Riki Wilchins of Queer Theory Gender Theory is quoted saying: "Women in suits and ties or men in dresses still make us
profoundly uncomfortable. Attacks by cultural conservatives on our right to
gender identity and expression work precisely because they provoke this
deep-seated 'ick factor.' Much like gay people who are welcome to be gay, as long as they don’t act gay by “flaunting” it by public—
camping it up, holding hands, or discussing their sex lives— we often want to
confer equality without being confronted by it."
Clothes, for me, do not have a gender-- unless you really subscribe to that--and clothes should not be labeled in this girl-boy binary. But it would be difficult not to notice that clothes are in
fact labeled girls/women and boys/men in clothing stores. The clothes
for "men" are on one side of the store and the clothes for "women" are
on the other. There are whole shapes and charts that are distinctly for
the measurement of gendered bodies. American "Men's" pants are measured
in inches and measures the waist and legs. But for American "women's"
pants, they are designated a single digit number.
This is frustrating because it seems that there exists a society that
shapes the way we picture what people should wear before we determine
what we like. Even in Goodwill, there is a clearly defined marker of
women's and men's wracks. When I started to find myself over in the
men's section more often I found that men's clothes are better than
women's. From the sizing, to the material, durability, and price of the
clothing, "men's" clothes were superior. "Women's" clothing was made
poorly because it's often made more quickly because there is a notion
that women need more clothes and shop more for clothes. Also, material
of the clothes for women are meant to "hug" their bodies figure like
spandex, polyester, and cheap materials that easily tear or wear out.
Additionally,
I started noticing the price difference as well. For a women's
flannel shirts, they were made with less fabric because they were
smaller framed shirts, and yet they were $6 more than the men's flannel
shirts at the same store, even when you account for the fact that the
men's flannels were made with more material and a more durable
material.
Not only did I like men's shirts, pants, socks, shoes, and coats
better--I liked men's underwear better too. I used to buy "panties" that
were delicate little things made of plastic that rode up my crotch
while simultaneously riding down the crack of my ass. And when I would
bend over, kneel, or sit down, my "panties" would be exposed for the
public to see as my pants would slide down. Even when I wore tight
fitting pants, my panties would still show. This happened to every girl
or woman around me from what I noticed. And I noticed that when guy's
pants would slide down, at least their boxers or briefs (underwear)
would show--not their ass crack.
So, I started wearing briefs that are actually made of cotton with a
wide elastic band that hugs around my waist better than panties in the
women's aisle. Even when my pants slide down in my seat, I feel more
comfortable for the public to see my briefs rather than panties. I
stopped wearing a bra too because I realized I couldn't keep a bra for
more than a couple of years before it began to tear apart in all places,
and the underwire would poke my breasts, and I would have to take them
out. Bras feel constrictive as well. When I don't wear a bra in
public--sometimes people feel the need to ask if I'm not wearing one.
It's often assumed that women run the fashion industry. This assumption
comes from women being the face or bodies of a product to be sold.
Despite fashion being catered to women and girls, when considering women
only hold 1.7% of the CEO positions within retail corporations of the
fashion industry, according to Yasmin Marie of Elite Daily.
Not to mention, women of color in fashion and women of different body
shapes and sizes are drastically underrepresented in the fashion world.
Therefore, clothing for women of all sizes is limited in clothing
stores. When men run fashion, clothing made to be for women is still
made by men for the pleasure of men.
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