Why Indian gay men dress up differently than their straight counterparts

“There must be some straight men who work in fashion.” That’s what I thought until I watched Queer Eye on Netflix. The show features plenty of straight men having a makeover of their whole lives by a team of five very gay men. Fans of the Queer Eye, including me, often enjoy it for all wrong reasons. I watch it to fine-tune my dressing sense while some watch it because “It’s all about laughing at the silly queens.” But, what none of can deny is that team Queer Eye knows how to transform someone through fashion, which pops up a question – “why is a gay guy any better equipped to offer advice on style?” Let’s find out in this opinion piece. 

Most gay men are inherently fashionable 

By sticking to the boyish look into their 40s, Indian gay men even with no interest in fashion still have a sense of style. I have a friend who finds fashion too boring, yet he still looks good because he relies on a predefined wardrobe. 

I don’t know what it is, but gay men appear to know what they are doing with fashion, even if they don’t. Straight guys at the weekend who wear a suit all day at work will wear a T-shirt. But this T-shirt will be used as casual wear, not a fashion statement in the case of gay men. Straight men may choose old jeans for comfort, not fashion. But, that’s can’t resonate with gay men. 

Fashion is a tool to remain youthful  

Since the days of ‘Will and Grace’ and ‘Queer as Folk’, there has been a curiously in line with how fashion treats gay men. Gay men, be it Indian or American, are obsessed with youth and that’s what reflects on their dressing style. Look at Karan Johar for instance. At 47, Karan wears colorful, blingy clothes, in an attempt to achieve lost youth. 

Fashion is gay men’s way of life 

Believe it or not, Indian gay men have a much stronger interest in showing themselves off than their straight counterparts. While Indian straight men don’t pay attention to what they are wearing, metropolitan Indian gay men (who are obsessive about their fitness), dress a bit Italian. Their clothes a tiny bit too tight, jeans are skinny, and the t-shirt is tight enough to reveal their worked out chest muscles. If they work out, they want you to know it. Is that the case with Indian straight men? – Not really. Only Indian bodybuilders are into showing their bodies off. 

Fashion is an Indian gay man’s way to express his sexuality 

Fashion is part of a suite of gay men’s no-nonsense sex armor. Because fashion embraces homosexuality, it has been some sort of safe haven for Indian men. In a country where almost 90% of gay men are closeted, it’s easy to dress up and put yourself out there, just to let everyone know who you are. To keep hold of it, there is a dress code that has varied little across the decades. Having said that, in the post-377 ear, the gay style has moved into the mainstream and the look has become harder to pin down. And, that’s what we can call some progress!