One topic we discussed in class this week that really striked me was the evolution of gender perception in the media, and therefore in public over the last few decades.
The images of the The Beatles 5 years apart, 1964 vs 1969 are especially striking.
Here we see a band of cleaned up, almost identical looking English men. There isn't anything particularly striking about any of them except their charming smiles. Even though the photo is black and white, it's easy to tell that they are all dressed in classic dark clothing, not even close to going away from the usual gray and black tones. Here, we see an image of 4 men who abide to the social standard of what men look like in 1964.
Just 5 years later we see the image of The Beatles change drastically as they explode in popularity worldwide. We now can observe that they're rocking a more free style of clothing, lighter colors (blue shirt, jeans and coat) and John Lennon wears God knows what. With increased fame, it feels like The Beatles were one of the first bands to truly go outside of norm in terms of how their image has changed and how it roamed free. The cultural impact of their fashion changes was one of the things that boosted confidence in other famous artists, of that time and in the future, to wear more lavish and unusual clothing which did not fit under whatever social norms stated a man should wear.
Fast forward many years, and this day in 2019 the definition of genderwear, including the social norms of what men and women should wear, are fading at an increasing pace. New York is home to the world's first gender-neutral clothing store ( https://i-d.vice.com/en_us/article/7xdvxy/phluid-project-gender-neutral-store-new-york) and many more of these are popping up all over the globe.
Comments