Being androgynous is one of the most incorrectly interpreted word, in gender expression dynasty. It is usually confused for being feminine or transgender. Wikipedia defines being Androgynous as “a combination of masculine and feminine characteristics into an ambiguous form”. Wearing gender-fluid clothing in India is not very common, as there are a lot of people who do not even know the meaning of being Androgynous. Bollywood actors like Ranveer Singh have taken up an initiative to break the gender stereotype and stepped in the media wearing his gender-fluid couture. This initiative helped our country to understand that men can wear skirts and dresses and it does not make them feminine in any nature.
Its the society that has formulated the entire concept of Toxic Masculinity according to which there are guidelines which decide what makes you masculine and feminine. But that does not mean that being androgynous you are any less of a man or women, it is to represent the idea that the makeup, nail paint and clothes do not define our gender, it's just a part of how we express ourselves.
Helps to break gender norms.
As discussed earlier, there have been certain norms set by our society which distinguishes between a man and a woman. According to those norms, men are supposed to look rough and rugged while women are supposed to be elegant and fragile. Being androgynous is a form of gender expression where you are not defining yourself according to those gender norms which were set by our society.
Provides a wide range of clothing options for individuals.
When we dress based on our gender norms, it quite difficult to find clothes that can express our personality. As when we enter a clothing shop they are sectioned based on gender stereotype like Male, Female and Children. When dressing up androgynously we have the option to choose the attire of our choice to be it from Male or Female section, which allows them to have multiple options.
Promotes equality in gender.
Its been quite some time now that our society considers masculinity as being strong and associate femininity as being weak. Dressing androgynous helps in making a strong statement that those beliefs are nothing but bogus. Todays time has proven that be it any industry, females are as dominating and successful as males. Dressing androgynous proves that both the gender are equal and powerful.
Empowers self-expression.
It's weird to see that we proclaim that we have unity in diversity but as soon as someone seems to look a little different, our minds flip and we start pressurising them to become normal. There are a lot of us, who restrict from expressing their personality due to the fear of being judged by our society. But when you dress androgynously, you choose what you wear and the attire helps in gaining confidence as it helps to enhance our personality and power of gender expression.
Promotes experimentation through fashion.
Dressing androgynous promotes experimentation as it empowers us to try new clothing, style, footwear and makeup. It helps us to select from a wide range of options and helps us understand how we can enhance our personality using different fabric, colour, makeup and accessories. Through experimentation, it makes us a master in fashion and allows to style ourselves to look the best.
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