How do we tell a story that is relatable without using recognizable stereotypes? How do we make someone seem unintelligent without making them blond and pretty? How do we make someone seem shallow without making them wear designer clothing or hot fushia pink? That is the secret struggle of costume design.
Costume design for various types of media relies on generalizations of communities and their architypes. This is due to the need to evoke important characteristics of a character in a way that is recognizable and understandable to viewers. The most predominant source of stereotypes that is unavoidable in costume is unfortunately gender. For example, how should a costume designer make a trans character’s costume to make their transness known? This brings the dilemma of possibly offending an entire community by portraying a trans woman as masculine like the common stereotype, or not making any indication of their transness to show that trans women are real women. However, this erases an important part of the character’s backstory, and the whole point of costume is to evoke the backstory of the character as much as possible, because this is what brings richness to a story.
Costume design is a clear indication of the point to which societies expectations of certain people are embedded in every part of our lives. I will use this platform to specifically showcase the point to which gender stereotypes surround us, no matter how hard we fight for equal rights, or equal pay, or just plain safety for all genders. The fight for equally is still a long one that needs to be paid attention to.
-JMM
Costume & Prejudice 