Vogue’s Being Torched For Featuring Gigi & Zayn In Piece On Gender Fluidity

‘Gigi Hadid and Zayn Malik Are Part of a New Generation Embracing Gender Fluidity‘ the headline screams, before detailing how sometimes, they borrow each other’s clothes. Are you raging yet?

This new blasé attitude toward gender codes marks a radical break. Consider the scene one recent morning out in Montauk, New York, where the photos accompanying this story were shot: Gigi Hadid and Zayn Malik snuggle in interchangeable tracksuits as, nearby, Hadid’s younger brother, Anwar, rocks back and forth on a tire swing, his sheer lace top exposing scattered tattoos. For these millennials, at least, descriptives like boy or girl rank pretty low on the list of important qualities—and the way they dress reflects that.

“I shop in your closet all the time, don’t I?” Hadid, 22, flicks a lock of dyed-green hair out of her boyfriend’s eyes as she poses the question.

“Yeah, but same,” replies Malik, 24. “What was that T-shirt I borrowed the other day?”
“The Anna Sui?” asks Hadid.

“Yeah,” Malik says. “I like that shirt. And if it’s tight on me, so what? It doesn’t matter if it was made for a girl.”
Hadid nods vigorously. “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. . . .”

Anwar, eavesdropping, pipes up. “We’re chill!” he calls out from a picnic table not far away. “People our age, we’re just chill. You can be whoever you want,” he adds, ambling over, “as long as you’re being yourself.”

It’s incredible that this needs to be said, but borrowing your partner’s clothes on occasion doesn’t make you gender fluid.

The piece isn’t all about Gigi, Zayn and Anwar. Vogue also gives a fairly broad (and very Vogue-y) recent history of gender fluidity making its way into fashion mainstream. There’s Jaden Smith‘s recent turn as the star of a Louis Vuitton womenswear campaign, Gucci creative director Alessandro Michele dressing girls in suits and boys in florals, and Young Thug‘s iconic album cover for ‘No, My Name Is Jeffrey‘ where he poses in a ruffled, soft-lilac dress.

The piece interviews Instagram artist Richie Shazam, who breaks down gender norms in his style, and agender poet and activist Tyler Ford. It briefly mentions Ruby Rose, who identifies as genderfluid, and her iconic ‘Break Free‘ video in which she transforms from a typically feminine representation of beauty into her badass, tattooed, short-haired self.

But then it cuts back to those well known queer icons Gigi and Zayn.

“If Zayn’s wearing a tight shirt and tight jeans and a big, drapey coat,” Hadid says, “I mean—I’d wear that, too. It’s just about, Do the clothes feel right on you?”

Malik shoots Hadid a tender look and joins the conversation.

“With social media, the world’s gotten very small,” he says, “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.”