There was a time when gender-fluidity and ‘genderlessness’ was the stuff of Ursula Le Guin-esque dystopian novels, where a sliver of reality was tossed around like a conceptual motif, like an embellishment in a world of fantasy. It hasn’t taken long for gender-fluidity to become a powerful tool to express both the personal and the political—a construct that has been embraced by the world of fashion, cinema, art and music.
It is at this cross-section that Mumbai-based not-for-profit venture, MIXX, finds itself. “We started MIXX a year ago with our ‘Boys Equal Girls’ tee. It was so exciting to see it become a symbol of protest, inclusion, solidarity, freedom, even fashion to some extent. So many people adopted the message and it quickly went beyond the binary to stand for more equal representation across genders,” say co-founders Ruchika Parab and Shruti Singhi.
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Over the last one year, MIXX has organised a spate of events that talk about inclusiveness and gender identity, such as ‘Mind the Gap’ about gender and jobs, or ‘Gender Bender’ their zine workshops. Parab, the 38-year-old co-founder of MIXX, confesses starting off within the rigid structure of feminism. “Personally, my perception also sort of changed when I had my son, who is nine now; my husband is a stay-at-home father. The need to upfront gender equality is that people should be free to make choices that work for them. Societal stereotypes and expectations weigh heavily on both the sexes. For every woman who is restricted to her household, there is a man who is burdened with the responsibility of being the sole breadwinner,” she says.
As it completes a year, the MIXX journey has now culminated to ‘Human > Gender’, their latest campaign that channels these ideas into clothing. By taking the most “genderless” form of attire, a T-shirt, Parab and Singhi collaborated with stylist Nikhil D to lead the campaign as the creative director, and photographer Munsif Molu, both of whom took liberties to deconstruct the pieces. Every look is customised to fit the identity of their subjects. “We punched holes, braided or tied knots—it was quite refreshing, especially coming from a brand, because brands rarely let someone cut their logos, or design for the sake of self-expression,” says Nikhil.
In an interview, MIXX tells VICE why their gender-neutral clothing doesn’t mean that you don’t need to adhere to gender norms to wear them.
“A T-shirt is the most genderless/unisex [referring here to more than the binary] piece of clothing. The reference point for what we decided to shoot this T-shirt as was deconstruction, since we were deconstructing set ideas of what our culture has now become—for parents to tell their kids what they should do or not as a boy or a girl, while cutting up the T-shirts and making garments out of them like a one-piece unitard, a thong, a dress, a skirt, all things associated with being feminine.” — Nikhil D
“These T-shirts show the journey that our platform has been through because of the way different communities have interacted with us. The people we have profiled are here not because they were social media influencers, because they are actively from a community that doesn’t subscribe to gender roles or roles.” — Munsif Molu
“‘Human > Gender’ is a slogan that has evolved over time. A lot of labels champion the idea of being ‘ungendered’, but for us, it’s not about denying our individual identities, but rather a celebration. But also an acknowledgement of the fact that ultimately we are all human.” — MIXX
“We love pink, because it can be such a statement. It’s so loaded and has so much attached to it. It’s a colour that finds the most resistance and is rarely considered gender neutral. We very much wanted to create a gender-neutral garment in that colour. Turning the fact that it’s so gendered on its head.” — MIXX
“We realised that this conversation is much needed. However, none of us are experts and this would always be an ongoing project. So, we just wanted to question and define where these ideas took form and why they stuck. The spectrum of genders is increasing with more people coming out and having identities that previously weren’t discussed. We wanted to do this for more people to reach out to us and for us to meet and talk to them, and create a forum for discussions and creating spaces for the like-minded.” — Nikhil D
“We decided to feature people that were in our radius, that we recently or daily crossed paths with, who were living a life that showed an openness outside of the typical gender constructs we get caught up in.” — Munsif Molu
“We wanted to explore the variety of examples that exist in Indian society across social-economic layers, and that live open and honest lives that defy the male-female construct that the majority adhere to.” — Munsif Molu
“No matter who you are, or how you feel, how you identify or who you love, here’s something that’s symbolic of our individuality as well as our interconnectedness.” — MIXX
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