This week, Vogue came under fire after previewing their August cover story, which features IRL couple Gigi Hadid and Zayn Malik, claiming that the couple are gender fluid because they... borrow each other's clothes. Because, you know, that's all it takes to be gender fluid! It's not about having an identity that doesn't fit within society's outdated and restrictive ideas about gender, it's about your boyfriend wearing your shirt and not caring it was made for a girl. Revolutionary!
As soon as the cover story went live, people from all corners of the internet--especially queer people--voiced their incredulity at how out-of-touch the story was and how unacceptable it was for a mainstream fashion magazine to co-opt queer identity politics as if they were a trend. Vogue, realizing their gaffe, has since issued an apology to Buzzfeed:
"The story was intended to highlight the impact the gender-fluid, non-binary communities have had on fashion and culture," she said. "We are very sorry the story did not correctly reflect that spirit - we missed the mark. We do look forward to continuing the conversation with greater sensitivity."
But the half-assed apology rings as false as the claims that Hadid and Malik are gender fluid.
Gender fluidity is not a fashion trend, it's an identity that oppresses people just as much as it liberates them from the rigidity of "traditional" ideas of gender expression. If Vogue wants to claim to be progressive and inclusive of queer people the magazine should actually, you know, feature queer people on their cover.
