Some Thoughts on ‘Gendered Clothing’

Editor’s note: The following piece is an opinion piece written by a content writer and does not necessarily reflect the opinions of HC Ryerson and its affliates. Identity is an integral part of every indvidual’s life and it deserves to be spoken about in a nuanced and respectful manner. 

Writer’s note: I did my best to be as inclusive and politically correct as possible, to express my ideas in ways that did not offend anyone and in ways that were right to say.​

Does Gender Exist in Clothes? The short answer is no. A famous comedian Eddie Izzard is well-known for wearing makeup and dresses and heels, in a 2011 interview with him on the Australian current affairs television panel program one of the panelists asked Eddie why he wore “women’s dresses.” Eddie refuted this idea with a now famous comment, “they’re not ‘women’s dresses’. They’re my dresses. I buy them. It’s like when women wear trousers. They’re not cross-dressing, they’re not wearing men’s trousers.” This progressive idea that Izzard presented on an award-winning show instantly blew up on social media, however, Izzard is not the only person to discuss this idea.

A beauty YouTuber named PatrickStarrr is known as well for wearing makeup as it is his job. He identifies as a “boy that wears makeup” and never lets his audience misgender him or his pronouns. He likes wigs and to be dolled up but he still identifies as male at this point in his life and he has always been upfront about his ideas on boys in makeup. He penned the saying “makeup is a one-size fits all” in an attempt to normalize men in makeup and the choice they have to be beautiful. He is always advocating his work and the work of others around him, and because of such a large platform as YouTube is, Patrick has been able to spread his inclusive message worldwide and inspired many young boys to experiment with makeup such as Arieh Simon.

After watching a few videos featuring PatrickStarrr and another YouTuber MannyMUA, Arieh was inspired to begin his own makeup journey that lead to him beginning his own channel, coined with his own name. He met both the YouTubers at a store in LA and the encounter was one he could not believe as Manny began to cry. The reason for those tears was that both him and Patrick could help a young boy be comfortable in his skin and identity to wear makeup because he wants to and because it makes him feel good. Arieh has been quoted to say that this moment was one of the best in his life. However, it is not only boys that defy the gender-assignment to clothes and makeup.

Ari Fitz is a model that identifies as a girl and also as androgynous. She wears no makeup and sometimes as she describes it “wears boy clothes”, however she mentions that sometimes in those clothes she wears heels as well. Her style identity is never compromised by the ideas forced upon her by others, she is comfortable with herself and she wears what she likes. She has been asked in a video if she is transgender boy, this is insulting not only to Ari who has never identified as a boy but to the transgender boys that wear dresses. It is not insulting because being a transgender boy would be, but because it assumes that Ari identifies as a boy because of the clothes she wears and that to be a transgender boy means you need to wear “boy clothes”.

Clothes do not have a gender. Makeup has no gender. These ideas come from the toxic binaries that exist in the identity community. Human beings are allowed to wear what they want and what makes them comfortable, regardless if it is pink or blue.

• clothes
• cross-dressing
• gender
• identity
• intersectionality