Are Androgynous clothes really neutral?
Through the last couple of days we have read about clothes and their meanings. Clothes have become identifiers of gender, class, and race or religion. In our society we see those who wear dresses as women or feminine and those who wear suits and ties as males or masculine. Androgynous is defined as “Neither specifically feminine nor masculine” or “Suitable to or for either sex.” However when you Google androgynous clothing it is mainly masculine. Many times when people are asked to dress gender neutral they are given the descriptions of male’s clothing. I was also once told that I would be successful during an interview if I dressed more like a man because I would be considered more capable. It is interesting how our society has considered gender neutral clothes those clothing which are more masculine although it is supposed to be really neither one nor the other.
Even within androgynous clothing there is a specific type of person the clothing is made for and many times it is difficult to access. On an asexuality website forum a member stated difficulty shopping for androgynous clothing and was suggested to just shop in the male section. The clothes is also made for specific bodies as stated by Juniper Lewis, the Historian for UC Berkeley’s Queer Straight Alliance organization:
‘Curves aren’t often seen as androgynous, which is unfortunate. There are so many different body types, we expect every person to fit the same way. That’s not realistic. It’s interesting how (even androgynous fashion) can (be made) exclusive.’
Although I do not shop for androgynous clothes I can tell by the women in the images of ads that the clothes is not made for women that are curvy or plus size and do have to shop in the males section. Even when shopping in the males section the clothes does not fit the way some people wish.
“It’s not necessarily because they want to be boys. They’re doing it because they don’t necessarily aspire to a supposed male ideal of what looks cute; they’re more interested in wearing what’s most comfortable to them.”
Many people believe that women dress androgynous because they want to be boys but for a lot of women that it not true. I myself like to dress comfortable whether it is wearing jeans and t-shirts and shoes around campus or wearing dresses on weekends. I mostly dress in what I am most comfortable in for that day. If I am going to be around campus and in lectures all day I will most likely be wearing jeans mainly because if I wear a dress I will be uncomfortable and expected to sit with my legs closed and tight (ladylike). Multiple times because I am a woman I have been told that I should dress more ladylike or dress cute. I believe that if I am in jeans and t-shirts that does not make me nor should I be considered a man or a lesbian. I feel that we should not consider a person a certain gender or sexuality based off of clothing as assumptions are not always a reality.
