We live in a world where stereotypes seem to be the norm. That is especially true when it comes to gender, but one man is doing his part to break down the barriers.
Mark Bryan lives in Germany but is an American. He also is a social media user, and he has 612,000 followers on Instagram.
They follow him because he wears traditional male clothing from the waist up but below the waist, he wears skirts and high heels.
These fashion choices are made to challenge the thought that clothing belongs to one gender. He calls himself a “straight, cis male, Porsche fan, loves wearing skirts & heels daily!”
The 63-year-old robotics engineer says he wears a skirt and heels to work and when he is out on the town. He even wears them at home.
In speaking with Bored Panda, he said: “I dress like this because I can. Just to be different. I have always admired the women that wore tight skirts and heels.
“Not sexually, but the power they presented. I don’t dress to be sexual, but to dress like any professional woman would. To me, clothes have no gender. I prefer skirts to dresses. Dresses don’t allow me to mix the genders.”
He then said why he wears heels and skirts, saying that it has to do with fashion options. He doesn’t like the fact that there are only a few color choices when it comes to men’s pants but with skirts, you can add any color and even floral patterns or animal prints.
Some are quick to tie his clothing choices to his sexuality but he doesn’t agree. He said: “I feel no different as to me, it’s just clothes. Naturally, on a cold or windy day, it physically feels different. When wearing heels, I feel taller, but also empowered for some reason.
“In all, maybe having the inner strength to have the confidence to wear non-conforming clothing has also given me the confidence and strength to handle my pressures at work.”
He also says his family has been supportive of his choice of clothing and his wife even gives suggestions on what he should wear. His daughter is envious that he has a nice designer shoe collection.
He also said that he doesn’t enjoy wearing dresses, he only enjoys wearing skirts. It allows him to wear a shirt and tie from the waist up.
There have been other men who decided to experiment after seeing him on social media. He feels that he is helping men to wear non-gender-conforming clothing.
He also said he gets more than 100 direct messages a day on Instagram, mostly followers that were thanking him for his courage.