Jaden Smith Breaks Down Gender Barriers

Over the past couple of years the Smith kids have made quite a name for themselves; stepping out of their famous parent’s shadow, Jaden and Willow Smith have embraced fame and made some significant changes to Hollywood. Willow’s passion for music and Jaden’s love for fashion have rocked the two industries into a new, gender-neutral age. Neither Jaden nor Willow have labelled themselves as ‘gender fluid’ – someone who identifies as both male and female – but they have continued to break the boundaries of their gender stereotypes.

“Males and females are put into boxes of expectation when we are born. As we grow we start to realize the damages that those expectations cause to our spiritual and emotional understanding of ourselves and life. The more we start to realize that we are all the same and infinitely different at the same time, the more we begin to shed those expectations and live free to continue to uplift the essence of Earth.” – Willow Smith

It was announced this week that Jaden will be the new face of Louis Vuitton’s womenswear campaign. An extremely bold move for a high fashion brand such as LV, who have always conformed in terms of both gender and fashion. It has been met with a mixed reception, some of whom praise the brand and Jaden for taking a positive step towards a more creative and accepting stance in an industry. While others have scorned at the idea, concerned that it threatens the transgender community by taking away a big part of their self expression and identity.

Katie Glover of The Independent has said “they’re starting to wear the trans uniform without actually stating that they are transgender, and they’re claiming it for themselves under the guise of gender-neutral fashion. All of which begs the question: where does that leave us?” While she poses a real argument, I can’t help but feel that she is too concerned with everyone having to label themselves as anything in order to be accepted, which I believe in this day and age is not a necessity. I understand her passion, as the transgender community has always had to fight for equality, while only starting to see a real change in their acceptance into society in the last couple of years. She is proud of her identity and wants to protect it, why shouldn’t she?

With two very conflicting reactions it’s not hard to see why LV chose Jaden for their campaign – publicity; the age old saying “any press is good press” is extremely true here for LV. They have been extremely careful to choose a subject that will spark interest and passionate reactions, whilst still not overtly offending a group of people in the visuals of their campaign. Whatever your stance on the new SS16 campaign, these discussions are a great way of creating awareness of world issues and help us project our own societal views – which in turn will continue to push and develop the wider world.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vmcAWiAwWUE