MANKINIS, BROMPERS AND MEGGINGS, BUT TELL ME AGAIN HOW WOMEN ARE SO FRAGILE

source: www.antoineward.com

Summer’s coming, and that means out with the old, in with the new, especially when it comes to clothes. However, some don’t only bring out the typical summer frocks, but also their completely rusted way of thinking. A few weeks ago, the bromper – a  romper for bro’s, you know – became a viral hit on internet, and right now, the mankini – a ‘male’ bathing suit - is well on its way to becoming an internet bang as well. The only thing I am banging though, is my head. Against a wall. I’ve had it, officially, with men being so fucking fragile about their masculinity that they need to come up with a neologism to justify them wearing a piece of clothing that is normally marketed towards women.

It is not much of a secret that a lot of people (not to say men) refer to women as being the weaker sex, the more fragile one. It’s those people who created the toxic ideas that come with the term ‘feminity’. Being feminine means being weak, being emotional, maybe even crazy or bipolar. Men aren't those things, of course. Men don’t have emotions, they don’t overthink, they just go with the flow. Dudes are chill, bro. Be a dude, don’t be a sissy.

However, dudes seem to have no problem with peaking in their girlfriend’s closet and drawing inspiration from it. A couple of years ago, legging were very popular, and of course men had to get in on the comfortable yet stylish bottoms. Some stores started carrying leggings for men, but they did not call them leggings, oh no. Imagine being a man and having to wear a piece of clothing with a name that is linked to womenswear! THE HORROR! No, meet the meggings, male leggings. Not to be confused with leggings of course, those are for women, and they are COMPLETELY different! Except, they were not.

Right now, the same is happening with rompers and bathing suits. They look cool or are comfortable, men feel like they might look good in them, so they wear ‘em. Sounds good, right? Wear whatever the fuck you want if you feel good in it. But noooooooooo, the Men™ have to defend their masculinity at all costs, so they came up with neologisms to fit their sartorial choices. And thus, the bromper and mankini were born. Now, tell me again how women are fragile? I don’t recall them coming up with a new name for the suit (Wuit? Fuit?) when it was incorporated into womenswear because women didn’t want to be associated with being rude macho’s? I just don’t get how it can be so hard for some people to grasp the idea of just wearing whatever the fuck you want simply because you like it. Not because society or norm thinking says you should or shouldn’t, but just because you WANT to. How are you when you need to invent a new word to justify what you are wearing, and to confirm your masculinity? News flash: masculinity isn’t about creating compounds with ‘bro’ or ‘male’ in them and calling it a day. To me, true masculinity is about being confident enough in your own skin to do whatever the fuck you want, without giving a damn about what other people think. Consider that.

Now, excuse me while I go enjoy my life wearing rompers, skirts and dresses because I feel like it. I won’t be waiting until some insecure bloke comes up with the term ‘mirts’ or ‘bresses’. Sorry ‘bout it.