Fashion Freedom and Equality

1. I am a masculine CIS-Gender, heterosexual male. I am not a cross-dresser. I am neither gender-queer nor gender non-conforming.

2. I like to wear high heels! I'm good at it. I like the feeling I and think it looks good. I collect them and, when I have the courage, wear them in public.

These two statements are, for many people, mutually exclusive!

High heels are women's shoes! They are feminine! They are for women only! Men should not wear them! Apart from women, only transvestites and LGBTQ+ men wear heels! Men in heels? Oh no! It looks awful! Hairy legs and heels? Complete turn-off! It looks effeminate! I couldn't have a relationship with a man who wears heels! A real man does not wear heels!

In my opinion, this is all bullshit. It is an anachronism to assign any type of task, job, career, sport, clothing, shoes, jewelry, make-up or whatever to a gender or sexual orientation. Although I am constantly confronted with the fact that it still happens - a lot!

Whatever happened to equality? Until the twentieth century, it was considered inappropriate for women to wear trousers except maybe for cycling and horse-riding.

The first female member of Congress to wear pants (trousers) on the chamber floor, Illinois Rep. Charlotte T. Reid, caused disbelief among her male colleagues as late as 1969.

In 1970, the German Social Democrat, Helene-Charlotte von Bothmer, caused a scandal when she held a speech in the German Parliament (Bundestag) wearing a trouser suit. A short time previously, the vice-president of the Bundestag had stated that he would throw out any woman wearing trousers in the Bundestag chamber and certainly not allow a woman in trousers to make a speech!

Von Bothmer's action was, at the time, seen as provocative, rebellious and ground-breaking. At that time, trousers were clear gender markers. They were for men. They were masculine. They were gendered.

The gender label on trousers has been gradually worn-away over the last 50 years. Women wearing trousers became increasingly common, less unusual and trousers became more acceptable as women's clothing as well as men's. Despite this, it is indicative of how long the de-genderizing of trousers has taken that Hilary Clinton was the first and so far only First Lady of the United States to have an official White House portrait wearing trousers and that this was a hot topic for discussion.

Meanwhile it is so common for women to wear trousers of all kinds that hardly anybody thinks twice about it. It's also common for women to wear flat lace-up shoes, boots etc. that are deemed by society to be suitable for men....and apparently now for women too.

That should be the same for men who wear heels, skirts or many types of fashion accessories.

No woman ever became more masculine by wearing trousers. Neither did women pull on jeans and start identifying as male. They were not cross-dressing. Wearing trousers didn't mean they were lesbian. They did not cause any harm to anyone. They didn't become unattractive and unsuitable as partners. Of course not!

Then why is a man who wears heels often labelled and thought of in these ways?

It's time to have a real think about freedom, equality, discrimination and rigid thinking in fashion and society in general. The clothes you wear do not define you as a person. Clothes do not make the man (or woman)! On the contrary. The clothes you wear are simply an expression of your sartorial preferences, your aesthetic tastes and your current mood. You should be free to chose any clothes you like, whatever your gender, whatever your job and wherever you are. That is fashion freedom. That is fashion equality. And it works both ways!

So go ahead. Reject convention. Break out of the box. Be provocative and ground-breaking. Wear whatever you want. If you like it, wear it. And ignore the haters.

Cheers to that.

Mike.