Gender Performance at the Met Gala
Gender Performance
'Gender is the repeated stylisation of the body within a highly rigid regulatory frame that congeal over time to produce the appearance of substance.’
Judith Butler (Salih, 2002, p. 62)
Female Performance at the Met Gala
Hairstyles & Female Performance at the Met Gala
Ciara Wilson: 2019
Zendaya: 2018
Gigi Hadid: 2018
Not a hair out of place...
The Met Gala hairstyles are an example of female performance operating within a larger ideological framework that assumes women are inherently feminine. A woman's hairstyle is tightly interwoven with the social construction of her femininity (Pergament, 1999).
Gigi Hadid wears a conventionally feminine hairstyle; her hair appears soft, well kept, and inoffensive. These traditionally feminine attributes are considered to embody the submission of women in typical gender roles (Paff & Lakner, 1997). This facilitates an underlying perception that a woman's value lies only in her feminine performance.
Alternatively, Zendaya and Ciara Wilson challenge conventional femininity by wearing textured hairstyles that have harsher colours with sharp lines. It challenges the idea that a feminine women must melt into the background. By taking their space through the medium of hair, they are rejecting the notion that there is one natural form of femininity.
The difficulty of renegotiation within a socially regulatory framework that assumes the femininity of hair is that there is a baseline assumption that a woman must have hair to be considered a true, feminine women.
When considering the symbolism of women's hair, it must be highlighted that black women have felt a deeper oppression through their forced assimilation to white standards of beauty (Robinson, 2011).
The Renegotiation of Femininity through Baldness
Michaela Coel & Indya Moore are reclaiming femininity by renegotiating the social connotations associated with hair. A women’s hair has historically been considered an extension of their identity and their womanhood (Pergament, 1999). Binary gender expectations become problematic when hair and femininity are conflated in social discourse as this reduces a woman’s identity to a singular dimension: her appearance (Pergament, 1999).
Long, thick, well kept hair are cultural indicators of vitality and sexual maturity (Pergament, 1999). The removal of one's hair completely rejects the idea that a women's physical appearance is intended to pander to the male gaze in aid of reproduction (Mulvey, 1975). It challenges the ideological notion that a woman's sole importance is in her reproductive capacity. By rejecting the conflation of femininity and hair, these women have embodied a new form of feminine empowerment. A notion that a woman's power of femininity comes from her choice and not from her appearance (Stuart &Donaghue, 2012).
Historically, female baldness has been associated with mental instability and illness (Rivers, 2021). Femininity was constructed as a conflicting embodiment of masculinity (Paff & Lakner, 1997). Celebrities who deliberately present themselves as bald at the Met Gala are renegotiating the social connection between femininity and hair. By rejecting the ideological constraints of traditional femininity, these celebrities are redefining their femininity through the power of their choice to remove their hair (Stuart & Donaghue, 2012). This implies that femininity comes from a choice of individual expression not a socially defined exhaustive criteria. Further, this implies that femininity is not grounded in a set of binary attributes but in the empowerment of women; her brashness of her baldness does not diminish her femininity or define her as masculine. Her baldness allows her expression as a woman to be empowered.
As Butler discussed, gender performance is the notion of repetitive stylisation that has congealed to feel socially natural (Salih, 2002). The significance of a women's femininity and her hair are socially constructed (Salih, 2002). If the celebrities continued to present baldness as a natural form of femininity at globally notable events such as the Met Gala, the constraints on female expression will gradually lessen. Further, gender expression will become blurred and the harmful implications of traditional gender norms will become less harmful.
Male Performance at the Met Gala
Male Dominance as a form of Gender Expression
Male performance at the Met Gala has been changing significantly with more feminine performances and expressions. The Met Gala is no longer a public venue made for expressing male dominance which shows the change in ideology and discourse within popular culture (Barry, 2021). Donald Trump was banned from the Met Gala for expressing toxic masculinity, which indicates a change in male expectations. However, a conducted research on 50 men revealed that all men owned at least one suit (Fardouly, Kakar, & Diedrichs, 2020). This reveals the social expectations of men, where their gender is associated with clothing. Donald Trump being banned shows a significant change in tolerance for male expression. Male dominance is no longer protected within society which opens up more feminine expression within the Met Gala (Barry, 2021).
Masculine Expectations
Males are expected to act masculine as society has encoded these messages towards the youth. Popular culture is extremely powerful for shaping social expectations and the Met Gala is used as the medium. Men have started to express more feminine clothing in the Met Gala, but a theme is carried which is a concern. When men pair with a female at the Met Gala they automatically reach for the classic black and white suit. The question must be asked as to why there are still masculine expectations for men? Pete Davidson decided to wear a feminine dress in 2021 when going on his own. However, when going with Kim Kardashian he chose to wear the classic black and white suit. This then suggests that men are still expected to act masculine when being with a partner which displays unconscious toxic masculinity (Barry, 2021).
