Chingsanghoih Guite / The Hauterfly
Chingsanghoih Guite / The Hauterfly
I’m an obsessed Ranveer Singh fan. So much that my friends gifted me a cardboard cutout standee of him for my birthday this year. And as is with any fan, it really sets me off when the object of my fangirling gets trolled incessantly on social media. But here’s the thing. Even if I weren’t a Baba ki bhakt, I’d still get pissed about it because it’s almost always the same old boring jibe at his fashion statements. Oh look, he’s wearing a skirt! Oh look, he stole wife Deepika Padukone’s shirt. Oh god, what are these neon colours he’s sporting? Most of these trolls I want to point to the back of those trucks that have those desi clapbacks written on them. What’s that one again? Uski chalti hai toh teri kyun jalti hai?
Recently, the Dil Dhadakne Do actor posted a picture on his Instagram. He’s been sporting a beard, moustache and slightly longer hair, which has been his ’83 look. And in the picture he was wearing a sports cap, these giant quirky white sunglasses that are his staple, diamond studs and a double-layered pearl necklace. Yep, the kind that you’d see on, say Veronica Lodge from Archie / Riverdale?
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So, this once triggered trolls. The joked that he had stolen Deepika’s necklace, that she’d be looking for her ‘male’, that he was once again doing ‘ladkiyon wali dressing’ and the usual crap. But here’s the thing, Ranveer Singh was actually slaying it! I could wax eloquent about the why and how, but just look at him! he rocks that stuff. In fact, Ranveer Singh has always been rocking his androgynous avatars, and honestly, the whole ‘stealing from our wife’s wardrobe’ jokes are getting stale.
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Androgynous fashion is difficult to pull off for men, especially because rigid gender roles don’t let us process it visually and mentally. Recently, when Harry Styles posed for Vogue’s December cover in androgynous clothing, a conservative US commentator, Candice Owens criticised the ‘feminization of men’ and urged to bring back manly men.
There is no society that can survive without strong men. The East knows this. In the west, the steady feminization of our men at the same time that Marxism is being taught to our children is not a coincidence.
It is an outright attack.Bring back manly men. https://t.co/sY4IJF7VkK
— Candace Owens (@RealCandaceO) November 14, 2020
The whole thing turned into a sort of trend, where men across the internet, including male celebs like Misha Collins (Supernatural), posed in androgynous clothing to give it back to her.
Masculinity is a toxic prison and men who derive their power solely from their confinement are weak. #BringBackManlyMen 💋 https://t.co/4ppxee6jW2 pic.twitter.com/9S7OpC241W
— Justin Jenkins 🚀 (@just_jenkins) November 16, 2020
This is Candace.
Candace routinely wears pants and shirts and suits.
Candace gets inexplicably angry when men wear dresses.
Candace is a stupid hypocrite.
Don't be like Candace. #bringbackmanlymen pic.twitter.com/oDj1dYEQb9— Sad Sexy Bitch (@ot5supremacy1d) November 16, 2020
Candace Owens is 50 years behind on culture and education. Here's Iggy Pop, David Bowie, and Kurt Cobain all cross dressing. The list of other men in music doing the same is very long. The trend started around 1970 and went into other culture like sports. Welcome to 1970. pic.twitter.com/YkxRcasIoH
— Simon Gloom (@simongloom) November 16, 2020
Preach it, Candace! #BringBackManlyMen https://t.co/NIZJhMb217 pic.twitter.com/mY6AJH89Sq
— Misha Collins (@mishacollins) November 16, 2020
Styles himself posted on Instagram a nice little jibe at Owens.
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The West has learnt to embrace this blurred line between what’s men’s and what’s women’s wardrobes. When someone like a Billy Porter walks the Oscars 2019 red carpet in a tuxedo gown, he makes headlines for slaying the hell out of his outfit. But back home, clothing is so rigidly associated with gender and sexual orientation, particularly for men, that it is going to be difficult to pull ’em apart.
Luckily, we’ve got actors like Ranveer Singh, who aren’t afraid to flaunt flamboyant, androgynous styles. In fact, if you ask me, I think he sometimes does it on purpose, just to trigger people and watch them squirm! So, sorry trolls. You can bray, but Ranveer Singh’s gonna ignore you and slay!
