- Put on your thick face powder, thong, and high heels to show just how much of a man you are.
Some everyday things, like clothes, accessories, and such, are heavily gendered. And that’s just how it is — some things are for guys and some for girls.
Right?
Not exactly. Breaking gender norms aside, sometimes a product intended for the fairer sex ends up being embraced by the manliest of men, and vice versa.
It’s not even a rare thing to happen. Many things we associate with men or women today were originally intended for the opposite sex.
Here are 8 examples of things that were meant for one sex but were adopted by the other — six for both ways.
1. Stockings and Leggings
Stockings and leggings are strictly female clothing these days, bar some thermal or sporty cases. But they used to be a man’s choice of legwear.
In fact, fashionable, rich men have worn stockings since the ninth century. Women didn’t adopt them until some 800 years later in the 18th century.
Fun fact, there was a period of overlap when men didn’t want anything to think they were wearing women’s stockings. That’s when the term “pantyhose” was invented to differentiate ladies’ stockings from men’s “hose.”
2. Wristwatches
A Rolex is often taken as a sign of a successful man. But back in the day, wristwatches were strictly for women.
Up to World War I, men considered wristwatches to be dainty, feminine accessories comparable to jewelry. Any self-respecting man would wear a pocket watch instead.
But the horrifying conditions of the trenches made pocket watches very impractical. All it took was the worst war humanity had seen to date to convince men to start wearing their watches on their watches.
3. Thongs
Those sexy little G-strings? Yeah, those were originally men’s underwear.
Granted, the original thong — worn in places like Egypt, Greece, and Japan — wasn’t quite as dainty as its modern equivalent. Yet, they left the wearer’s butt cheeks exposed all the same.
Women’s thong, on the other hand, was born in 1939, at least according to one story. During the New York World Trade Fair, the city’s mayor ordered female nude dancers to cover up their shame. So, they pulled on G-strings so they could still shake their booty for the audience.
4. Crop Tops
See a man wearing a crop top today and many people immediately assume he has some feminine qualities. Yet, in the ‘80s and early ‘90s, they were the peak of masculinity.
Crop tops were born in the locker rooms of top American football players. You can get much manlier than that.
Yet, by the mid-‘90s, most men had decided that they didn’t want to flaunt their stomachs and women took over crop tops. Maybe the guys just didn’t want to put in the effort to build the kind of six-pack to pull the look off.
5. High Heels
High heels are probably one of the most feminine articles of clothing in existence. Yet, they were originally worn by burly Persian soldiers.
The high heels allowed cavalry warriors to lock their feet to their stirrups, making it easier to stay in the saddle during the fighting. A few hundred years later, 17th-century French gentlemen adopted high heels as one of the most fashionable things to wear.
Women didn’t start wearing high heels until their skirt hems started slowly getting shorter. The heels made their feet seem smaller and their calves look more toned. By the 18th century, men dumped heels altogether.
6. Old Spice
Old Spice had a whole ad campaign built around the slogan “Smell Like a Man.” Which is ironic because the first Old Spice product was for women.
Launched in 1937, Early American Old Spice was a women’s scent, inspired by the potpourri its inventor’s mother wore. The first men’s Old Spice scent came in the following year.
It must’ve sold better. Does Old Spice even have a single women’s scent or deodorant these days?
7. Makeup
Now, it would be unfair to say that women of old didn’t wear makeup — they absolutely did. But lipstick, powder, and eyeliner didn’t use to be as strongly associated with women as they are today.
Ancient Egyptian pharaohs wore thick eyeliner and lipstick, both to show off their wealth and to make themselves look like the gods Horus and Ra. Roman men used red pigments to add a blush to their cheeks and painted their nails, while many gentlemen in 17th and 18th-century England and France inadvertently killed themselves with ghostly pale lead-based face powder.
Men didn’t stop dollying up their faces until the 19th century when Queen Victoria and the Church of England began to disapprove of the practice. Yet they didn’t manage to kill male makeup off completely — the male sections of makeup isles might be small but they’re still there.
8. Ford Mustang
Ah, Ford Mustang. What young man doesn’t want to show off by driving such a badass, masculine muscle car?
But, when the Mustang was first introduced in the mid-60s, Ford marketed it to women. With a large trunk that could hold plenty of groceries, Ford called the car the “Sweetheart of the Supermarket Set.”
The manufacturer even carefully picked the red color of the original Mustangs to match popular lipstick tones at the time. Even today, the Mustang is one of most popular sports cars among women.
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