Men in Skirts

Ranveer Singh wore a skirt to a fashion event recently. And he carried it off like a....? Skirt-wearing men always put us in a bit of a fix. Is it supposed to be sexy? Well, I am not sure. Make a statement? Definitely. Add some swag? Oh yes! But it is also hugely problematic. Can any man, any regular man, wear a skirt and evoke the same kind of response? Is it because Ranveer otherwise is so much of a ‘man’ that when he wears a skirt, he leaves us fumbling for words? Is a skirt wearing man indulging in a bit of gender politics or is he simply being irreverent?

A woman wearing a man’s shirt and little else, can be intensely sexy. But we have always had a special place for men who like to dress like women. And that place has been on the fringes of our acceptability. And it is not just about their sexuality that raises our heckles here. Bangle and saree wearing men are wimps. When you want to strip a man of his virility, condemn him to wear bangles, dress like a woman. And yet, in our classical dance forms, men wear bangles, paint their eyes and colour their lips like women and court their mythical female lovers with much passion.

It is indeed strange that in a land of gender fluidity, as seen in m our mythological stories, we attach such a premium to gender specific accoutrements. When Ranveer, a hotblooded effervescent male actor, who peddles condoms and indulges in fierce PDA with his girlfriend, can wear a skirt without us even as much as batting an eye lid, he sends out an important message. True, you cannot imagine the geeky IT guy next door or the rotund bizman upstairs carry it off with the same sass. But maybe, just maybe, we could have a day in the year when men should be allowed their moment of truth. A day when they could shed their ‘manly’ shirts, trousers, ties and everything else and simply wear a skirt or bangles on a day out.

It takes just a little cheekiness on the part of a woman to dress like a man. But a huge leap of faith for a man to dress like a woman. Which is why we attach such a premium to a man who steps out in a skirt and treat his ‘confidence’ as ‘exceptional’.

(Scribbler, scribe, traveller Chandrima Pal takes you through the sexual landscape of today)

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