FASHION AND ANDROGYNY

FASHION & ANDROGYNY

A BOY DANCES IN A DRESS ON TIKTOK AND YUNGBLUD WEARS A SKIRT AT ONE OF HIS LATEST GIGS...

With the rise of social media, we have never had so much space to explore and express our views as much as we do now. With the rise of TikTok, we have a bigger platform than ever before when it come to making an impact. Many of us are using this app for self-expression, to ditch labels and gender stereotypes; here many of us feel safe to dress more androgynously without the fear of judgment we may face in everyday life. Now that we can see many people of all sexualities able to express themselves more, there is no shortage of boys in dresses and maid outfits while girls are cutting their hair into mullets. One of the popular creators showcasing their more androgynous fashion sense is Benji

Krol, who has 18.3m TikTok followers. He mostly uses the platform to showcase his very creative makeup looks yet a while ago he wore a dress, which had a huge, positive response from the TikTok community.

But it is not only the boys choosing to ditch the gender stereotypes and labels. Another popular creator playing with gender roles is Marth Wubbles, who has 907.3k followers. The majority of her TikToks are style videos. Showing her androgynous fashion sense, she makes almost daily style videos. Her content has been especially popular among the LGBTQ+ community. Tag interviewed readers for your views on how TikTok has helped you to express yourselves and discover your own sense of fashion and style. Amber Wott (17) who lives in Brighton told us “I think TikTok is a brilliant platform to bring young people together in a community, where they can feel safe to express themselves and find out who they are without fear of judgment. Being somone who identifies as non-binary myself, I often felt lost and alone, coming from a small conservative town; but TikTok has really helped me to find myself, and to feel less alone, yes it has its negatives as well as postives, but for me it has really been helpful in feeling happy with who I am, and has really helped me to discover myself.”

Many of the ‘alternative’ androgynous fashion seen on social media has been inspired by previous generations, particularly by pop and art school culture. One person who inspired decades of young people was David Bowie, who was famous for breaking gender stereotypes, especially with his alternative alter-ego, Ziggy Stardust. Luca Pariot (18) from Lewes told Tag ‘21, “David Bowie was a big inspiration for me. I feel he really helped to pave the way for this generation when it comes to fashion and androgyny.” Bowie was open to questioning his gender and sexuality, for example, writing lyrics in Rebel, Rebel: “Not sure if you’re a boy or a girl.”

Current artists such as Harry Styles are also challenging gender stereotypes. The ex-One Direction band member, who went solo and in recent years gained popularity because of his androgynous style, is an openly pansexual male. In an interview he did for The Guardian, he stated that he doesn’t wear clothes to make him look like he identifies with a certain sexuality or gender but rather to ‘look cool’. Here at Tag ’21, we think this is how many people our age feel about gender and androgyny. One Tag reader told us, “Clothing doesn’t have to fit a certain gender or sexuality. I can identify as a female and still wear masculine clothing. Societal norms are a construct, and change and evolve over time.”

Actor Emma Watson is another current celebrity who chooses to dress more androgynously. Most of us know her as Hermione from the Harry Potter films, but she also does lots of work for women’s rights groups being a feminist herself, and she was a champion and ambassador of the United Nations women’s heforshe campaign. Watson is an advocate for removing gender stereotypes and norms and has a very mixed fashion sense, sometimes dressing more femininely and at other times she is more masculine. Watson drew attention to her sense of style when she dressed in a blazer and shorts a couple of years ago for her Lancôme shoot in Paris. She continues to break gender stereotypes through her modelling career.

It’s inspiring to see how many older artists have paved the way for our generation, and how innovators are creating a more diverse landscape for future teens. We now have a bigger platform than ever before to explore new ideas and express ourselves, making a big difference for generations to come.

"SOCIAL NORMS ARE A CONSTRUCT, THEY CHANGE AND EVOLVE OVER TIME"