Clothing has then been automatically tied to the expression of gender and identity. With this being said, clothing has been encoded incorrectly within a society where celebrities share the message that gender is linked with clothing. As men still express masculine features, clothing is the first obvious convention that is used to display power (Wood, 1994). As the Met Gala is available through the mass media, youth are taught and shown how to dress according to their gender (Shephard, 2016). Social codes and expectations are then broken down to where clothing works self-consciously to enforce the expectations of how a man should dress and act in a heterosexual relationship (Crane, 2001).
With heterosexual pressures, men will self-consciously reach for a form of male dominance. In these cases, men have chosen to wear black and white suits. With such expressions, men are taught and expected to be ‘tough’ when around women (Barry, 2021). For the Met Gala, clothing is no longer just fabric; it is the way younger men encode their gender according to social norms which is harmful to social progression (Crane, 2001).
Challenging Gender Representation
Troye Sivan: 2022
The Met Gala is one of the biggest stages in the world when it comes to the mass media and celebrity culture. What men do on this stage is extremely important as they can express ideologies and discourses on a global scale. Troye Sivan is then expressing the change of male clothing and expression of the LGBTQ+ community. By wearing a dress, he is rejecting the social expectations of masculinity.“The media influence factor of mass media positively influences fashion consciousness on male and females.” (Shephard, 2016, Pg. 4)
Sebastian Stan: 2022
Colours then intertwine with clothing in the expression of gender. For males, black and white have been set for their expectations as men aren’t supposed to display a large interest in contrasting and bright colours (Medeiros, Freire, Solino, Mascimento, & Alves, 2021). Social discourses have encoded our perception of males being blue and women being pink. Sebastian Stan has then displayed that gender should not be associated with colour. Colour is not an expression of gender, nor is clothing. Both Troye Sivan and Sebastian Stan have challenged the social norms of clothing and colour in relation to men, which shows the change of expression on one of the biggest world stages (Medeiros, Freire, Solino, Mascimento, & Alves, 2021).
Research was constructed between men and women where they were asked about colour preferences when referring to clothing and fashion. In these studies, it was shown that 241 women chose the colour pink compared to 50 men out of a study of 300 per group (Medeiros, Freire, Solino, Mascimento, & Alves, 2021). Additionally, men did not select a high shade or different colours. As for women, they chose a large variety of colours alongside bright colours. This data then illustrates the way sexism has been imprinted on gender in a sociocultural context (Medeiros, Freire, Solino, Mascimento, & Alves, 2021). Men are afraid to choose different and bright colours as it can attract social doubt to their perceived masculinity. As the Met Gala has changed with colours and clothing expression, men are more exposed to different codes within society. Regarding gender, colour works alongside fashion to style the body and produce new social meanings. The Met Gala has the platform to help connate change for gender expectations which illustrates the power of popular culture and the mass media (Medeiros, Freire, Solino, Mascimento, & Alves, 2021).
LGBTQ+ at the Met Gala
Tommy Dorfman at her Met Gala debut, delivered a powerful message in support of trans children.
Dorfman believes that if she were a kid and saw trans representation on the carpet, it would have helped her to understand herself better (Kelleher, 2022). Her message was delivered two weeks after anti-LGBT+ bills were being debated in multiple state legislatures in America.
“I want to say that you are loved, you are valued, I’m hoping that trans women like myself and trans people on these carpets help you feel seen as much as possible and know that it does get better and we’re supporting you all the time.”
Lil Nas X represented his story of coming out as gay through grand outfits at the 2021 Met Gala.
His first outfit was a large cloak, symbolizing him in his 'shell' before he opened up as being gay. Further, he revealed a shiny golden armor under the cloak. This was when he was in the music industry, but "no-one knew who he was". Lastly, under the suit of armor, Lil Nas X revealed a gold bodysuit, which he refers as "the real him" (Robinson, 2022).
Dan Levy wore a unique outfit, featuring two men kissing, shaped as maps.
Levy's outfit is a tribute to a late LGBTQ+ ally and artist, David Wojnarovicz. The outfit's design is inspired by the late artist's work which Wojnarovicz named after a homophobic cartoon he came across once. Levy said that the purpose of the outfit is to showcase the discrimination the late artist had to endure during his life (Weisholtz, 2022).
“But rather than feed on the message of hate, we wanted to celebrate queer love and visibility — acknowledging how hard artists like Wojnarovicz had to fight, while also presenting the imagery in a way that offered a hopeful message,” he wrote. “Tonight, we’re celebrating the resilience, the love, and the joy of the community while honoring a crucial American voice that was taken from us too soon.”
LGBTQ+ Support at the Met Gala
Celebrating LGBTQ+ at the Met Gala
10 years ago, there was little to no LGBTQ+ representation at the Met Gala. The LGBTQ+ community was heavily oppressed. Today LGBTQ+ discussion and representation is prevalent in our society today.
LGBTQ+ is celebrated at the Met Gala in many different ways
- Messages: Tommy Dorfman supported LGBTQ+ with powerful messages by carrying a 'protect trans kids' bag.
- Storytelling: Lil Nas X tells the story of him coming out as gay, using his outfits to symbolize the events.
- Tribute: Dan Levy pays tribute to a late LGBTQ+ activist and artist, by portraying artwork which was inspired by homophobia that the late artist had to endure during their life.
Bibliography
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Photo Bibliography:
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Video Bibliography
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