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Is Gender-fluid Clothing Really Gender-neutral?
📍 Clothing is more than just stuff. It is an expression of one's identity. Gender-neutral or gender-fluid clothing doesn't always mean Plain Clothing, Plain T-shirts or Oversized shirts. Instead of dissolving gender binaries, this reinforces heteronormative ideas of clothing and fashion.
Gender-neutral clothing is a term that is trendy and is used interchangeably with ‘gender-fluid’ fashion. However, many brands claiming gender-inclusive, fluid design seem to overlook through the queer lens when designing clothes.
Queer lives and fashion choices are incredibly diverse. A lot of these gender-neutral clothes, on the other hand, tend to lean towards androgynous styles, loose sensible t-shirts and pants. There are too few skirts or dresses representing and making for LGBTQIA+ communities.
Gender-neutral does not only mean a dull grey hoodie that fits masculine and feminine body types. If we wish to see more inclusivity of queer lives and bodies, we need to see colour, skirts, dresses and frills too!
Being queer has always meant having to pick different styles, accessories and clothes that fit one’s unique sense of expression.
Many people in the LGBTQIA+ community experience social and physical discomfort from having to fit into heteronormative standards of fashion clothes that do not incorporate unique gender expression or keep in mind bodies that do not fit archetypal frames.
🏳️🌈 Queer fashion is about toeing and crossing several lines and destroying male/female binaries.
👉 This piece is a reminder of these so-called ‘gender-neutral fashion’ brands that do nothing more than enforcing cis-heteronormative ideas of masculinity on people. This is not what we want to wear, at least add a little glitter ✨
🎨 Art by @draconisteart
🖋 Text by @draconisteart & @sunturdays