NSFFs on Women's Health
Women's (the female body's) health has a history of being sidelined and dismissed in both scientific and medicinal treatments and studies.
Often, it is in basic lifestyle and apparatus usage that they blame a woman's body being exponentially weaker and fragile bodies---such as the idea in America that riding a train will cause the uterus to fly out of her body.
Apart from 'weak', what is something that this misogyny often blames on? (usually to dismiss or misdiagnose a woman when visiting a doctor?)
"Period", "Female hysteria/emotions", etc. blames and narratives.
Hysteria is "a dramatical medical metaphor for everything that men found mysterious or unmanageable in the opposite sex", and considered for 25 centuries, "a disease [with incoherent and incomprehensible symptoms] proper to women and originating in the uterus", hence the name. --- Judith Herman, Trauma and Recovery.
ANCIENT ROME:
Assuming you know some Ancient Rome things, like Pompeii graffiti, or condemnation by then Christianity, the Romans were not about the dichotomy of gender, and marriage between same sexes was done. In the army during wars, soldier marriages can be done, regardless of sex/gender, as long as it's not within ranks; Emperor Nero married Poppaea Sabina but (polygamy) also Pythagoras, and when Sabina died, he married someone who resembled her a lot--another freedman, Sporus; two of the 5 Good Emperors, Hadrian and Trajan also had same-sex relations (Hadrian made a city Antinoopolis for his passed lover Antinous, deified him, name a star after him and wrote poetry).
What is the main factor for Romans when it comes to relationships? The Romans' dichotomy?
Hint: Roman society was patriarchal and its (free) males were expected to exercise and establish their pudicitia (sexual virtue) to maintain [this factor]. [This factor] also applies to heterosexual relationships.
Status/Dominance.
The higher status should take the dominant/husband role, not the submissive/wife role. It was a shock to the Romans when their Emperors became known to be taking the receiving role (Nero included, with Pythagoras) -- actively too for one of them.
Fun fact: Emperor Elagabalus (Eligopolis) dressed up and acted as a woman. Wig, dress, makeup, tiara, walking mannerisms, etc, even went as far as trying to get female genitals. Elagabalus married 5 different women to learn how to please a man, and after marrying a man named Hierocles, acted as a Roman matrona would, ...except that there seemed to be some NTR kink... The Emperor also sent out agents to find men across the land. One was Zoticus, who was not only attractive but also.. ykno. Hierocles feared he would get more favour from the Emperor so he sabotaged Zoticus on his first night of service, getting him driven out.
More here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ffWZbZ3iFgY
ANCIENT GREECE:
The Hindu god Shiva is often represented as Ardhanarisvara, with a dual male and female nature. Typically, Ardhanarisvara’s right side is male and left side is female.
For the Greeks, they have their own figure -- Hermaphoditus.
What do you think Hermaphoditus' statue looks like?
With both female and male biology and reproductive systems -- bosom and genitalia too.
Hermaphoditus, born to goddess Aprhodite and god Hermes, possess both the beauty of their mother and the strength of their father.
Intersex people used to be called hermaphrodites. This is an outdated term, but some still use it to call intersex people with both equally and simultaneously working female and male reproductive systems.: Of those born intersex whose parents did not ask to do surgery to pick one sex over the other, some after going through puberty may lean towards one sex function more over the other (rather than both equally)---it really depends on the hormones and genes as they grow up.
The Great Male Renunciation
inspired by the Age of Enlightenment, was a major turning point in the history of clothing (17th-18th century) in which the men relinquished and abandoned "their claim to be considered beautiful" and "henceforth aimed at being only useful"---which went unchallenged until counterculture and informal wear rose in the 1960s. Bright colours or any colours, wigs, stockings, breeches accentuating the legs of the male figure, and heels were replaced.
The 'useful and not beautiful' image is a reflecting or coinciding idea with...?
The idea that men were rational and that women were frivolous and emotional, leading to functional and utilitarian garments for men for centuries, leaving much of the expressive and creative varieties to women's wear.
And the image of typical and expected men's wear spread and influenced other---especially colonised---countries from their traditional and/or ethnic wears.
