The Michigan Daily: A Bad Bunny masterclass: adding “sazón” to male style

[Coder]

https://www.michigandaily.com/arts/b-si ... ale-style/

If anyone still thinks it’s weird for men to dress in skirts and dresses, wear makeup, paint their nails or engage in other fashion activities seemingly “reserved” for women, it’s time to realize they’re wrong. Clothes aren’t gendered and, thanks to efforts by artists like Bad Bunny, that patriarchal idea is beginning to crack for men. So, men, this is a call to add a bit of “sazón,” to your style as Bad Bunny would say in his song “El Apagón.” Dressing outside masculine norms isn’t a challenge toward masculinity; rather, it’s an embrace of self-expression.

[Stu]

The moment I see a woman writing the word "patriarchal", I stop reading.

[Coder]

The moment I see a woman writing the word "patriarchal", I stop reading.

I’m so used to seeing it, I didn’t even see that I quoted it. At this point I just LOL when I notice the word - though it grates on me.

[Ray]

I don’t have an issue with the word “patriarchal” in this article. Given the culture being described, it’s probably accurate.

I do have an issue - well, perhaps a fleeting disappointment - with the inference that these men are embracing the feminine. If clothing truly has no gender, then they are not embracing anything, surely?

[Stu]

At this point I just LOL when I notice the word - though it grates on me.

Absolutely. The term is used to present an alternative reality that we supposedly live in a "patriarchy" that suppresses women. It is utter nonsense at best and bordering on misandry at worst.

[Myopic Bookworm]

The moment I see a woman writing the word "patriarchal", I stop reading.

Are you OK with a man writing the word "patriarchal"?

Gender stereotypes are largely geared towards preserving male authority. The very fact that women can be respected while adopting men's dress styles, while men are still ridiculed for doing the opposite, is evidence that the power imbalance persists. Make no mistake: struggling for a man's right to wear a skirt is mainly a struggle against an ingrained way of thought for which the terms "misogynist" and "patriarchy" are not inappropriate. (The other main driver for the prejudice against men in skirts is homophobia, which is in itself partly misogynist, as it also is partly a rejection of men for being too womanlike.)

[Stu]

Are you OK with a man writing the word "patriarchal"?

Not if what follows is a feminist diatribe.

Gender stereotypes are largely geared towards preserving male authority.

What "authority" do men have on account of their sex?

Make no mistake: struggling for a man's right to wear a skirt is mainly a struggle against an ingrained way of thought for which the terms "misogynist" and "patriarchy" are not inappropriate.

Ingrained misogyny? The word "misogyny" means a hatred of women. Who exactly hates women? You might get the occasional lunatic who detests 51% of the population by virtue of their XX chromosomes, but they tend to be confined in secure units, otherwise "misogynists" are a bit like Bigfoot. They are rarely seen except that occasionally entirely innocent creatures are mistaken for them. As for "the patriarchy" - that's pure conspiracy theory nonsense invented by certain feminists to justify their own resentment against and hatred of men.

[Myopic Bookworm]

What "authority" do men have on account of their sex?

In the UK, not much now. Thanks to a series of Acts of Parliament from the 1970s to the present, women are no longer forced to relinquish property and employment rights on marriage, are not routinely paid less than men for the same work, and can open a bank account without their husband's permission.

Unless you belong to a traditional religious family, in which case the men may still control what the women are permitted to do.

The word "misogyny" means a hatred of women. Who exactly hates women?

I think you're being disingenuous. It's not active hatred of women: it's actions that systematically deprive women of equal respect or opportunity, whether consciously or through widely shared stereotypes. You might just as well say that there's no such thing as racism, because white people don't "hate" black people: they just instinctively give the best jobs and opportunities to other white people.

that's pure conspiracy theory nonsense invented by certain feminists to justify their own resentment against and hatred of men.

Now I wonder why they would resent men? It couldn''t possibly be anything to do with being denied the vote, the right to work, financial independence, further education, the opportunity to enter a trade or profession, promotion in business, positions of responsibility in politics,....

[ScotL]

I don’t have an issue with the word “patriarchal” in this article. Given the culture being described, it’s probably accurate.

I do have an issue - well, perhaps a fleeting disappointment - with the inference that these men are embracing the feminine. If clothing truly has no gender, then they are not embracing anything, surely?

