Identity is Genderless

Gender identity is loosely described as what someone identifies as and does not
necessarily correspond with established ideas of the different sexes.

According to Chantal Fernandez (BoF, 2017), there is a “the gender revolution” with
“leaders…urging individuals across cultures and identities to act”. The UK Facebook
announced 71 gender options (The Telegraph, 2017) whilst Tumblr listed 112
genders and 70 sexual orientations (2016).

Definition of Identity (Oxford Dictionary, n.d.)

Definition of gender (Oxford Dictionary, n.d.)

By observing these changes, we can deduce that there is a widespread trend of

traditional binaries being no longer in play and society is standing up for freedom of
expression. This allows one to question the state of gender identity and its impact
on different industries.

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 Tumblr's shortened gender list (Odyssey, 2017.)

Fashion reflects social, economic, political and cultural changes (Zegheanu, 2017).
With this notion, the fashion industry has slowly started to accept the need to
embrace the ever-refining psychology of gender identity.

The 1900s marked important changes, with the rising desire of equal rights for all
men and women – steered by movements such as the Women’s Liberation
Movement. In 1910, Coco Chanel introduced trousers for women, replacing
‘fashion’s finery lace, corsets, underclothes, padding” (Komar, 2016), taking
inspiration from menswear. This had a long-standing effect thereafter, inciting others
in the industry to react e.g. Saint Laurent redefining the nature of gendered clothing
with his Le Smoking Suit in 1960 (Shardlow, 2011).

Yves Saint Laurent Le Smoking Suit (Foundation Pierre Bergé, n.d.)

Gender bending manifested and fashion began to question the gender limitation.
Although this counter-culture was mainly associated with women, it became a

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shared desire for both sexes. Spearheaded by people such as David Bowie in the
60s, Prince and Grace Jones in the 80s and Nirvana in the 90s – both men and
women explored contemporary ideas of identity through design principles and
elements. They broke away from the notion that gender roles need to have
something to do with sexuality (Komar, 2016).

David Bowie (Shultz, B. n.d.), Prince (The Deal Music Group, n.d.) - left to right)

Grace Jones (Socimage, n.d.), Kurt Cobain (Imgur, 2013) - left to right

With all the different communities gaining more awareness for example the LGBTQ
community, the 20th century has led the pavement for fashion to become genderless
(Balster, 2017). This means that one can chose what they want to do with their own
style/fashion-sense irrespective of sex (Petter, 2017).

We see many gender-neutral fashion brands such as Private Policy, designers,

models etc. supporting this evolution; with Mary Wilson stating in Gender-fluid
fashion: Blurring the lines between men’s women’s clothes, it will be soon when we

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look at someone and not segment them according to what they wear (Bauknecht,
2017). As part of Private Policy’s mission, instead of looking at traditional rules about
appearance, they look at the “spirit of the garment” (Balster, 2017).

Private Policy – gender-neutral fashion brand

Looking back at films such as Rocky Horror Picture Show and Kinky Boots and the
present campaigning for gender parity on screen and behind the scenes, the film
industry is also questioning gender roles.

We see that in Rocky Horror Picture Show, a film made in the 70s, reflected an era
where different communities began to rise e.g. the transgender community. As a
glam-rock horror film, it focused around fears of oneself – the loosened moral codes
within a conservative society (Miller, 2011).

In Kinky Boots, gender bending is seen with the introduction of a black American
drag queen, Lola, which was still unheard of during the early 2000s – probing the
question of what is identity and how do you identify yourself? Citing from Gender
Performativity and Self-Perception: Drag as Masquerade, many were confused and
struggled to distinguish themselves. There, there was experimentation with drag –
which is a complex collective of characteristics, and not just one sex or the other
(Strubel-Scheiner, 2011). Today, this concept with the desire to empower and boost
self-esteem is seen in TV series such as RuPaul’s Drag Race and RuPaul’s Drag U
(ibid).

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 Rocky Picture Horror Show (Nerdist, n.d.), Kinky Boots (Essence, n.d.) (left to right)

RuPaul Drag Race (Odyssey, 2016), RuPaul U-Drag Race (CollegeMisery, n.d.) - left to right

There is also another outlook of gender identity and its negative impacts: the
significant gap between males and females. For example, Hollywood is currently
male-dominated but not due to the lack female talents – +/-half of graduates at
certain film schools are represented by women (Laham, 2017). Similarly, women are
disadvantaged in what kind of roles they have on screen and off-screen, the salaries
they receive, and dealing with other issues such as sexism (ibid).

With all these combined subjects, there is a movement towards the acceptance all
genders – emphasizing the balance of equality for all genders. More films and
documentaries approach this theme e.g. They (Greenwood, 2017) and even MTV
has made gender-neutral awards (Tiffany, 2017).

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 Emma Watson accepting the first gender neutral MTV Award (Getty Images, 2017)

Fine art has always been a medium to express one’s thought and emotions and is
often influenced by the zeitgeist of the period. Citing Sarah Cunningham, visual art
is needed to step away from the boundaries and support innovation – “new ways of
thinking, to celebrate or lament the human condition” (2017).

In effect, fine artists have created artworks throughout the ages, probing the nature
of identity and gender – challenging “normative assumptions” of the society.

Magdalena Ventura - Jusepe de Ribera (17th century)

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In the 17th, Jusepe de Ribera painted Magdalena Ventura, a woman known as La
mujer barbuda – The Bearded Woman. Appearing to be incredibly masculine,
Ventura broke so many norms and radically defied the gender systems – revering
individuality and asserting gender fluidity. She was praised and dignified by the artist
who marked her down as a 21st century contemporary hero (Jones, 2016).

Frida Kahlo: Portrait with Cropped Hair (Kahlo, F., 1940)

Frida Kahlo of the Expressionism movement, is also known to have contended with
why identity needs to be a singular, concrete thing. In some of her artworks such as
Portrait with Cropped Hair, she rejects mutual exclusivity of masculinity and
femininity for co-existence. She delighted in differences and disregarded the
distinctions between sex, gender, sexuality and race (Haynes, n.d.).

The 21st century has welcomed artists to grapple with this topic and express their
own subjective and objective views beyond the binaries of male and female. Trigger:
Gender a tool and a weapon was an open exhibition that allowed artists to explore
the concept of a fluid, inclusive identity. Ektor Garcia, one of the artists who exhibited,
created artworks of “sculptures evoking S&M fetish gears and Mexican
housewares…[moving away] from definitive gender and sexual roles” (New
Exhibitions Museum, 2017). Others such as SA cartoonist, Zapiro (Jonathon Shapiro)

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react with comic strips that approach societal issues concerning gender identity for
example, the gender controversy of Castor Semenya.

Ektor Garcia: Hule (2015), Zapiro: Jeolousy of Castor Semenya (Zapiro, 2009.) - left to right

Identity is something we cannot simple label with antiques – we cannot label a gender
to it conclusively. We see that every example we see from our current world is
connected in the belief is far more complex than what we set in the past. Our culture
is rooted in our need to express ourselves authentically, creatively and without fear.
With this knowledge, identity has essentially become be genderless as the meaning
of gender has lost its power and meaning.

Judith Butler Quote (AZ Quotes)

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