I’m often struck by how men are portrayed old paintings (that’s is those in the ‘West’ and part of the aristocracy -the peasants were too busy trying to survive ).
Whilst there are some distinctions, the clothes were often elaborately embroidered and the men wore wigs and often makeup, just like women. Even in nature, it’s more often the male of the species who is often more ‘attractive ‘ as this is how they attractive a mate. Even in ‘primative’ tribes there’s very little difference in how men and women dress and men often paint their faces.
Historical events over the last centuries seem to have eroded that. First the more puritanical stance during the Victorian era, where attitudes were exported across the globe thanks to British colonisation. Followed by the devastations of the wars in the last century. Maybe it didn’t matter during those times as men were busy off empire building or were too shell shocked after the horrors of two world wars to care.
But in the last 50 years they’ve not had these distractions, yes sure some are still empire building and many have the talents to focus their energies into the arts (think of all those men who design women’s clothes!) or even, by way of example, cooking. All seen as sociably acceptable but only accessible to some. So what about rest?
How many of you with young boys laugh as they try in your’s or perhaps their sisters clothes? Is it because just as girls do, they want to express themselves through their appearance too, but society labels that as wrong or girly. Those that are allowed to at home quickly find out that as ‘men’ in the real world they can’t do this and so look on at the women who can - is that fair? The only ‘acceptable’ is way they can now now is to say they too way are women - often surprises me how often believe ghat being a woman is about how you dress!
Perhaps it’s not that we are at an evolutionary crossroad and that males are really females, but that it’s really males just wanting to be, well, males actually!
I’m not lumping transmen into my cod theory as I think that’s a different issue. But that’s for another day.