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I didn't know whether to post this in GD or the Psychology forum. Society (Western society at least) has come a long way in social freedoms for women, yet when it comes to male clothes, it's still looked down upon for a man to wear something even remotely feminine.
In my college class there's this guy who regularly wears yoga pants, knee-high leather boots and puts on makeup. He actually looks good in it since he's not too masculine but a few people in the class have commented on how they think he's a bit weird for it. Seems a bit immature but there are many adults who get enraged/ridicule men who choose not to conform to gender stereotypes.
I wonder why this is the case?
Moderator's edit:
To turn this into an actual debate for the Great Debates forum, let's presume that the premise of this debate is: "Men should be looked down upon for wearing something even remotely feminine, because culture and society dictates against this."
Participants can argue either for or against this premise.
Last edited by Rachel NewYork; 04-16-2022 at 09:54 AM..
I didn't know whether to post this in GD or the Psychology forum. Society (Western society at least) has come a long way in social freedoms for women, yet when it comes to male clothes, it's still looked down upon for a man to wear something even remotely feminine.
In my college class there's this guy who regularly wears yoga pants, knee-high leather boots and puts on makeup. He actually looks good in it since he's not too masculine but a few people in the class have commented on how they think he's a bit weird for it. Seems a bit immature but there are many adults who get enraged/ridicule men who choose not to conform to gender stereotypes.
I wonder why this is the case?
Why shouldn't men wear feminine clothing? Simple - because they're men, and men and women are physically different.
Why shouldn't men wear feminine clothing? Simple - because they're men, and men and women are physically different.
? I don’t know how that’s a valid answer. I remember in college I let a guy friend borrow one of my dresses and he looked way better in it than I ever did.
Certainly in previous centuries, men wore frilly and ostentatious clothing just like women- look at the European men’s clothing from the Elizabethan era or even the 18th century. Lots of lace, tights, shoes with heels, fancy wigs, etc. Colors we think of as feminine used to be considered masculine.
Tall boots were also in, particularly for military looks. Even now, there are many cultures where the traditional masculine outfit is a skirt or even a dress. In Scotland men have kilts. In Korea, the traditional male Hanbok is long and looks like a dress, and in Japan men also wear dresses/long skirts.
In this discussion it might hinge on what you consider "feminine." To me "feminine" has more to do with style, cut, and fit than with the overall type of clothing. Consider the kilt as Ramen mentioned. When worn with the right accoutrements, socks, etc, there' nothing feminine about it specifically and can be worn just as well be either sex. Change the cut and style of that kilt into a miniskirt and it's not the same look anymore.
Same with pants. Pants in general are gender neutral. But it's also very obvious that some cuts simply match the typical woman's body better than the typical man's.
Or consider another example. Back when I was in school, shorts for guys were short (remember those grey gym shorts we had to wear?). So were swimsuits. Lots of guys wore speedos. But somewhere along the way, the ghetto look with long baggy "shorts" that came below the knees became the "style" for guys. Even at the beach. To me those look ridiculous on guys or girls for that matter. Today, if a guy wore the same gym shorts we were issued in school, people would look at him like something was wrong.
Now today of course you wouldn't want to see me in those grey gym shorts. Heck I wouldn't want to see me. But back when I was younger, I cut a pretty fine figure for the co-eds who were also out jogging. Or at least in my view. They were probably laughing their heads off to each other (they always went in pairs).
I didn't know whether to post this in GD or the Psychology forum. Society (Western society at least) has come a long way in social freedoms for women, yet when it comes to male clothes, it's still looked down upon for a man to wear something even remotely feminine.
In my college class there's this guy who regularly wears yoga pants, knee-high leather boots and puts on makeup. He actually looks good in it since he's not too masculine but a few people in the class have commented on how they think he's a bit weird for it. Seems a bit immature but there are many adults who get enraged/ridicule men who choose not to conform to gender stereotypes.
I wonder why this is the case?
Moderator's edit:
To turn this into an actual debate for the Great Debates forum, let's presume that the premise of this debate is: "Men should be looked down upon for wearing something even remotely feminine, because culture and society dictates against this."
Participants can argue either for or against this premise.
I think that some people just like to get enraged or ridicule anyone who chooses not to conform to gender stereotypes -- or any other kind of stereotype for that matter. It puts some people out of their comfort zone when they see others behaving in unexpected ways.
Having said that, I don't see what is particularly "feminine" about yoga pants, knee-high leather boots, or makeup. I'm female, and I've never worn yoga pants. But then, I don't do yoga. There are men who do yoga so, I figure, why shouldn't they wear yoga pants? The knee-high leather boots sound to me like something worn by both men and women, but then I'm not that much into current fashion. Make-up for men has been around for quite awhile now, I believe?
Now, if I were to see a man stroll down NYC's Fifth Avenue dressed in a corset and Regency ball gown with a plumed bonnet on his head, I might look twice. Unless it was the annual Easter Day Parade down Fifth Avenue. Or the annual Pride Parade. Or (come to think of it) just another ordinary day in NYC.
Either way, cheers to him for fearlessly marching to his own drummer. And this is why I am generally against some dictates of culture and society.
Last edited by Rachel NewYork; 04-16-2022 at 09:56 AM..
I think if anything more and more men are dressing anyway they want and society isn't judging they way they may have even a generation ago. There are plenty of famous people or their male kids who wear dresses in public. Jaden Smith being one. Adeles son wore a Frozen dress to disneyland because he loves Anna. EJ Johnson is probably the most notable one right now because he's 30 years old.
They also wear earring and grow long hair.
but most men are physically built different than women,so the clothes would not fit as well.
One of my brothers when he was around 7 years old decide to put on lipstick,skirt and my mother's heels,I think he sensed he is no longer the favorite child when a younger brother was born,but how does dressing up like mom makes any difference?
"Men should be looked down upon for wearing something even remotely feminine, because culture and society dictates against this."
Nope.
1) These men aren't hurting anyone.
2) Nobody should "look down upon" anybody else (not even for being judgemental).
3) "Culture and society" aren't dictating this, it's all fashion, and fashions change constantly. A couple of hundred years ago, tight pants, high boots, and even makeup were fashionable for men. George Washington wore tight pants and high boots. Should he be looked down upon?
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