Historically, female reproductive/sexual health has been stigmatised and made into a "women-only business", yet paradoxically it has been in the old times a male doctor's job to examine health conditions, including female bodies.
Yet (again) historically in Europe, there were wise-women/healers that helped the community, especially those in need. The field and knowledge of healing and curing were for mothers and daughters to inherit.
Why then were doctors so male-dominant?
Hint: BURNING! BURRRRNNNN!!
The treatment of illnesses etc wasn't considered a profession---but not a domestic chore either (as seen with the community scope), and practices often blend into herbal and spiritual concepts. In the Renaissance, people began exploring medicine as science and in science---and only men were allowed to study science in universities to be 'doctors'.
Universities began using the title 'doctor' to mean 'healer', and doctors became paid jobs---even more a man-only thing. Women were already barred from becoming doctors, yet additionally, were gradually pushed out of the medicinal fields by _witch claims_ and executions, as their more culturally traditional, ancient, spiritual, and charms methods (though more accessible to lower classes and communities than the upper-class-exclusive doctors, hence their secret continuation) became associated with witchcraft.
INDIA:
In India, third genders are officially recognised -- this includes intersex, eunuchs, and transgender people. In India, there is a category of people called Hijra or Kinnar -- largely born biologically male but feel neither male nor female. Typically they dress and act femininely and live with the Hijra community, comprising of eunuch, intersex, and transgender people. Some kinnar undergo castration but it's not a requirement. In the past, people sought blessings of a hijra at their marriage or child's birth. These people were considered holy, and at their entry into the hijra community they are initiated by a guru, teaching them their historical duties of practices and rites.
But though the hijra are recognized legally, they have been prosecuted.
Which historical occurrence drove the reverence and acceptance of intersex/transgender Hijra people a step backward?
British colonialism.
When British colonialism took over India, the hijras were one of its victims. The British spent two centuries defaming and denouncing third genders, and that stigma still exists today. Hijras often live in poverty on the margins of society, without access to healthcare, education, and good jobs.
India's 2014 supreme court ruling to include third genders in the law is a step in the direction to reverse this colonial effect. Progress is slow, but "in 2015 the first hijra mayor in India was elected in the city of Raigarh", and "in 2017 the city of Kochi hired 23 hijra to work for their public transit system." Many hijra continue to do their important community work, though simultaneously still struggling with opportunity inequalities, towards a better future.
ITALY:
Femminiello---a term/label/identity that Italians find reductive to fit under Northern European & North American macro category of "transgender"---are a population of people who embody a third gender role in traditional Neapolitan culture, and like the Hijra of India, are thought to bring good luck. Despite the widespread gender binary, this was a peculiar but existing gender expression that's socially legitimised in the culture of Naples. They have numerous links to their mythology, like Hermaphoditus or the blind prophet Tiresias of Thebes who famously transformed into a woman for 7 years, and like these figures, are thought to possess wise equilibrium from having both worlds. Non-mythological traces exist too---to the Galli, with traditions of expressing their gender in Phrygia (Turkey today), to city of Rome, and even in the north (today's London), and were also thought to be spiritual with powers to bless especially by the Romans..
Neither a derogatory term or insult, break down what does the term femminiello means.
(Hint: plural form is femminielli.)
(1) Neapolitan word 'woman' (femmena)
(2) suffix (-iello) which is a diminutive term of endearment
(3) the suffix has a masculine ending (-o)
Many times, the fashion of men in the West changed due to fear of emasculation; once what men wore to masculinize themselves, when women began exploring, such things were then disowned and made to be perceived as "inherently" "feminine".
Name 3 of such fashion styles and expressions.
