The fashion industry struggles with openly expressing homosexuality and challenging gender norms. Male models John Tuite and Carlos Santolalla were told by their agency to act straight and hide their relationship. Their Instagram account showing their relationship was also deleted. The industry promotes stereotypical gender roles of masculine men and feminine women in advertising. However, inside the industry the stereotype is that men must be feminine and flamboyant. It is time for the industry to abandon these outdated labels and be more accepting of the fluid nature of gender and sexuality today.

1. Acting Out: The Fashion Industry’s Issue with Homosexuality and Gender
The stereotype dictates that people who work in fashion are either overly
domineering women, or gay men. Whilst this cliché is problematic on several
levels, and outright untrue on all the rest, what it does not suggest is that the
industry would make it difficult for people to openly express their
homosexuality.
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Male models John Tuite and Carlos Santolalla – or ‘Jarlos’ as they like to be
known – have recently exposed the fashion industry as being too intent on
reinforcing heteronormative values. The duo were told to ‘be butch’ and ‘act
straight’ so to prevent casting agents and other models finding out about their
sexuality. However, Tuite and Santolalla decided to go against this advice and,
instead, chose to accept themselves and their way of life. The final straw came
when their agency told them to delete their shared Instagram account, which
apparently made their relationship too explicit. But why was their openness an
issue in the first place? Mainstream modelling campaigns and fashion advertising
seems insistent that men are men – butch, muscular and steely-eyed – whilst
women are typically feminine – long hair, perfectly formed and sexy. The idea
that anything deviating from traditional archetypes of gender in mainstream
media is ‘taboo’ or ‘undesirable’ in anyway seems incredibly backward for
industry that should be focusing on the here and now.
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But, whilst exporting a version of masculinity that problematically conforms to
the heteronormative ideal, the image of the man inside the industry is the total
opposite. He is feminine and incredibly flamboyant. This stereotype is damaging
for all men, whether they identify as heterosexual, homosexual or otherwise. In
fact, although perhaps more indirectly, it’s pretty damaging for women too. It’s a
caricature that suggests that, firstly, having the above traits is something to make
a joke out of and, secondly, men who are interested in fashion must, therefore,
adopt the traditional airs of femininity. Because, of course, anything to do with
clothes can only be dealt with by us girls, as that’s what we spend all day
thinking about. Sexuality and gender roles should not be defined by a job, and a
job should not define an individual’s perception of their own gender and
sexuality.
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It really does seem like it’s time for the fashion industry to let go of these archaic
labels and move on to something a little more accepting. We’re now in an era in
which identifications of gender and sexuality are becoming increasingly fluid,
and fashion media should be more representative. Instead, it seems it’s stuck in a
trend that is taking far too long to go out of style. But I guess that’s fashion,
darling.