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Opinion by Mary Madigan
OPINION
Men are wearing skirts now, and in a world filled with Andrew Tate’s viral bullsh*t!
It is a refreshing trend that stops me from thinking we should give up on masculinity altogether.
Harry Styles, Brad Pitt, Pete Davidson, Lil Nas X, Travis Barker and Christian Wilkins have all beenspotted wearing skirts.
It is slowly transitioning from novelty to on-trend fashion, and I can’t wait for the day that a man wearing a skirt isn’t even noteworthy.
Brad Pitt donned a skirt for a premier and went viral in 2022. Photo / Getty
I was beginning to give up on men somewhere between Tate’s misogynistic rants on TikTok and the men that helped create stricter abortion laws in America. I felt like toxic masculinity had gone too far, and it was time to disengage from the male species but then they started wearing skirts!
It seems silly, right? What do skirts have to do with anything? They are a sign of hope.
I was beginning to get the sneaky suspicion that because women were finally claiming more power, men were regressing in hopes of maintaining their power. Hence, why someone like Andrew Tate has such a large following! He makes plenty of men feel seen and as a woman that is pretty scary.
I felt like toxic masculinity would surface even harder in 2023, and we’d have to find news to navigate it, but once again, skirts. The most famous and successful men are suddenly wearing skirts. It just feels like an incredible sign that even men are so exhausted by the rigid rules of masculinity and are prepared to give a big f#ck you to the patriarchy by physically not wearing the pants for once in their lives.
Harry Styles' androgynous fashion. Photo / WireImage
It has been heartening to see that it isn’t just the younger generation of male stars that are popping on a skirt. Icons like Brad Pitt and Ewan Mcgregor have both graced the red carpet in skirts and it serves as a reminder that this isn’t just a Gen Z trend but the skirt movement could be here to stay and slay.
Dr Camilla Nelson, an expert in gender and media cultures, is also pretty thrilled by the skirt trend. She explained: “The reality is that men have been wearing skirts since the year “dot” – by which I mean, togas, tights, wigs, gowns, kilts, sarongs, and make-up with beauty spots. The more interesting question is why men stopped wearing skirts – and that’s where the nitty-gritty of hetero-normative masculinity starts.
“Gender fluid fashion is good for everybody – personally, I highly recommend dresses as they’re a lot more comfortable, and you don’t need to waste time finding a matching top.”
Men wearing skirts won’t stop all the misogyny in the world, but at the very least, it is a welcome reminder that more and more men are utterly sick of gender norms and are prepared shuck their pants, throw on a skirt and make masculinity cool again.
