Week of April 27
The current global pandemic leaves little room in the news cycle for any other topics. This week, the press report on how the pandemic has led London’s Fashion Week to become both virtual and gender-neutral. Traditionally, men and women’s fashion are showcased separately. However, this year “womenswear, menswear, and gender-free design labels will participate in the same week of fashion events together for the first time.” Another article praised old Bollywood actor Rishi Kapoor for being a fashion icon, noting his gender-neutral fashion choices. A third article focused on fashion designer Rad Hourani, who claimed to be one of the first people to create a gender-neutral fashion collection back in 2007. In the interview Hourani stated that there’s still a long ways to go in terms of unisex fashion.
Multiple articles this week expressed distaste for brands labeling clothes as gender neutral. Rowan Oliver, an Australian artist and filmmaker, stated that, “A brand that sells hoodies and T-shirts, marketing them as gender-neutral, has simply found a way relevant to the moment to sell their boring, sweatshop-made garments that have nothing to do with gender expression and more to do with the monotony of 21st-century neo-liberal faux egalitarianism.” One article criticized H&M for creating a gender-neutral fashion line without adjusting sizing so that “dresses might fit over broader shoulders or its chinos might clear wider hips.” The article criticized gender-neutral clothing that is produced through a “narrow, androgynous lens”.
Other articles discussed gender-neutral forms of identification. A third gender-neutral option on birth certificates will soon be provided to residents of Manitoba, Canada. Meanwhile, Michigan is preparing a gender-neutral option for driver’s licenses for 2021.
Workplace inequalities was another topic in the news this week. An article in Forbes, discussing home and workplace inequalities, addressed how gender-neutral policies in the workplace can still lead to gender inequalities. They focused how when universities granted “gender-neutral tenure clock extensions for parents” men were the ones who benefited. This is because, while mothers used this time to tend to their newborns, fathers used this time to work. An article about the lack of women’s leadership in Indonesian schools identified gender-neutral leadership training as a barrier to women’s leadership. The article explained that these training sessions did not address “women-specific needs,” hindered women from rising in the ranks at school.