Influential Images – diversifying the male body in fashionable representation

The emergence of an androgynous aesthetic in menswear from the turn of the millennium has introduced alternative notions of masculinity and men’s beauty that have challenged previously hegemonic ideals defined by strength, muscularity and invulnerability. Nevertheless, these new forms of fashionable expression have, almost without exception, been embodied by young, thin, (usually white), non-disabled, cis gender male models.

In this way, men’s fashion has continued to exclude fat, older, disabled and trans men, positioning them as outside the bounds of fashionability. Today, however, these “other” men are claiming their right to be seen, to be desired and to be in style via social media. In turn, fashion’s gatekeepers have had to rethink their prejudices or risk being seen as rather démodé themselves.

This paper seeks to assess the cultural significance of these emergent forms of fashionable representation by exploring the role of the social medial “Influencer” in disseminating new models of male embodiment along with new discourses of diversity and inclusivity.