Wearing pink(red). (this was the colour of men, blood of battles, and pink was considered close to red and thus for boys)
High heels. (heels were for masculinising; the Persian army wore high heels to stabilise their form in riding and in combat, especially arrow-shooting. It made its way to Europe where they enhanced it further as a style for men. The mid-17th century had an androgynous fashion fad when women started wearing heels to look masculine too - before the Great Male Renunciation occurred, leaving heels to become 'feminine')
Makeup. (globally: timing differs between cultures, but many were influenced by Western colonial/invasion effects to have relinquished the practice)
Corsets. (used in the army, especially the cavalry, for hunting, and for strenuous exercise, like a modern weightlifter's belt; *see Pts500 card)
Oftentimes, women's health studies are done with ignorant and preconceived notions: eg., Father of modern gynaecology, James M Sims (1800s), experimented on enslaved black women without anaesthesia, convinced that they felt less pain than white women.
Such mistakes are agonizingly obvious to us today, yet these errors still permeate various aspects of women's health today. Ex: in the products and commerce side---recent news exposed a flaw in period pad companies' product testing. What is it?
They tested period pads' absorbancy with water, not blood-like density fluids.
Like bro, what?
Even after that lack of consideration for blood-like density, there is also the misconception of the 'blood' that women 'bleed' is only blood---but it is also tissue lining. It is not only the bleeding of blood cells but shedding and tearing of layers and lines from the organ.
NATIVE AMERICA:
The Diné nation (Navajo) of Southwestern US has traditional understanding of the gender spectrum that is beyond man-woman dichotomy. They hold the concept of [Nádleehí]. A person who is nádleehí moves between these man-woman genders. In the past, nádleehí were respected, and even seen as gifted.
((a modern umbrella term by Indigenous groups is "two-spirited" people, though not used universally; they have their own terms to call these people and identities in their own languages, as well as roles to fill. The two-spirited are those in the community who fulfil a traditional third-gender (or other gender-variant) ceremonial and social role in their cultures. The two-spirit identity "does not make sense" unless it is contextualized within a Native American or First Nations framework and traditional cultural understanding, and many non-natives unfortunately co-opt/appropriate the term. Many two-spirit people and same-sex relations do face discrimination within their nation, unlike their traditional pasts.))
What do you think are the four genders of the nádleehí? (Hint: it sounds similar to the concepts of yin and yang when it comes to gender)
Nádleehí is the concept that within each person is a mixed relationship of the masculine and the feminine. Some Diné people hold that the four genders are feminine woman, masculine woman, masculine man, and feminine man.
POLYNESIA:
“Western society tries to fit us [in] a box, to put us under gay, under trans and queer … but I think fa’afafine is our cultural identity – it defines us.”
The island of Somoa has a history of a wider gender spectrum - aside from man and woman, there is the gender identity of those who live as the other gender from their birth-assigned gender. Those born male become fa'afafine, and those born female become fa'afatama. Again, colonialism brought in intolerance in the form of Western religion. Communities live harmoniously with fa'afafine and fa'afataman, but there are pockets of Catholic communities rejecting them.
It is not just Samoa. This part of the world --Polynesia-- has a number of third genders: Fiji (vaka sa lewa lewa); Niue (fakafifine); Kiribati and Tuvalu (pinapinaaine); the Cook Islands (akava’ine); and New Zealand (whakawāhine).
Traditional Samoan values also accept same-sex relations - but such marriages are not legal in Samoa. Why?
Legacy and inheritance from colonial British and New Zealandic rule.
Other than influencers (royals, political figures, athletes, etc) setting the stage for fashion trends and styles, television and milestone movies also paved the way (ex: James Dean on screen, cool relaxed nonconformist who was open about a lot of feelings in theatres, was a role model and so was his fashion).
Do you think there might be a strong cohesive fashion trend going onward? Or will there be too many exposures and influences for one thing to stick? Or a blend of everything and nothing matters?
