Marc by Marc Jacobs
We all know that life is oh so unfair, especially when it comes to our appearance and physiques. There are humans that eat more in one sitting than a pre-hibernation mother bear and still fit snugly into their skinny jeans. There are people like me, who look at food and gain weight. And, we all try our best despite the multiple unexplainable failures. This morning, I tried on at least 15 different outfits and still looked considerably less attractive than the disheveled faux-hippie looking sleepy eyed on the subway.
That’s unfair. But 19-year-old Andrej Pejic is a whole other story. Tall, svelte, perfect bone structure: what makes this model different from other ladies on the runway? Well, she is, in fact, a he: the half Serbian- half Croatian recently donned a wedding dress for Jean Paul Gautier and strutted the Vivienne Westwood catwalk. He’s been sought for editorials in Vogue and is now the new face of Marc by Marc Jacobs —all in womenswear. This boy is now the prettiest girl in town. And I’m laughing myself to tears as I throw my hands in the air, kick back into my chair, and reach for an ice cream tub of self-pity.
What does Andrej teach us? Nothing we haven’t already known (see first sentence) and the additional knowledge that life’s mischief la-dee-da’s over gender barriers. But we’ve known this too. I’ve long tried to ignore the fact that my brother has nicer legs than I do, but I surrender —he’ll be receiving every single pair of my toe-wrenching, high-heeled efforts for longer legs.
We can hate Andrej, or we can love to hate Andrej. The importance in this story is that a boy who used to work at McDonald’s (really, that’s where he was discovered) is becoming an international super star and gender bending while he’s at it. It means that there are different possibilities opening up for different people. And while I do retreat to a certain level of defeatism, there’s a part of me that likes being disproportionate, short, and imperfect. I like complaining and being awkward, it makes me feel human. After all, what would Andrej’s sensationalism and beautiful people in general mean without the beauty of normal people?
Besides, not even the incredible “femiman” icon can’t have it all. He recently said that if offered a contract with lingerie line, Victoria Secret, he would consider a sex change with a nice, perky set of breast implants. “You’d have to, wouldn’t you?” mused Pelic. “I couldn’t imagine doing it any other way.”
Well, you give and you take.
-youmi park
Sexistentialiste 