Fashionisto Tears Down Gender Role Walls

Earlier this week, American Apparel featured a Hong Kong-based fashion blogger Joey Ma on its Facebook page for wearing AA’s chiffon skirt. Ma’s photo spiked a curiosity, and I immediately delved into some research. Apparently, he’s just more than your average “*~* Chic and Chanel *~*” fashion blogger.

Ma doesn’t quite fit the stereotypical bill of a cross-dresser, and can’t be grouped with the likes of David Bowie, RuPaul or BryanBoy. By no means is Ma more subtle or less proud of his courageous fashion choices, but it can be argued he’s in it for the fashion, not for the attention.

In an interview with Time Out Hong Kong, Ma revealed that two sides of his personality exist, and each has its own style. At work, Ma said, he will typically just wear dress slacks and a shirt. He works for his parents’ fruit export company, and doesn’t feel the need to dress up.

Courtesy Joey Ma

The other – and more colorful – side of Ma’s personality is the one any fashionista/o can appreciate. With a flair for color blocking and juxtaposing fabrics, Ma takes daring to a whole new level.

Courtesy Joey Ma

What’s most intriguing about Ma to me is his ability to mix. A YSL jacket and H&M pants become a seamless and chic number; an orange furry sweater, silver harem pants and a red patent leather belt around his waist? It still flows, despite how horrid it may sound.And Ma? He’s saying, “screw you,” to gender roles and societal norms to mix male masculinity with the feminine attention to detail and proclivity for fashion.

And that’s the lesson we can all learn from Ma: You’re born into the skin you have. You can try your best to destroy it, hurt it or become another person, but at the end of the day, this is you. Rock it for all it’s worth.