There seems to be a trend of counterculture/opposing the prior style:
>> tuxedo 'classic' fits >> simple blouses and tops >> preppy button downs and cardigans >> 50s greasers' denim and leather jackets >> 60s Beatlemania and UK influence of mod style, relaxed tie-dies and florals >> 70s disco, metallic flashy styles, bold colours, escapism through flamboyance and freedom >> baggy, laidback, casual and grunge 'anti' fashion aesthetic opposing the disco extravagance >> Matrix cyberpunk leather, sleep, power, form and structure >> stagnant since mid2000s with athleisure and graphic tees, hoodie, beanie, little colours and mostly neutrals, oatmeal, greys, etc. >> revivals, reinterpretations, Kencore, Kpop, vibrant, self-expressive, mixed classic wear with modern twists and bolder colours or patterns
The element of fitting in could still be strong -- and the definitions surrounding a clothing element can change. Back then, wearing hats was to fit in; today, it is to stand out. --- However, because there are so many points of revivals/reinterpretations/etc, especially with social media, it could also become a mosaic of different styles and individualism coexisting together. Some are also exploring precolonial styles.
Many biological theories about women's health constrained them to old social ideas about women, simultaneously reinforcing them too. These theories tend to stem from male/men-centred positions.
In recent years it's been raised about the differences in how the female body has certain different basic needs such as slightly more sleep needed or experiences symptoms compared to the male body---especially heart attacks. Do you know the different/extra symptoms?
Both sexes experience nausea/vomiting; chest tightness or squeezing pain; jaw, neck, back, shoulder pain; and shortness of breath. Men have the commonly associated symptoms of heart attacks--irregular heartbeats and chest pains.
But women have unusual extreme fatigue, indigestion, fainting or light-headedness, cold sweat, heartburn-like feeling, more pain in /upper/ back, or lower abdomen, not always chest pains, anxiety, waking in the night out of breath and sleep problems, etc.
CHINA (& JAPAN):
In times as recent as 1700s, when on one side of the globe, soon-to-be king of Prussia (Frederick (the Great)) was forced by his father to watch the beheading of his tutor (and possible lover) Hans Hermann von Katte, China and Japan in the meantime were shocking European missionaries and traders etc with their views about homosexuality.
Emperors were quite bi with eunuchs in their harem, especially Han dynasty rulers (more: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tS2VXSroznY), and historians did well to record these relations not as 'roommates'; Samurais were following faithfully teachings and practices which reflected their general acceptance/indifference to the idea of same-sex relations.
What did Japan and China have that was a big factor in the East Asian perception? (hint: religion-philosophy)
Buddhism (and Shintoism)
In Japanese Buddhism, for example, the concept of sexual activities itself is the defiling corruption - and in fact it condemns male-female more over same-sex activities. Monks and priests took vows of celibacy -- both hetero and homo -- but compared to Judeo-Christian beliefs, same-sex activity is seen more like a "lapse in judgement" (for monks). This is because the main religion for Japan, Shintoism, is sex-positive and do not view sexual activity to be sinful (though there is concept and warnings of "sexual pollution"), setting the tone for Japanese Buddhism which neither does not heavily condemn same-sex relations. So for non-monks and everyday people, samurai-included, there are even less objections. Or rather, they didn't care (except the visiting westerners), because Japanese male Buddhist institutions' (not just monasteries) activities were quite public, especially when more common people rose in classes in the 1700s - there was the idea that you could become further enlightened during sexual activities - and the acolytes were thought to embody feminine principles. Founder of Shingon School, Kuukai (who is also attributed to be the creator of hiragana of the Japanese language), introduced homosexual acts into practices after his study in China and return in early 9th century. So in fact monks and samurai do it a lot and as practices (akin to ladies-in-waiting's activities together), and hence possibly more than the common people (more: https://www.tofugu.com/japan/gay-samurai/)
So what about China? The Sinosphere is strong and influential--Japan copied and learnt from the ways of China a lot. China's Buddhist monasteries definitely had something called '男色/nanshoku', which Japan noted. In China's case, they had always seen homosexual relations as something of a preference that one could have; hetero and homosexual relationships were equally common as far back as the 3rd century even before the Han dynasty. Though concepts and values like Confucianism which advocates for yin-yang balance would oppose same-sex relations, many would fulfil their responsibilities of making a family whilst having their lover too. Marriage, like the Romans, were also partly seen as a societal function than union of love, and there wasn't a strong expectation to be monogamous. Or, as China wasn't as sex-positive as Japan (although in Taoism...), it might also be seen as a bedroom kink (rather than sin) that is okay but you keep to yourself. Moreover, the emperors willed it, so it's not like anything could be done, *nor* was anything hoped to be done; Chinese historians and court attendees' records of emperors' relations never chastised anything about the relation, only if the emperor was too smitten and forgot to run the country. But this 'keeping to yourself' got stronger from general apathy to prejudice as time went, especially after more colonial impacts by Westerners, as it did for many colonised or invaded countries, including Japan.
