In a film made possible by Lynx, THUMP headed to New York to delve deep into world of the ballroom – “a place to discover yourself, and discover who you are”
‘If you wanna Vogue, this is the place you can come and Vogue – no judgement’ Jack Mizrahi Co-Founder of Vogue Knight says in an episode of ‘Night Visions’ which explores the community of the New York Vogue scene. ‘No judgement’ – just imagine if that sentiment extended outside of the ballroom and into the everyday world! We’d live in a society where we encouraged one another not only to embrace our own individuality, but to celebrate it. This doesn’t have to be a quixotic dream – if people were willing to open their minds, this could very much be a reality.
Both men and women have long been restricted by gender norms and stereotypes and although much progress is being made, these traditional (and very much outdated) ideas of masculinity and femininity still persist. Sadly, there is pressure on people to both conform to what is considered ‘normal’ and deny their true selves. It goes without saying that these archaic stereotypes are not a true indication, or representation of the wonderfully rich and diverse community we live in, so in order to overcome gender norms, we must challenge our own beliefs and the things that we see and are exposed to on a daily basis.
Here at Ditch the Label we are fully on board with Lynx’s mission to, quite literally, ditch the labels that hold guys back, freeing them to be their own man, on their own terms without the pressures and limits of traditional masculinity; is it okay for guys to Vogue? Absolutely! Wear makeup? Of course! Cry? Naturally! Be you and let others be themselves – ‘no judgement’.
