Gender as traditionally understood is quantal, either one is male or female, but that no longer holds true today.
Many societies have accepted people who identify as transgender but that is not to say that it is yet Uhuru for them, as a simple google search will bring out several results of discriminations and homophobic acts against transgenders. Then there are those who identify as gender fluid? But what does it exactly mean?
According to Google, it is an adjective “Denoting or relating to a person who does not identify themselves as having a fixed gender.” As an example, “the actor, DJ, and artist (each) identifies as gender-fluid.”
A CNN article provides further insight. “Gender”, according to the said article, “Is not just about being male or female; in fact, how one identifies can change every day or even every few hours.” It exists in a kind of spectrum with masculinity and femininity at opposites of the spectrum. Gender fluidity exists when gender expression shifts between masculine and feminine, and can be displayed in how we dress, express and describe ourselves.
“Gender fluidity is much more than saying, ‘oh, I want to play up the femininity traits that I have’ or that ‘I want to play up the masculine traits that I have.” For some people, it is a physical, mental and emotional shift on how they interact with the world. It’s an actual physical, mental and, for me, emotional shift in how I interact with the world.”
She says “this new blase attitude toward gender codes marks a radical break”, adding: “For these millennials, at least, descriptives like boy or girl rank pretty low on the list of important qualities – and the way they dress reflects that.”
That appears to be a trivialisation of the issue of gender fluidity, which for a lot of people is an emotional one. Certainly borrowing a partner’s clothes does not make one gender fluid, and based on the accounts given in the magazine, Hadid and Malik are certainly not gender fluid, just another couple who interchangeably wear a partner’s clothes.
Worryingly is the fact that a high profile magazine as Vogue should be making this kind of silly mistake. And Twitter is quick to point them out on their errors.
Think Vogue is a bit confused on what gender fluidity is! Wearing your gf’s T-shirt does not make you gender fluid https://t.co/5yvh8FmUky pic.twitter.com/yPADJDwvPV
— Colette Fahy (@colettefahy_) July 13, 2017
I know right! And all Z & G say is that they borrow each other’s clothes. Such a big jump for the mag to declare gender fluidity
— Colette Fahy (@colettefahy_) July 13, 2017
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