Do It Like a Dude

Attitudes to androgyny and cross-dressing in fashion – and beyond it

(March 2009 issue of Dazed and Confused.) 

an·drog·y·nous [an-droj-uh-nuhs] 

–adjective

1. being both male and female; hermaphroditic.

2. having both masculine and feminine characteristics.

3. having an ambiguous sexual identity.

4. neither clearly masculine nor clearly feminine in appearance.

cross-dress

   [kraws-dres, kros-]

–verb (used without object)

to dress in clothing typically worn by members of the opposite sex.

-      Definitions from dictionary.com.

The attraction of fashion is its supposed ability to define us. Your clothes send out their own message to the world, and that message is attributed to you: in this sense, it is believed that a pair of killer heels, for example, can - and will - inform and educate the world about the sort of person you truly are. With that assumption made, it’s a fair statement to make that fashion expresses our interior - perhaps even for those who don’t buy into it. Those who believe in the concept of anti-fashion are showing us their personalities through their rejection of labels, certainly, and it’s up to the viewer to interpret that. Of course, our clothing isn’t the only thing which displays us to the world, but people will readily make judgements dependent on what you’re wearing, even before they hear you speak. Our style defines us. 

As a society, consequently we associate certain ideas with certain clothing. A well-cut suit is supposed to tell that you’re a clever city slicker, maybe. Your patterned playsuit it supposed to suggest you’re fun. Your brilliant red lipstick, supposed to imply you’re sexy. One of these connotations we, as a society, have is that particular items of clothing are assigned to be male or female. When you think about it, it’s ridiculous – clothes are cotton, silk, leather – inanimate material cannot have a gender. It’s our own thoughts that assume it to be so. Still, it’s very powerful, and often fashion has decided to catch our attention by traversing these boundaries, and people use this fashion in order to make a statement of self-expression. We give nicknames to these people and, depending on our own opinions, find these ‘gender-benders’ attractive, or not.

(From top left; Andrej Pejic, Madonna)

Even way back in history, we have those who broke these rules. In the 1700s, a French diplomat and spy named D’Eon de Beaumont lived half his life as man, half his life as a woman – using the costume of the time to express this change. (In fact, a betting pool was started on the London Stock Exchange as to the his true gender identity following rumours in the first half he was actually a woman – Beaumont declined to join.)  

(From above; popular model Agyness Deyn, D'Eon de Beaumont) 


In the well-known novel, The Well of Loneliness by trouser-donning Radclyffe Hall, the main character, Stephen, challenges the society  of her times by dressing in men’s tailored garments. In the Victorian  era, a number of ‘male impersonators’ like Vesta Tilley and later Ella Shields – women who dressed in coat and tails, giving performances under the guise of men, became the pin-ups of the music halls, becoming cause de celebre’s in their own right and earning the respect of both men and women for the wit of their unusual performances.

(From above; male model Paul Boche, male impersonator Vesta Tilley)

With the rise of feminism, women began to wear suits more commonly, formerly firmly in the domain of male attire. A number of shojo manga use the concept of cross-dressing in their storylines – often a female enrols as a male, scattering sexual confusion with male protagonists in her wake, such as in Hana-Kimi and the more satirical Ouran High School Host Club. Rarely do we see the opposite, and we can probably attribute this to the double-standards of cross-dressing society holds.

In the West, an androgynous woman is seen as fashion-conscious and attractive – examples include the model Agyness Deyn and the singer Janelle Monae. However, an effeminate, androgynous male - or a man who wears clothes we see as female for whatever reason - comes under attack, far more easily I believe. This is because it is seen as acceptable for women to be in touch with their masculine side, but men being in touch with their feminine side is not as accepted. Still, Bosnian-born model Andrej Pejic is number 98 in FHM’s 2011 edition of their 100 Sexiest Women in the World List – despite actually being a man. Although FHM’s early description – later rescinded and apologised for – about him being a ‘thing’ wasn’t the kindest, the media attention certainly hasn’t done his career any harm. He’s modelled for Jean Paul Gaultier and Marc Jacobs - the former wearing a full-blown wedding dress that sent press into a shark-like media frenzy - and is described as the ‘poster boy for fashion androgyny.’ His looks are definitely worth comment – I’ll be the first to admit, having discovered about him through an article in the Independent, I couldn’t help but gawk. Fashion is meant to make a statement – and Pejic absolutely does. Let's take a moment to reference Janelle Monae here too, who has a wardrobe I’d adore to ransack. 

Although gender presentation and sexuality are not directly linked, we often assume they are, imagining a woman who dresses in assumed-men’s clothes is a lesbian, or a man who wears assumed-women’s clothes is gay. This can be the case but not always. What we need to understand that cross-dressing and androgyny is primarily about self-expression. The reasoning behind that self-expression may be a mixture of reasons, however complicated or otherwise, but first and foremost it is about self-expression – which, when well-executed, is generally beautiful. 

Androgyny is often found attractive because it pushes our accepted boundaries and perhaps because it consequently makes us question ourselves and how we view things. We love the fun of things not necessarily being what they seem, and both androgyny and cross-dressing play into that.  Androgyny and cross-dressing are separate things, but I have chosen to address them together in this article because they both challenge our social standards and expectations as such are interesting, if only for that. 

As someone who does like to dress androgynously, I have my own reasons for doing so. Simply, I like the way it looks. Particularly, I enjoy the aesthetics of kodona, a branch of Japanese Lolita fashion, which is based on Victorian gentlemen’s clothing. I like wearing crisp shirts and colourful bow ties and tuxedo shorts. I don’t mind the curious stares – in fact, I kind of like them. For me, it’s another form of self-expression, and as such is perfectly acceptable.   

We can’t perpetuate double standards; consequently, don’t espouse the fashionability of cross-dressing on the catwalk yet bawl someone out for it on the street. Cross-dressing is another form of self-expression, and to truly be stylish in life is to accept and encourage all forms of self-expression, even if you don’t necessarily agree with or understand them. 




Links of interest: 


Male Impersonators
Andrej Pejic's appearance in FHM's 100 Sexiest Women List
Models.com article on Andrej Pejic
Interview with the aforementioned model
Further information on D'Eon de Beaumont

(Originally posted at Culture Shock, moved to here.)