Dressember under fire for ‘gender stereotyping’

FIRST Movember, then Veganuary. Now it’s time for Dressember – but critics say the charity campaign promotes gender stereotypes.

The Dressember Foundation encourages supporters to wear either a dress or a tie for every day of December, to raise funds and awareness for victims of human trafficking.

But some critics say the campaign reinforces negative gender stereotypes.

Francesca Cambridge Mallen, founder of Let Clothes be Clothes, which supports more gender-neutral clothing options for children, said: “Regardless of laudable intentions, any fundraising campaign that capitalises on gender stereotyping is likely to both reinforce and contribute to harmful ideas about men and women in society.”

Marissa Marx, of the Dressember Foundation, said the campaign did not reinforce gender roles, adding: “We invite anyone to wear either a dress or tie as a tool to raise awareness and funding for anti-trafficking programmes.”

She added that the style challenge came before the campaigning and fundraising element.