"GENDER".

Whether it’s to support their native country, an excuse for a party or to indulge in a guilty pleasure, every year millions of viewers from across the globe gather to watch the Eurovision Song Contest. For the most part, we seem to go crazy placing bets and downloading songs on the  Eurovision run up, but about 24 hours after the finals are over we go back to reality and the winner is instantly forgotten. Take, Loreen for example. She won in 2012 and with the sensational party tune “Euphoria”… but where is she now? The sad fact is that Eurovision winners, much like X Factor winners, just disappear after their moment of glory. (Although it’s probably for the best that Daz Sampson and Scooch didn’t stick around).

Last year’s Eurovision winner Conchita Wurst (A.K.A Thomas Neuwirth), however, might just be on our radars for a while longer. While the song “Rise Like A Phoenix” may have been stunning, it was the controversy of his appearance that made him of such great interest. Following the Austrian win last May, a number of people have questioned or criticised Tom’s alter-ego and the recent photoshoot with Parisian magazine, CR Fashion Book is sure to keep the intrigue alive.

Most commonly known for being the driving force behind Chanel and Fendi, Karl Lagerfeld teamed up with CR Fashion Book editor, Carine Roitfield and Conchita Wurst to bring us a fantastically quirky and original photography with stunning androgynous styling.  But while we are invited to revel in both artistic direction and the celebration of the self, it also draws attention to the concept of challenging and blurring the lines between male and female identity, from physical appearance to demeanour.

Cast your minds back to 1986 for a moment, when the movie Nine and a half weeks was released. Perhaps this is where we find Kim Basinger at her sexiest; dressed as a man in order to gain entry into a gentlemen’s club before bringing one of Hollywood’s steamiest scenes to our screens.  It is perhaps unsurprising that since then we have seen an increase in the number of women wearing ‘men’s’ suits, sporting androgynous looks whilst retaining their sex-appeal for both male and female audiences alike. Angelina Jolie is just one example, captured wearing a suit on the red carpet and still as irresistible as ever. And now we see a rise in the number of “boyfriend” garments in high street retailers such as Topshop and New Look offering boyfriend jeans, boyfriend jumpers and boyfriend hats. The trend is relatively self-explanatory; women are now being encouraged to dress as if they’ve raided their boyfriends’ wardrobe.

But can this work in reverse? Can men allow typically female styles to influence their own wardrobes and self-expression? In 2005, Skinny Jeans came back into fashion for women eclipsing bootleg and other styles that had previously been popular. During 2008, this same style of jeans were introduced to the menswear market but were notably unpopular because they were seen as too feminine. But today they have become one of the most popular styles of jeans for both sexes. Equally, Kane West made the men’s skirt popular after he wore a Givenchy leather kilt during a performance in 2012, something none of us saw coming. Thankfully we seem less concerned with what is considered ‘too masculine’ or ‘too feminine’ but rather we embrace the aesthetic; the beauty in the way we choose to express ourselves.

It’s a pleasure to say goodbye to the past prejudicial notion that if a man wears tight or brightly coloured clothing, or makeup, then he must be gay… Eddie Izzard, Grayson Perry and David Bowie have all been known to cross-dress or wear cosmetics and effeminate clothing but they’ve never identified as homosexual. In fact, Eddie Izzard suggests he is “a lesbian trapped in a man’s body”. Indeed, for both men and women, clothing and makeup is used as a form of self-expression or to boost confidence. There are certainly boundaries between the way both sexes present themselves, but alongside gender equality issues there has been a need for change. Regardless of how one identifies, how they look or act, all people should have the freedom to present themselves in the way they wish. Thank you, Karl and Carine, for reaffirming this!

Photos Sourced From: independent.ie