In 1932’s movie, Morocco and Blonde Venus,
Marlene Dietrich is shown revolting against the
‘feminine’ stereotypes by wearing a suit with a
hat and smoking a cigarette while dancing at a
nightclub.
The word androgyny has Greek origins. It is made
up of two words andro- male and gyn- female.
While androgynous fashion has slipped in and out
of fashion quite often, it has mostly been ridiculed
and shunned. Androgynous fashion is a liberation
from all the social constraints associated with
masculinity and femininity. Fashion is a way of
how we want the world to perceive us and gives
us to the freedom to express our ‘ideal’ version
to the world. Androgyny is often confused with a
tomboyish-ness. Since, most people only consider
there to be two genders, introducing a new one
is often not welcomed or scoffed at. Though,
not everyone believes or understands the idea
of androgyny but because Fashion is influential,
people do pay attention to it and try to incorporate
and accept new trends in their everyday lives
without looking at the real meaning behind it.
David Bowie Boy George
David Bowie and Boy George are one of the
very first people who used dress and the body to
question gender ideals and proposed a challenge
to the notions of prevailing ideas of sexuality that
can only be described through masculinity and
femininity.
With the Fashion getting more open to accepting
the i dea of Androgyny,
Androgyny has made its way
subtly and then more openly
in the mainstream culture in
the recent years.
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