Many people believe that because you are a certain gender, you have to have a certain type of fashion.

For instance, girls wear makeup and purses, while guys wear baseball caps and carry wallets in their back pockets.

For me, I do not think that your gender should define what you can and cannot wear.

Growing up, I was never very a fashionable person.

I had nice clothes, a nice wallet and different things like that, but I never necessarily cared about the way I looked or presented myself.

It was not until I got out of high school that I took a large interest in my fashion and style.

Most men do not care too much about materialistic items, but I started caring.

I started learning how to coordinate different outfits with different accessories.

I started buying more clothes and more accessories to fill up my closet, not only because I liked them, but also because I knew what looked good with each piece of clothing I had.

Today, I am a completely different person than I was six years ago.

I always try my best to look somewhat decent.

I wear makeup occasionally and I carry a purse or what some people would call a “murse.”

There have been times that I have been judged because of my choice to wear makeup and carry a purse or even sometimes wear perfume.

The thing is, I do not care what people think.

I know what my taste in fashion is, and I know what I like.

I got a small coach bag for Christmas, and I wear it every day now.

Someone made a comment about it last week to me.

It made me realize the majority of the population is still so judgmental and still so set in their ways of fashion.

I think it is completely OK for a man to wear what he wants and for a woman to wear what she wants.

Just because we are who we are does not mean we are limited to how we can express ourselves or what we can wear.

What kind of life would we have if we let the world control us in this way?

It certainly would not be fun.

For me, I do not like to wear tennis shoes, sweatshirts or basketball shorts every single day just because I am a guy.

My choice of style is a sweater, jeans, comfy shoes and maybe even a scarf to go with it.

When I go out clubbing or to different events, I like to slab a bit of makeup on my face, fix my hair, squirt some cologne or perfume on and grab my bag to accompany me where I go.

I walk into a public place and half the people I run into, usually females, are obsessed with my makeup or how I style myself.

The other half of the people I run into start glaring at me, their jaws drop because they just cannot believe that a guy would carry a purse and wear eyeliner and mascara.

Why is it anyone’s business what I choose to do with my image?

Why do I have to let other people tell me how I can look?

It is not their face that is wearing makeup or their bodies that are carrying a purse.

Whatever you choose to wear is what makes you who you are.

You should never let someone try to dictate what to wear.

You do what makes you happy and what makes you feel good inside.

Andrew Paisley is a junior journalism major. He can be reached at 581-2812 or abpaisley@eiu.edu.