JAPAN:
In Japanese games, shows, books & mangas, etc. since its earliest days - there has always been characters that defies their assignment. As a trope, they can be 'traps', or bar/club 'Mama's, or just called 'nee' (sister) in their names, etc. And the portrayal of these identities are very common and open, even in relation to Western' countries' trans acceptance. Ex: a fan-favourite named game character Bridget was born to a pair of male twins, but being in a village that sees male twins as taboo, had to hide away his sex as a male and present as a girl; she sets out to prove her village superstition wrong by seeking and improving her manliness, but in the next game volume, comes to term with her gender identity and that she was not seeking manliness but rather belonging, and, finally facing part of herself she previously tried to ignore, identifies as a woman. // In Gintama and Yoshimoto Banana's short stories Kitchen and Moonlight Shadow, there are characters who dress as their opposite gender, some to play the role of their partners who had passed (kind of like the reverse of the 'Sworn Virgins' of Albania btw!) ---in both Gintama and Kitchen, a widowed father dresses and identifies as a mother/woman to take care of her son, and both are appreciated.
What is a reason in Japanese culture, and perhaps East Asian cultures, that these characters are openly accepted? Or rather, what aspect of these characters reflects something of East Asian cultures that paves the way for their acceptance?
Collectivist Conformity
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gRrVkZoN93c) In East Asian philosophy and culture, conforming to society, to either get with the program or fit in, is important and expected. While transgender identities are non-conforming, in gender transitioning, when the outside matches the inside, when presenting visually and behaviorally as one's identified gender, it is then conforming and thus accepted.
While in Western countries and games, conservatives would see the act of transitioning to be intolerable and furthering the non-conformity - but in East Asia, because it is conforming to gender expectations that it becomes tolerable and accepted, even by East Asian conservatives--because one is abiding by collectivist values. (And, as gender roles and expectations become more flexible, those expectations on trans people also become flexible.)
_
"But what about transgenderism in China??" : Mulan.
Throughout the ages, the image of the male body has been hijacked to serve a multitude of cultural and political purposes, from security to sexuality. From Egyptians to Spartans to Athenian then Hellenistic Greeks and Romans to Renaissance and then Victorians and finally 20th and 21st century, the male body objectification and expectations went through various evolutions but nonetheless ubiquitous.
With all these decades and centuries of objectification, what has happened as a result to our brains?
((Spartans appropriating the male body for the public to celebrate its success in war, where physique, fitness and battle ability were essentials for the security of the state; the mostly naked Classical Greek male body depicted in a flawless realism and subsequently into godlike perfection by sculptors in Athenian age, to celebrate the intellectual superiority of ancient Greek culture and its protagonists; male nudity in the Classical and Hellenistic Periods as imagery aimed at producing homosexual desire and appeal to both the male and female gaze; Romans rebadged and reused Greek iconography, continuing the god-like self-representation and turning leaders into gods and much of their architect paid tribute to the heroic male; into the Byzantium and age of prudence, the art world flipped into mosaics with pious messages, no realism nor flesh nor tillitations; until the Renaissance rediscovered the idealism and the Church thought to take advantage of using these images as well, exploding artistic production with neo-classical naked men icons, and the objectification of flesh in the guise of religious storytelling continued until the 19th century; the Victorians and Europeans then prized decency and outward appearance to match morality and dignity, but inventions of photography and printing had underground postcards and photos of sexual images (both men and women); and cinematography in the 20th century used male attractiveness to bring female audiences, back to the better-than-life Roman figure, setting the way for 1950s onscreen 'beefcake' male actors who had to go through diet restrictions to achieve a body type, whilst its mythically beautiful muscular characters dominated and controlled the common characters, giving the message of 'real' heroes and appearances and power are essential to becoming leaders and successful; eventually by the 70s-80s there were entertainment like strip shows with no cultural message provided; in the modern age of social media, fashion industries and the idea of not just women but men and non-binaries can be worked on to become more sexually attractive to others, and the sexual objectification is no longer a woman's problem.
