When «Ladies and gentlemen» becomes «Dear passengers» and the identification of an individual breaks on turning around their gender, then perhaps the hope for change is one step closer. The introduction of the term gender-fluid and gender-neutral, which started in the fashion industry, is a promising proof of the development of this influential term, which over the years has managed to pave the way for other industries to adopt terms as such.

Considering that fashion has always been the mirror of a society, there were several times when our clothes depicted where we are collectively have been, as we are today. With the new trends developing more and more towards a gender-neutral element from design to fit, a not-so-new trend that in fact came to no boundaries of what is feminine and what is masculine.

The 20th century has been one of the few times where the limits of what female and male attire were tight and absolute, but with the golden era of the 21st century things started to change. Brand new fashion trends that didn’t flow with gender are now addressed to everyone. Changes that occurred in socially politically but also in society itself and the least attempt of acceptance, genderless characterizations began to take hold and allow "freely" everyone to identify who they truly are.

Switching from fashion to society. A society that evolves at the speed of light, gender fluidity now takes shape and form or is if we can say, widely understood. From universal airlines that radically changed their announcements from "Ladies & Gentlemen" to "Dear Passengers" to the world's most famous platform, Instagram, which revised its Terms Conditions and in your bio you can now self-identify exactly as you are, it is clear that a person's identity may not be his gender after all. Hence, Social Media have contributed to the effort, making known the terms Gender neutral or gender fluid through various accoutns and famous artists of the music scene who make it clear that their gender is not what will define them. Among them were Harry Styles, Sam Smith, Lady Gaga and iconic personalities from the past who left history with their outfit and voice, such as Boy George.

So, keeping in mind the above, as well as our society that is constantly changing, let's all consider the way we refer to someone especially when we try to crochet them by their gender, their color, or their body type. In other words, let's keep these as food for thought for all the times we judged a book by its cover.

Elena V.