[Ads-l] genderless kei and genderlessness

[Benjamin Barrett]

My nephew gave me the heads up on this word, too.

According to "Genderless Kei is trending now 2016" (http://bit.ly/1PB5JlQ <http://www.leahg.me/genderless-kei-is-trending-now-2016/>) by LeahG, genderless kei gives males a socially acceptable way to partake in kawaii culture.

The article "Genderless Kei - Japan’s Hot New Fashion Trend” (http://bit.ly/1UxkvCz <http://bit.ly/1UxkvCz>) by Tokyo Fashion provides a fuller description of this fashion style. The article says it started in late 2015 and notes that both genders do participate in it.

On androgynous, the Oxford Dictionary (UK) site says:

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Partly male and partly female in appearance; of indeterminate sex:
'a stunningly androgynous dancer’
'he used surgery and cosmetics to make his face look pasty and bizarrely androgynous’
'It was confirmed that the gender of Casey was indeed male, despite his androgynous and ever-youthful appearance.'
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On genderless, the Oxford Dictionary site says:

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'The author attempts a genderless consciousness, thus reaching new consciousness for the artist.’
'To prove that searching for work was a genderless activity, he also had to start at the bottom.’
'This genderless God also represents a profound betrayal of the Torah narrative.'
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I can’t help but wonder whether androgynous is going to be abandoned because of it’s emphasis on gender ( < Greek roots “male" + “female") and the feeling that it classifies people, as opposed to genderless which erases that boundary. But it seems possible that despite its internal parts, genderless will become a new gender in its own right.

Benjamin Barrett
Formerly of Seattle, WA


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