Anita Dolce Vita
Managing Editor, dapperQ
Gender Rebels Revolutionize Menswear in DapperQ's 'He Said/We Said' (PHOTOS)
Posted: 03/06/2013 9:00 am
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/anita-dolce-vita/dapperq-he-said-we-said_b_2815018.html (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/anita-dolce-vita/dapperq-he-said-we-said_b_2815018.html)
As the Managing Editor of dapperQ, a fashion and lifestyle website founded by Susan Herr for masculine gender rebels, I have spent countless hours perusing fashion media for inspiration. While the dapperQ team is proud to be a premier website for our niche market, I am often frustrated that there is a serious dearth of masculine clothing, role models and mainstream visibility for straight tomboys, butch lesbians, transgender men, androgynous individuals and other masculine gender warriors who are challenging gender binaries. Visit any newsstand or Google "fashion blogs" and you will find an endless tide of fashion media geared toward stereotypical gender identities, and practically nothing for our target audience. That leaves us with little competition, but being one of the best because of the discrimination that exists in the fashion industry doesn't make us feel all warm and fuzzy inside.
In this day and age, with female "male" models like Casey Legler and up-and-coming masculine-inspired clothing brands like Wildfang all the rage, I am utterly surprised that those in the fashion industry who consider themselves pioneers and artists have not already capitalized on our niche market (at least to make a buck, if not to be a trailblazer or a vocal ally). The occasional culturally insensitive nod to "lesbian chic" as a fashion trend doesn't cut the "inclusion" mustard. Our readers aren't dressing masculine to be trendy. They dress to represent who they are and how they feel inside every day, and they demand and deserve a place at the fashion table too. You have to wonder where women like Ellen DeGeneres or transgender men like comedian Ian Harvie turn to when they want to get style advice or read fashion media that celebrates and represents their identities. The options are few.