The longstanding objectification not only had the image of the male body pick up a lot of political and social baggage, many expectations and ideas of success prerequisites, but also the near-hardwiring habits of our brains to viewing certain features (including unrealistic) to be desirable.
"we come to realise that we’ve put the entire human race at risk of sexual objectification and all the mental health hazards that come with it [....] our lizard brains want to objectify ourselves and each other, while our 21st century brains know it’s a flawed and largely obsolete instinct" -- (messynessychic.com)
Good news: Spain, Taiwan, Korea (and Indonesia and Japan somewhat) give menstrual leaves!
Just thought you'd wanna know.
Bad news: Apart from [severe period cramps], [female-month cycle in a male-day cycle society], or [hormonal/endocrine-physiological risks]--- when it comes to potential issues a female body could face, there are even more extreme troubles and perhaps disabling conditions that are not yet well-considered even as disabilities to support, especially in more conservative societies.
For example, a retroverted uterus (20%), or endometriosis (ranges from light to severe). Do you know what one of these are, and explain?
Retroverted uterus: the uterus naturally grows, as the body grows, in the wrong direction, usually pushed by the other surrounding growing organs, until it is retroverted and tilted towards the spine instead of upright. Will cause discomfort especially during period as the organ tries to shed womb cell tissue linings.
Endometriosis: cancer-like (though not cancerous) disease, uterus womb lining-like tissue grows outside the organ and sometimes the ovarian and fallopian tubes, causing blisters and cuts to it and surrounding organs, pelvic pain, potential internal or vaginal bleeding, infertility, risks of cysts, risks of rupture and bleeding, inflammation and swelling, scar tissue and scars, bowel movement or abdomen area discomfort, general discomfort and pain, fever, etc.
JAPAN:
Art has always told the existence of something.
In the art-abundant Edo period (1600s-1800s), ukiyo-e style woodblock prints depict Japan's traditional gender fluidity and --the modernly considered 'third gender'-- the Wakashu identity and role.
若衆(わかしゅう) Wakashu ("beautiful young person", though always referring to male) were youths who reached the then-considered sexually mature age but yet obligated to do adult duties ((the term, from the following Meiji era onwards, became 少年(しょうねん) shounen, meaning young man generally)). The wakashu were objects of desire for both women and men (typically older, because wakashu is an identity with age as a factor, and it is condoned for a wakashu to be with an older man; but not always. Some older men dress and act the wakashudo/way of the wakashu to be with other men(or women)), are depicted as androgynous or sexually ambiguous, distinguishable just by their hairstyles, and had their roles in an established sexual dominance hierarchy (usually men > wakashu > women, but sometimes women > wakashu too).
Literature also explored ideas of hetero-or-homosexual relations; one book had two men debating about it and (spoiler) though being with a woman won, it was simultaneously concluded that being with a man was well-fitting and suited the higher class lifestyle. It was not only the samurai culture but other parts of society that practised homosexuality/spent time with wakashu or just shudo in general (衆道 way of boys love), including Japanese theatre kabuki.
What would a scene in kabuki theatre look like? What are the roles they would play, with the gender bending identity of wakashu in mind?
In Edo-era kabuki, after female actors were banned, male actors, who had to crossdress like in Shakespeare (onnagata), also could crossdress as a wakashu, while wakashu crossdressed and played women roles, sometimes manly women; gender ambiguity and confusion were present on stage.
Women too were particularly attracted to onnagata and wakashu, the latter of which often behaved more feminine than their female partners. Traditional Japanese society was fluid and complex, transcending binaries in sexual expression and gender. This became obsolete when notions of gender and sexuality changed as the arrival of the US Navy pulled Japan out of isolation from the Western world. Along with increased trade came new values, with heteronormativity as the norm.
