fashion and gender are inextricably linked; for the most part the way that people dress expresses their gender to the world. This can be both fabulous and craptastic, and I'll tell ya why.

I am what many would call a "femme" lesbian. Definitions of the term vary almost from person to person, but my definition is pretty much about the way I dress and my gender identity. I am girly and feminine and I love it. I've been this way since my earliest memories when sparkly pink jellies were my shoe of choice, pants weren't pretty, and skirts were favored in direct relation to their twirliness.

I am attracted to women that are quite different from me; I like the boyish types. Whether they identify as "butch" or not does not really matter, as long as they hate makeup, skirts and heels - that's enough for me. I think it's adorable. I've been asked the question, "if you are attracted to women who dress like men, then why not just have the real thing?" and to that I respond that I am attracted to these women both because of their inherent woman-ness (body shape, soft skin, shared experience growing up female), their courage to be defiant of traditional gender norms just to be themselves, and the way the encapsulate masculinity and femininity at the same time. Plus they're freaking HOT.

Unfortunately the fashion world does not cater to both me and my boyish friends, and this can make shopping quite a challenge for women like my beloved. When searching for a collared shirt, she goes back and forth between the men's and boy's departments - men's shirts' sleeves and hems are too long, boy's shirts don't account for boobage. Pants end up being too long everywhere, especially the crotch, and then too narrow in the hips. Even "menswear inspired" pieces are feminized with their cropping and fitting and just don't feel right to her. Add to this the uncomfortable-ness of trying on true menswear in the dressing room and being stared at by scared ignorant people, and shopping turns into just an un-fun activity (the horror!). Similar problems undoubtedly affect men who prefer women's clothes, except dressing this way is even LESS socially accepted and can be downright dangerous in this gender-dichotomy-obsessed world we live in.

In my perfect world gender and fashion would break up and boys could buy dresses cut for their body type, women could find hot boyish suits right off the rack that didn't have to be altered like crazy, and people would stopping judging and stereotyping other people for how they express their true selves.

The end.

Thank you so much for this post, Chels. And congrats again!