Vogue 'gender-fluid' Zayn Malik and Gigi Hadid cover sparks backlash
UPDATE: A Vogue spokesperson provided this statement to The Daily Beast, in response to the site’s criticism of the cover story:“The story was intended to highlight the impact the gender-fluid, non-binary communities have had on fashion and culture. We are very sorry the story did not correctly reflect that spirit – we missed the mark. We do look forward to continuing the conversation with greater sensitivity.”
EARLIER: Vogue is being criticized online for its August cover story — featuring model Gigi Hadid and her boyfriend, singer Zayn Malik — and its attempts to conflate clothes swapping between a heterosexual couple as “gender fluidity.”
In the story, Malik said he borrowed one of Hadid’s shirts. “I like that shirt. And if it’s tight on me, so what? It doesn’t matter if it was made for a girl,” he said.
Added Hadid, “Totally. It’s not about gender. It’s about, like, shapes. And what feels good on you that day. And anyway, it’s fun to experiment.”
The Vogue story previously noted how fashion designers have begun “gender-bending” and designing in a more androgynous way. (“This new blasé attitude toward gender codes marks a radical break,” notes the piece’s author.) It seems like a sentiment Malik would agree with: “With social media, the world’s gotten very small, and it can seem like everyone’s doing the same thing. Gender, whatever — you want to make your own statement. You know? You want to feel distinct,” he said.
But most Twitter users expressed frustration at the fact that borrowing clothes and wearing pantsuits doesn’t make a person gender-fluid, which is defined as a person who’s gender identity is not fixed, and that the story focused on a cisgender, heterosexual couple.)
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