turns out gender isn't that important anyway

I recently found a page in i-D which said that young people aren’t bothered about gender and sexuality anymore. This got me thinking about how our generation perceives spectrums of gender and sexuality, and how we are way more accepting of people’s positions across these spectrums than the old fogies before us. You can be comfortable in your own shoes, but this doesn’t have to stop you from enjoying the things that the other gender gets to enjoy.

There’s loads of freedom for young people to place themselves on this scale nowadays compared to the categories in which we were forced to place ourselves in before. I recently saw one of my friends go to a university formal in a shirt and trousers and was utterly inspired. Girls don’t have to wear dresses and heels to a formal event, and who doesn’t love a good jumpsuit? Cara Delevingne certainly brings a masculine edge to her campaigns and her looks on the red carpet – she was even recently involved in the DKNY menswear campaign and was the only girl to feature in the shoot rocking a suit. But this doesn’t mean that girls are now throwing out their make up bags. Quite the opposite. There is nothing better than a sharp red lip or a suave smoky eye to complete the look. Girls are able to explore their femininity to whatever extent they want, whether this be by painting their nails and having pink bedcovers, or just having long hair and the odd blouse in their wardrobe.

Not only are girls able to embrace masculine looks, men are also free to borrow some tips from the ladies. It’s been embedded in our society for years – Gareth Gates didn’t achieve those spikes back in 2002 without some hair gel. Now, with the controversial rise of the man-bun (and you can even buy clip on man buns, although you probably shouldn’t), there are men all over the world growing out their locks beyond the short back and sides. With the likes of Harrison Koisser rocking the messy, long bob, and Harry Styles and James Bay styling out the longer hair, its becoming a really popular look. You can walk around cities and see unbrushed mops under fedoras or pulled back with hair ties. Flick through fashion magazines and you’ll see boys wearing eyeliner and girls with barely any powder or mascara on.

In terms of fashion, girls are free to wear trousers and, although boys aren’t quite allowed to wear skirts just yet, they’re certainly not given a side-eye if they’re donning a floral shirt. Girls can pull off baggy jeans (although they’re disguised as ‘mom’ jeans) and their dad’s camping fleece, while boys can wear women’s skinny jeans and sling a satchel over their shoulder.

Obviously there’s an aspect of sexuality that comes into play here, but that’s just part of growing up. If you’re developing your style and looking at popular LGBTQ+ icons in the media like Olly Alexander, Ellen Page, and Cara Delevingne, then there’s nothing but inspiration to be found. This can only be put down to good journalism. The progression and recognition of stars on the spectrum in a positive light is a real step in the right direction. Now that we’re so aware of ourselves, some people question their every move and a small dose of chest dysphoria leads them to question their gender. This isn’t the case. It takes time for people to explore their sexuality and their gender and come to terms with who they are – and this is a pretty big thing to be doing at 18 whilst studying at university. Sometimes we need to take a step back and see how far we’ve come in terms of equality and acceptance because we’re doing pretty good so far.

Furthermore, careers which were typically male are allowing more and more females in and vice versa. Although this is seriously unbalanced, the fact that girls can get STEM jobs, and boys can get jobs as models and singers, is a significant step in the right direction. There’s still massive problems in the workforce all around the world that go beyond who’s employed where, but there are young boys saying they want to be hairdressers and young girls saying they want to be surgeons so I think gender equality is definitely on the right path.

I also read this super article about Harry Styles and gender norms if One Direction and them being great people is your thing (and, if its not, it should be).