MEN WEARING DRESSES

LET’S TALK

Opening statement

Let all males who want to wear a dress wear one. “Their bodies, their choice.” Right?

Ladies and gentlemen, this is one of those kitchen table talks that people could share over coffee. So, please read with a light heart.

I write this text knowing that women are benefiting only 35% of the freedoms that men obtain from our society today. Women’s rights regarding their bodies and their choices continue to be disrespected by the, and/or in a, society that is 98% led by males. Therefore, we should continue to use our platforms to campaign for women and their rights. Of course, our interest should always be leaning towards any underdog, male or female.

Now that we have all the declarations done, let’s begin.

NOW…

Oftentimes when we turn on the news, or browse the internet, or scroll through social media, we see a growing number of men who are wearing “modern dresses“. And along those images, we read comments from people who have nominated themselves to be the gatekeepers of ‘gender-specific clothing’. Basically, we receive lessons pertaining to why men shouldn’t be wearing dresses. According to those people, apparently, “men who wear dresses lose their masculinity when they’re in dresses.” Apparently, “men who wear dresses are gay.” Apparently, “men who wear dresses are weak.” These excuses go on and on.

Basically, the anti-dress-for-males people have many reasons as to why men shouldn’t wear a dress. Because, we must remember that these are potentially the same people who get to choose what’s feminine and what’s masculine when it comes to clothing. 

Perhaps, these are the same people who bar women from wearing pants. Simply because, according to them, “Women don’t wear pants. Pants are made only for men.” Actually, it’s quite ironic that in the beginning, there were no pants at all. Both female and male wore leaves. They wore leaves and, often in winter, wore animal skins. 

Ladies and gents, there were no pants in the beginning of our creation. Pants were made by men. And because men saw themselves as mightier than women, they claimed those pants only for their gender. But, I digress. That’s not the point of this text.

Anyway, as I do some behavioural and social research on this group of gatekeepers, I can quickly see that they’re highly religious, cultural, or traditional people. Therefore, maybe their belief system could be the basis of their disapproval.

Religion and Tradition

The big irony is that males have always worn modern dresses. And the initial males who wore modern dresses were religious and/or traditional. In fact, almost all religious, cultural, and traditional male leaders still wear dresses to this day.

So what’s the problem?

The society tells us that males are allowed to wear dresses …but as long as it’s for cultural or religious purposes. 

The society says that males are not allowed to wear dresses for themselves. They’re not allowed to wear dresses for fashion. They’re not allowed to wear dresses to please their own desires. Only for religion and culture. Wow.

That’s sad. 

Closing Statement

If males can wear dresses to church, why can’t they wear them in the comfort of their homes? If males can wear dresses at a cultural ceremony, why can’t they wear them at the mall? 

We hope for answers.

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[ENDS]

All images are used under Creative Commons licence.