The first Monday in May marked one of fashion’s biggest events: the Met Gala. Amid hits and misses from attending celebs trying to fit the theme of “Superfine: Tailoring Black Style” were a series of styles to match the gala’s accompanying dress code: “Tailored for You.” But one notable moment was when singer Lorde made a statement about her “gender broadening” journey.
From Met Gala staples such as Zendaya and Rihanna to new icons like Jon Batiste, there was plenty to talk about. Lorde, attending for the fourth time in a look by Thom Browne, also gave fans something else to cling to as they await her album drop next month. Talking to influencer Emma Chamberlain, Lorde noted, “I feel like a man and a woman, you know?” Her outfit, a two-piece set in silver with a top stuck to her chest and a maxi skirt (plus a suit jacket that she held rather than wearing traditionally) certainly spoke to some gender blurring or — as Lorde put it earlier in May — “gender broadening.”Â
Lorde first brought up her feelings about gender in tandem with promoting her fourth studio album. After a surprise drop of the lead single “What Was That” on April 24, Lorde announced her upcoming album would be titled Virgin and gave fans a look at the cover art, a crotch X-ray with a zipper. In a press release, Lorde wrote (in all-caps): “I WAS TRYING TO MAKE A DOCUMENT THAT REFLECTED MY FEMININITY: RAW, PRIMAL, INNOCENT, ELEGANT, OPENHEARTED, SPIRITUAL, MASC.”
In a conversation with artist and friend Martine Syms for Document Journal, Lorde talked about some of the feelings behind writing her new music. “I had come back from London to New York after this period of great turbulence in my personal life. Becoming single, but also really facing my body stuff head-on, and starting to feel my gender broadening a little bit,” Lorde said. She noted that she always starts her album creation process by reading. This time, “I read a lot of queer writers,” she said. Certainly, exploring masculinity as a woman and engaging with queer writers is a path to gender broadening, breaking the boundaries of binary gender, and seeing where else you might fit in.
Binary ideas of gender can often feel restrictive, especially for those who might identify with trans or enby identities. “Broadening” one’s gender, then, is a way to push those boundaries and explore what societal norms may exclude. Lorde has been clear that her upcoming album will feature a lot of vulnerable feelings about her body and gender, but that she’s proud of the work she’s put in.Â
Lorde’s gender journey is still continuing, but for the moment, she’s certainly exploring the other side of the gender spectrum. Whatever Lorde has ended up, however, I’m sure the music (Virgin drops June 27) will be iconic as always.Â