But this quote is spot on, no?

“Dressing outside masculine norms isn’t a challenge toward masculinity; rather, it’s an embrace of self-expression.”

[Ray]

Yes, that comment hits the spot perfectly. Good, err, spot.

[Stu]

I think you're being disingenuous. It's not active hatred of women: it's actions that systematically deprive women of equal respect or opportunity, whether consciously or through widely shared stereotypes.

No - you are using your own interpretation. Here's what Collins dictionary says:

Collins Dictionary:

in British English

(mɪˈsɒdʒɪnɪ IPA Pronunciation Guide , maɪ- IPA Pronunciation Guide )

NOUN

hatred of women

https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dicti ... h/misogyny

Of course, in recent years, the word has been downgraded to some extent by some speakers and now, in the minds of some, encompasses beliefs that women are inherently inferior. Almost nobody in the developed world believes that, so why use the term as though this was a common problem?

It couldn''t possibly be anything to do with being denied the vote, the right to work, financial independence, further education, the opportunity to enter a trade or profession, promotion in business, positions of responsibility in politics,....

The right to vote? Only half of all males were allowed to vote until 1918 - other men weren't. The First World War brought about that emancipation - and the same law allowed women over 30 to vote. Just ten years later, in 1928, women got the same right to vote as men.

The right to work? When have women been denied that?

Financial independence? I am not sure what that means as there have been financially independent women for centuries.

Further education? You would have to go back over a century to find a rime when women were denied access to colleges and universities. No woman alive today has experienced that.

Opportunities to enter trades and professions? Most have been open to women for many decades if they wished to pursue them, but some occupations were in turn reserved for women.

Promotion - that has again been open to women for a very long time and they are now almost a privileged class in that regard, with male applicants being overlooked in the name of "gender diversity". In other words, we males are now more likely to be the victims of discrimination.

As for positions of responsibility in politics, in the UK two out of the last three prime ministers have been women and he have had a female Head of State for 70 years until recently. Two of the last three Home Secretaries have been women. The First Minister of Scotland is a woman, as were the last two chief ministers of Wales and Northern Ireland respectively. Women have been appointed in a host of top positions in politics and government over the past couple of decades, including Attorney General, Head of the Metropolitan Police and VC of Oxford. Sorry - I am not buying that.

[rode_kater]

Now, this isn't a competition, but some of these changes weren't that long ago.

Financial independence? I am not sure what that means as there have been financially independent women for centuries.

Until 1957 married women here were not considered to own anything. Anything they earned was legally the property of the husband. In any case they were automatically dismissed from their job when they married. They could not open bank accounts, buy property, etc without the signature of the husband. So yes, unmarried women could be financially independent. (Legally they were not even permitted to buy from a store without authorisation of the husband, but obviously that bit was not rigorously enforced.) But even Johanna Borski who provided much of the starting capital for the Dutch central bank (1814) was not permitted to be on the board or enter the trading floor.

Further education? You would have to go back over a century to find a rime when women were denied access to colleges and universities. No woman alive today has experienced that.

Only in 1977 did technical colleges open for women. I know someone who would have loved to become a carpenter but was denied access and she's not retired yet. And what's the point of going to university if you're never going to be able to doing anything with it (since you'll be fired from your job if you get married).

Yes, things are much better now. But many of these changes were not that long ago.

[Stu]

Until 1957 married women here were not considered to own anything. Anything they earned was legally the property of the husband.

Not in the UK:

Married Women’s Property Act 1882

"A married woman shall, in accordance with the provisions of this Act, be capable of acquiring, holding, and disposing by will or otherwise, of any real or personal property as her separate property, in the same manner as if she were a feme sole, without the intervention of any trustee."

https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/Vi ... 75/enacted

Only in 1977 did technical colleges open for women.

I was a part-time student at a technical college in Yorkshire between 1973 and 1977, and around half of my fellow students were female. My older sister had been a student at that same college for several years before I went to it

I can only assume you live somewhere that was WAY behind in that regard.

[Myopic Bookworm]

All these aspects of women's equal rights have had to be argued and fought for, step by step. They didn't just happen because men magnanimously opened doors for them.

[ScotL]

All these aspects of women's equal rights have had to be argued and fought for, step by step. They didn't just happen because men magnanimously opened doors for them.

Amazing to think that people have to fight for equal rights.