The Dichotomy of Crop Top

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I have always had a problem with crop tops. Don’t get me wrong. I don’t have a problem with people wearing them. You do you. I was just never able to comprehend them. For me clothes are mostly functional and comfortable. They can be trendy and fashionable, but comfortable at all costs. I hardly wear anything that makes me feel physically or mentally uncomfortable. This is why I don’t get crop tops. And I know I sound conservative and judgmental, but I’m honestly just coming from a place of trying to understand what about them makes me uncomfortable.

So my husband and I are finally watching The Bastards of Bollywood. Great show. And I vocalize this thought to him. We try to figure out why. Both of us being consultants, we started to break the problem down. What I realized is that I don’t mind crop tops, but I cannot understand what beyond the male gaze is the value of this. I am sure people who wear them find them incredibly comfortable. But this begs a bigger question. 

To what extent are our decisions determined by male gaze? It could be pandering to it openly or it could be avoiding it completely. Those two options come from a place of consciously making a decision? What about everything else in between? How do you determine what looks good to you and on you? Are you the sole decision maker? Or is that decision influenced by social media, movies, TV shows, songs, conversations with friends, and even books. 


When we start to think more deeply about this, most of the content not just today but has always been driven by men. They dress up women in your beloved TV shows and movies and books. And that’s where the realization hits like a ton of bricks. We aren’t just choosing a shirt, we are navigating a visual language that was largely scripted before we even learned to dress ourselves

If I were to put my consultant hat on and look at the "User Experience" of my own closet, I’d have to admit that my avoidance of crop tops is just as much a reaction to the male gaze as someone else’s decision to wear them. By refusing to wear them because I fear "pandering," I am still letting an external gaze dictate my boundaries. The truth is, we are all operating within a system we didn't build. Whether we are dressing up, dressing down, or covering up, we are communicating.

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