Should Clothes Identify Your Gender?
Gender neutrality and equality among all beings is gaining voice in this era. Schools and colleges are under pressure to adopt unisex uniforms to promote gender neutrality among their students. Gender-neutral dressing is unbiased and inclusive of all genders whether male, female or transgender.
Male students should wear skirts. Half pants are not allowed!
This week Chiltern Edge Secondary School in Oxfordshire was in news for banning “male” shorts in favour of skirts. When male students seek permission for wearing shorts in hot summer weather, they were asked to wear skirts instead.
Some time back, Fiordland College in Te Anau has also mooted a similar proposal after which girls will be allowed to wear shorts and boys will have the option of wearing skirts.
“Society's customs and conventions were changing slowly and it was likely more schools would take a unisex approach to uniforms in the future”, said Andy Wood, the Southland Secondary Principals Association chairman and James Hargest College principal.
Are clothes sexist?
Mandating how males and females should dress is one of the oldest forms of sexism in our society. However as an adult, no one is dictated to wear a certain clothing option but society’s customs and fashions often make these choices passively for everyone. But schools and colleges officially mandates a dress code according to the gender of a student. In 2014, male students in France drew attention to this issue when they protested against gender inequality by wearing skirts to school.
Imho, everyone should be free to wear whatever they feel comfortable with. No gender has any right over any specific outfit design. When someone sticks to a particular clothing style, it starts to get identified by it. It’s not too long ago when skirts were commonly wore by males in India. In fact, all kings, princes and royal ministers are portrayed in their long skirt clothes even today.
Skirts were traditionally wore by Indian men. But what about Sarees?
How did skirt become an exclusive wear of fairer sex perplexes me but I am not aware of the whole story behind it. What I feel is that just as females have exercised their right to shirts and trousers in last few decades, men too can reclaim their right to skirts by just wearing them often.
I think it’s a good initiative by educational institutes to allow gender neutral uniforms in their campuses. We start making rigid identities towards genders through clothing from our childhood as we are mandated to strictly follow such discriminative regulations. Once these are dissolved, gender fluidity will be back.
What do you think about it? Would you feel comfortable in an outfit that is popularly wore by a different gender?
Would you be comfortable wearing any outfit that catches your fancy?
Did you find school authority’s strict rules of uniform offensive in your childhood?
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Fashion is a symbol of class division in society clearly. In my teenage, I wore all kinds of outfits depending on the social group I was with, hehehe, I was a girl. Now that I grew up I have my own identity and I only wear what I like and with which I feel ok. And of course I love fashion, what woman doesn't? ;)
It's good that you now have your own identity. But do you ever feel to reflect that through your clothing?
You're right, fashion and style may reflect one's class and profile. However everything is open to subjective interpretation and it's how one takes it.
Since I believe in everybody's right to do WHATEVER they want I have to say: No, cloths do not have to identify your gender.
I do not judge anybody but to be honest wearing for example a skirt would feel kinda strange for me.
Regarding the school uniform: I'm quite glad to live in a place where school uniforms are rare. I do get the point of school uniforms but again I'm the opinion everybody should decide on there own what to wear. Many people in today society will tell you school uniforms prevent mobbing and will strengthen the community feeling and again I have to disagree on this since mobbing is in my opinion todays societies fault (just look on literally all the advertisements: all is trimmed to be better than someones else). I kinda understand the community feeling but to be honest it's sad to say they only feel like a community wearing the same cloths.
Nice topic. Exited to read some other views on this!
Great to know that you don't judge anybody on the basis of their clothing. It's not that easy for everyone. We need to train our eyes to look beyond the clothes and see the individual wearing the clothes.
Interesting topic and may be going into the history of things would be important. Tribal villages from different parts of the world do show a tendency of unisex dressing - wrapping something around private parts and same for men and women.
Unless one know whether women chose to dress differently or whether men forced them to dreas differently, its difficult to say whether the idea has always been sexist. It may be the case that during time when man was hunter gatherer and was the breadwinner, women chose to dress differently to appeal to the opposite sex.
Times have obviously changed, so women now do have the choice to dress the way they want but i dont think the skirt is sexist. Having different styles of clothing also helps increase consumerism and clever marketing can be used to make millions.
Lastly, schools should have gender neutral dressing and should not have the power to dictate what kids should wear. It can be a thing parents decide till kids can think and choose what they want to wear.
You make a great pint by recalling the unisexual clothing in tribal traditions. We need to take inspiration from that tradition.
Hard to say. Males and Females are different in many ways, so pretending like they are not having discussions over discussions over this topics won't ever change that. And that is a good thing, diversity almost always is.
With that being said, I am against the notions of uniformation. I have been different on this topic for a while in the past, but I have changed in that regard.
Regarding the actual topic of what female and male clothing is, what it looks like and what it entails, let's be honest, that topic is fleeting as hell and highly relevant on the time, the plays and the culture.
Taking skirts as an example, usually considered to be female clothing these days, but thousands of years ago, plenty of cultures had them be a go-to piece of clothing for males too. Every now and then, we even see it in pop culture. I mean, look at this man for example:
Do you want to tell this guy that he looks girlish? Because I sure as hell do not.
Clothing has to be practical first and foremost, everything else is a secondary concern. And by practical, I mean functional for any kind of physical activity.
I am not sure on the social aspect of it all. Clothing plays a huge factor when it comes this and I see advantages and disadvantages.
Very well said:
I agree with you on this. Traditionally, clothing was gender-neutral. Men probably need to reclaim their right to wear skirts now 😊
At the end of the day, males will always be at a disadvantage when it comes to these topics because females are simply the more beautiful gender, visually speaking.
They can make everything work for them fashion wise some way or the other while man kinda have to work for these things to work.
Don't underestimate your soul ...it's the most beautiful of all! Men's body too have its own intrinsic beauty and charm.
P.S.:
Sorry, I missed upvoting your comment for this bounty though I wanted to.
It's true, us men do have a certain charm going for us as well.
Not a problem, all good.
clothes shouldn't be worn based on gender but profession. Like don't wear skirt or loose clothing near a mechanical machine and don't wear a white suit in a coal mine.
I agree to your point about the need based clothing requirements. But when you have a choice, should gender dictate your choice?
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If everyone would do it.
I wouldn't feel uncomfortable.
But if only a small group of people doing it or only me.
It would be hella uncomfortable
Yep, I understand this. That's why we need a widespread social approval for this new tradition of gender neutral clothing.
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