Week of August 17
Gender-Neutral Fashion and Products
Multiple articles featured gender-neutral clothing collections and products. One article highlighted Pharrell Williams new collaboration with Adidas for a gender-neutral clothing line.
Another article mentioned model Tess Holliday’s new gender-neutral streetwear line called “Eff Your Beauty Standards x Fashion To Figure”.
Actor Ashley Benson and Matt Bomer recently collaborated to create a gender-neutral sunglasses line. Benson stated, “They’re not too girly; they’re very neutral.”
Cosmopolitan listed 18 gender-neutral gifts ideas stating that, “No matter what the lucky person’s into something that’s unisex is sure to please every personality, taste, or style.”
Gender Neutrality in Schools and Universities
Many articles focused on schools and universities embracing gender-neutral policies and ideas. Decatur Public Schools are planning to create LGBTQ+ friendly policies such as gender-neutral dress-codes and allowing students to use restrooms and locker rooms that align with their gender identity. The University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa updated their school’s map to highlight the gender-neutral restrooms on campus.
Montana State University installed two gender-neutral bathrooms on each floor of their newest residence hall. One article mentioned Colorado State University’s efforts to promote an LGBTQ+ inclusive space such as installing gender-neutral restrooms and adding a gender neutral “X” option on their campus database system. Another article mentioned how Cal State Long Beach’s new shark mascot, “Elbee”, uses gender-neutral pronouns such as “they/them”.
Another article highlighted that gender-neutral policies in academia aren’t helpful towards women and oftentimes give male academics more advantages. The article specified that policies should be focused towards equity rather than gender-neutrality.
Gender-Neutral Language
City Counselors in Tulsa, Oklahoma have voted to change the pronouns in their city charter to gender-neutral ones. One article discussed how the framing around menstruation should be less gendered. The article suggests that people should use the gender-neutral term “menstruator” in order to promote inclusivity and destigmatize periods for trans and nonbinary individuals. One article went into the history of gender-neutral pronouns, explaining that many colonized societies used gender-neutral language pre-colonization.