Anthropology
Genderless Men’s Fashion in Japan
Document Type
Oral Presentation
Location
Indianapolis, IN
Subject Area
Anthropology
Start Date
13-4-2018 11:15 AM
End Date
13-4-2018 11:45 AM
Sponsor
Elise Edwards (Butler University)
Description
Fashion around the world comes in different styles and forms and over time there have been moving restrictions on who is allowed to wear what. Men wore a certain type of fashion while women had something else in the closet. Recently, in Japan, there has been a new move towards androgynous dress, geared towards men, called Genderless-Kei. Genderless-Kei is still in its early stages and nobody is sure if this is a fad, but what this brings to the world of fashion may impact us on a larger scale. Specifically, the world of localized dress such as the way that “normal”, everyday people dress, would be impacted most, in Japan that is. Genderless-Kei’s American counterpart would be what we call metrosexuals. However, there is a large distinction between the two. With those who dress in Genderless-Kei fashion their sexuality never comes up as to why they dress the way they do. Metrosexuals however are defined as heterosexuals; their fashion choices are directly related to their sexuality. Which brings back the point of androgyny, this style of dress is simply that; what one chooses to wear on their body and nothing more is the basis of this style which I think is something American dress lacks. In any case, my plan is to speak to what androgyny would mean on such large societies ruled by years of strict norms and traditions while using Genderless-Kei and its representatives as models.
Genderless Men’s Fashion in Japan
Indianapolis, IN
Fashion around the world comes in different styles and forms and over time there have been moving restrictions on who is allowed to wear what. Men wore a certain type of fashion while women had something else in the closet. Recently, in Japan, there has been a new move towards androgynous dress, geared towards men, called Genderless-Kei. Genderless-Kei is still in its early stages and nobody is sure if this is a fad, but what this brings to the world of fashion may impact us on a larger scale. Specifically, the world of localized dress such as the way that “normal”, everyday people dress, would be impacted most, in Japan that is. Genderless-Kei’s American counterpart would be what we call metrosexuals. However, there is a large distinction between the two. With those who dress in Genderless-Kei fashion their sexuality never comes up as to why they dress the way they do. Metrosexuals however are defined as heterosexuals; their fashion choices are directly related to their sexuality. Which brings back the point of androgyny, this style of dress is simply that; what one chooses to wear on their body and nothing more is the basis of this style which I think is something American dress lacks. In any case, my plan is to speak to what androgyny would mean on such large societies ruled by years of strict norms and traditions while using Genderless-Kei and its representatives as models.