MEXICO:
In the Zapotec culture and society, since pre-Hispanic times to present day in Oaxaca, there are 3 acknowledged genders: female, male, muxe.
The Zapotecs have traditions in complex and beautiful embroidery, a matrilineal social structure with Tehuana women ruling, and the consideration of muxes as good luck.
Muxes are those born male and dress and behave in ways associated with women. They are seen as a third separate gender, without the Western societal pressures to "pass" and be validated. Muxes may dress as women or have romantic relationships with men, or marry women, whilst cultivating traits and activities associated with womanhood.
In Zapotec culture, “the idea of choosing gender or of sexual orientation is as ludicrous as suggesting that one can choose one’s skin color.” It is seen as natural.
Guess a contributing reason why the Zapotec community was accepting of this muxe gender identity?
Gender equality.
In the past, Zapotec women are the financial backbone for their families with the good money they earn with their embroidery and clothes; the stronger gender equality contributed to the communities' acceptance of the muxes gender identity. But today, as Western ideals take hold more, those outside the binary face discrimination too.
International power dynamics are a strong factor in the spreading, maintaining, or defying of a fashion style or expression.
Eg.: Despite the revolution mockeries, America did have a thing for British aesthetics and looked to cultural happenings in the British high circles -- as seen in eg the Gilded Age desire for American heirs to marry British elites or emulate them, and American old money vs new money, etc..
If the British were once the icon for Americans to follow, including in fashion,
What is the factor for British fashion? (even before the Enlightenment cultural revolution (*Pts100))
The British's hate for the French, and homophobia (and gender inequality).
Since the early histories of England, the French had the foothold and influence in fashion for Europe, and with the French Normans who were the established higher class in England after the Norman Conquest, despite the hate towards the French, French fashion was hence emulated by the English for a long time.
After Britain gained power and influence, there had been various propaganda and ridicule of Frenchmen and their fashion; it got stronger with 'anti-Frenchness' after the French Revolution.
Beard designs were particular (Victorian beard movement: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9555278/) to not be associated with the French.
Some terms were produced with intent to mock the French and any French-like fashion; the song Yankee Doodle of American Revolution times "Yankee Doodle went to town, riding on a pony; He stuck a feather in his hat and called it macaroni", was actually propaganda to ridicule Americans, and had terms of "macaroni" and "dandy" that meant to insult with association to the French.
Macaroni/Maccaroni used to mean a fashionable fellow of epicene/androgynous style, but became a symbol of inappropriate bourgeois excess, effeminacy, and possible homosexuality - which was then legally viewed as sodomy, which was a no-no in Europe. The Macaroni suit (1700s) had shorter, tighter fitting coat, colourful stockings, and shoes with large buckles, the Macaroni cravat of lace-edged muslin and in a large bow. Macaroni was a Georgian precursor to the dandy in Regency-Victorian time ((meanwhile, before Maccaroni was fop, a stock character in English literature but also a pejorative term for a man excessively concerned with his appearance and clothes in 1600s England and overdo being French))
Dandyism was a widespread European trend in the 18th-19th century and dandies strove to imitate an aristocratic lifestyle, prioritising physical appearance with refined tailoring to exaggerate the natural male figure beneath fashionable outerwear. British aristocracy still relied on the tailors to give them a silhouette that recalled statuesque Greco-Roman male beauty, even after the French Revolution and Enlightenment, but like macaroni, dandies became public ridicule too as it fed into the longstanding British-French rivalry. Caricatures mocked the style with the same negative meanings of macaronis, and 19th-century British humour stereotyped French dandies (in corsets) as thin and underfed while contrasting them with the manliness of well-nourished Brits.
Corsets which used to accentuate the male figure such as the shoulders fell out of favour in all of this anti-French, homophobia, and the Great Male Renunciation.
As the Great Male Renunciation brew, the zest for men's fashion and dressing beautifully disappeared (and go stigmatized) by the Industrial Revolution. Taboo persists especially with women’s rights movements and the threat of role reversal in the mid-nineteenth century increasing a need to assert male dominance.