Body Blog Post #2

February 20, 2021

In this body practice exercise, I have decided to wear dresses or skirts for a 5 day working week whilst going out instead of my usual go-to option -- pants.

The reason why I am choosing this as my body practice is because as a child, although I identify myself as a girl, I also find myself often acknowledging and appreciative of masculine or gender neutral embodiment. I can list a few examples such as my preference of pants (often tight ones like jeans) over dresses or skirts. The only dresses or skirts I wore was my uniform dress and other than that I never put on dresses in my leisure setting. I have never wore any jewelleries until after I graduated from high school and rarely do I put on make up, less than ten times now in my life. I often find that people wearing suits and formal dressing more attractive than extravagant dresses like ballgowns or jumpsuits. If dresses are seen as feminine, I will try to see how it feels differently wearing a skirt/ dress than pants on a daily basis.

When undergoing this body practice, the bodily sensations feel very interesting. Most of the dresses I bought are tight-fit than loose and so I have to maintain a more moderate walking speed than I usually do. I feel more feminine in a dress and surprisingly, have a feel-good sensation to myself. I tend to look in the mirror for a couple more seconds than I normally would. It clearly shows that gender is indeed a performance because it is a choice "that one puts on as one puts on clothes in the morning" (Butler, 1992). If a man wear a dress and walk onto the streets, he would certainly be faced with glares and glances because he is not conforming with his gender role. Whereas if a woman wear pants or suit, she won't be seen as abnormal. Gender role is mostly performed through external manifestations because when we express ourselves to others through socialization, we receive reactions and sanctions (could be both positive and negative) from others. And even in the simple action of wearing clothes that it is gendered.

As a person who identifies herself as a girl/ woman, I certainly wouldn't mind wearing more dresses or skirts, but by doing so it doesn't mean I have to throw away all my pants and we shouldn't merely define our identities by what we wear. External social perceptions about our identities are as important as our own identification and orientation of who we really are. In closing, I think gender politics is still having interesting impacts onto the HK society, considering feminism is almost always met with "slut-shaming" toxic culture that is common on forums with anonymous discussion functions, as well as more patriarchal and old-school values that women should be demure and gentle. For instance, a girl whose skirt is too "short" will be seen as horny whereas it would be perceived to be unorthodox by those who with a more conservative school of thought. I however think that people should be allowed to wear what they want and just be themselves :) (482 words)