Why an Increasing Number of Women are Saying They Dress for the Female Gaze
From the moment they hit puberty, women are socially conditioned to dress in clothing that will be pleasing to the opposite gender. This is no modern phenomenon — in Ancient Rome, women styled their stolas, sleeveless dresses adorned with brooches, in a way that would appear alluring to men, and in Victorian England, women wore corsets so tight they fainted, just to appease men. The fashion industry has always known that 'sex sells.'
But things are changing.
Women around the world are ditching clothes that men find sexy for clothing that wins compliments from other women. In dressing, women are seeking no one's gratification but their own, even if it means they are making sartorial choices that the opposite gender doesn't deem attractive. This could mean going for clashing prints, mixing figure-hugging pieces with voluminous ones, wearing gaudy colours, or wearing polka dots from head-to-toe just because you like it.
'Women are done dressing for male approval,' says Maryam Al Ansari, a psychotherapist from Qatar who loves experimenting with her personal style. 'The female gaze values expression, confidence and individuality; it's not just about looking pretty. It's about dressing to feel powerful, not to be palatable.'
Al Ansari says she dresses to feel 'true to herself,' navigating towards oversized blouses teamed with baggy culottes, fur coats paired with three-quarter length leopard print shorts and Y2K outfits that could have been worn by the members of '90s girlband B*Witched . And she recognises that this was something her Qatari foremothers did before her. Women in the Gulf have a long history of dressing for the female gaze at ladies-only social events like ghabgas .
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