Androgyny turns me on. Not butch, not femme but the beautifully ambiguous grey area between.
I love that supermodels like Andrej Pejic, the 19-year-old pretty boy (literally) from Broadmeadows, Victoria, and UK tomboy spunk Agyness Deyn are causing a stir on the world stage. I even reckon Gaga, or should I say ‘Jo Calderone’, looks way sexier as a dude.
Whether a genuine expression of someone’s identity, or just a ploy for attention, mainstream gender-bending gives me hope for a world free of pigeonholes and all the pigeon poo that comes with them.
While fashion mags like to bang on about how androgyny is so hot right now, it’s certainly nothing new. Folks like Boy George, Grace Jones, Bowie, Annie Lennox and Marilyn Manson have forged careers out of it. Even male-fronted ’80s hair bands like Poison were way girlier than me.
As a tomboy, I often base my style on feminine-looking men. I buy most of my clothes on Oxford St and refer to glossy men’s fashion mags for hairstyle inspiration. I occasionally forget, however, that a low-cut V-neck tee that looks super-sexy on a gay man just looks super-girly on me. I learned my lesson when a tradie wolf-whistled me when I was riding my BMX this week. Clearly appealing to the wrong market. Admittedly, my current glam metal hairdo makes me look more like a girl without a brush than Brett Michaels.
Androgyny, while not exclusive to the queer scene, has always been part of it. From my own adventures in the unstraight world, we’re more inclined to fuck with the gender spectrum than our hetero pals. On more than one occasion I’ve mistaken a teenage boy for a cute Biebian (lesbian who looks like Justin Bieber), just as gay male friends have accidentally hit on bear-like diesel dykes.
I’d like to think we queers are trendsetters. Pop stars like Janelle Monae and La Roux are held up as ‘style icons’ – when really they’re just sporting the same quiffs and bow ties we lezzos have been wearing for years! Just as the rise of the ‘metrosexual’ was simply straight men ripping off the personal grooming tips second nature to gay guys. Am I right?
But hang on. If lesbians are copying dudes on Oxford St, and gay guys are inspired by their mum’s beauty regime – I’m seeing a very androgynous future here.
By MONIQUE SCHAFTER
