Could the men’s and women's sections at your local clothing store be obsolete? The LGBTQ etc. movement’s latest attack on traditional gender understanding is in fashion.
Ungendered fashion is a trend that attempts to get rid of gender stereotypes with clothes. It has ultimately failed and been met with criticism for putting everyone in menswear.
Many stores have adopted gender neutral sections. Zara released it’s version of non-gender specific clothes that featured baggy sweatshirts, white t-shirts and jeans. This was met with criticism because “[T]he models used were all thin and white, and the clothes were all oversized basics” that “are often coded as menswear.”
Target has a “gender neutral” section on its website, but the clothing itself are mostly pride shirts and plain white or grey t-shirts. And it has the same problem as Zara had.
Mic fashion writer Rachel Lubitz explored this idea in an article titled “What would the ideal ungendered fashion collection really look like?” Trying to get behind what activists ultimately want and why “high designers have gotten the concept more clearly.”
Lubitz cited Palomo Spain, a high fashion designer is “known for putting models of various genders in elaborate gowns and skirts.” Thankfully, everyday fashion hasn’t been this successful. It doesn’t mean that activists and designers haven’t dreamed of the future without gender. Lubitz noted that, “with the fashion industry being so divided and devoted to the binary” it would be hard to do.
The founder of gender neutral brand Chromat, Becca McCharen-Tran’s ideal “would be accepting everyone and allowing them to [wear] whatever they want regardless of their gender presentation.”
The “ideal genderfree collection” for Jacob Tobia, a “genderqueer” writer and model, would be a “colorful parade of djellabas,” a unisex garment traditionally worn by men and women in Africa and Asia. “[T]here are no gender roles imposed on these robes, so anyone can wear them.”
He doesn’t want to “live in a euphoric future where there is no gender.” Rather, he wants to “live in a euphoric future where there is so much gender and it’s shimmering everywhere.” But isn’t everyone wearing the same unisex garment ultimately getting rid of gender?
Yet another ridiculous attempt to rid the world of gender. First gender neutral bathrooms, now this. What’s next?
