Gays and Fashion - Why We Should Abandon the Need to Look Good
By Andy Heath
I can't tell you how many times I've had female friends ask me my opinion about something they're wearing. Maybe they want to know if the outfit makes them look fat or if the colors suit them. Sometimes we'll go shopping and they will want my pick between two blouses they have picked out when they just can't decide. And of course, they always want to know what they should wear to that big event, company party, etc.
The reason people always ask my opinion about what they should wear, in case you’re wondering, is that gay men are stereotypically the fashion experts. We're supposedly the ones that go around passing judgment on people whose outfits don't match, and we're supposedly the ones that will notice that you got new shoes and that they really complement your recent haircut.
I would say that gays probably are more likely to care about fashion than straight men because we have a tendency to judge each other on fashion whereas straight men do not as often. While fashion is very important if you're a model or if you sell suits at JC Penny or even if you're going to a job interview, fashion says nothing about who we are as people. Some of us, myself included at this time, can simply not afford to buy the latest and greatest clothes all the time. Some of us might even have to make do with Goodwill simply because we don't have the funds to get a new wardrobe at Banana Republic.
Certainly there is nothing wrong with having nice clothes, and if you can afford them and want to buy them, by all means do so. But if I can buy clothes at American Eagle or Abercrombie and Fitch (if I were young enough) that does not mean that I have a right to pass judgment on you if you cannot do the same.
I run across gay people all the time - especially gay men - that have this air about them in their eyes that seems to say, "Look at me. I'm young and beautiful and I have the best clothes. Don't you want to be me?" Actually, no thank you. I prefer to have a life and a personality and be a good person to the best of my ability.
If you want to look good, then buy nice clothes. I would do it if I could afford it; I have to admit that. People do seem to treat you better when you wear nice clothes that are name brand. But at whatever time I can afford to buy them, I hope I will never pass judgment on others that cannot.
