This 'Love, Simon' actor rocked a skirt at the MTV Movie and TV Awards, and he's not the first to do so

Keiynan Lonsdale at the 2018 MTV Movie And TV Awards in Santa Monica, Calif. (Photo: Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic)
Keiynan Lonsdale at the 2018 MTV Movie And TV Awards in Santa Monica, Calif. (Photo: Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic)

Keiynan Lonsdale wore a skirt at the MTV Movie and TV Awards on Saturday night, and he looked absolutely fabulous doing it. Lonsdale, who won the Best Kiss award for a smooch with Nick Robinson in Love, Simon, also won the audience’s hearts with an inspiring speech that included a nod to his outfit. “I just want to say to every kid, you can live your dreams and wear dresses,” he said.

The best part of all of this is that Lonsdale is not nearly the first guy in recent memory to hit the red carpet in a skirt or dress — in fact, he wasn’t even the only guy at this particular awards show to rock a skirt. 13 Reasons Why star Tommy Dorfman wore an ensemble that included a pleated skirt. He wore a similar outfit at last year’s MTV Movie and TV Awards, that time paired with Dsquared2 heels.

Jaden Smith is another celeb known to experiment with gender norms when it comes to wardrobe items. He wore a skirt for his Louis Vuitton campaign and awesomely told GQ, “I don’t see man clothes and woman clothes; I just see scared people and comfortable people.” Smith also wore a skirt to accompany Amandla Stenberg to her prom.

At his wedding, gender-fluid actor Nico Tortorella and his partner, Bethany Meyers, eschewed traditional wedding trends in favor of outfits that were symbolic of their label-less relationship — the Younger star wore a white dress. To host the GLAAD Rising Stars luncheon last month, Tortorella wore a goth-inspired black gown. “I reached out to my friend @csiriano Christian Siriano has never dressed a DMAB for a carpet before, this is a moment in history y’all,” he wrote on Instagram about his outfit. “This is more than dress, this is political. … We are ALL multidimensional dynamic creatures, and as much as I understand the spectrum, the less I believe in the binary of gender, the more liberated I myself am becoming. Now let it be said, it is NOT more comfortable to wear these clothes. But I look fucking awesome.”

GLAAD celebrated the Rising Stars Luncheon at the 29th Annual @GLAAD Media Awards in New York yesterday and I had the incredible honor of hosting. The GLAAD Rising Stars Grant Program celebrates young people’s commitment to accelerating LGBTQ acceptance within their communities and culture at large. Grants are offered to support young people who are leveraging media to move hearts and minds and create change. It was such a profoundly moving and emotional experience. Congratulations to all of this years winners, check out my story to learn more. If there was ever a time to make bold fashion choices it is now. I reached out to my friend @csiriano Christian Siriano has never dressed a DMAB for a carpet before, this is a moment in history y’all. Now I know these looks aren’t for everyone or considered traditional garb for someone who looks like me, but fuck it. This is more than dress, this is political. Its no secret that my sexuality has been ever evolving, and quite recently my own gender identity and expression has been taking new flight. I have started playing with using they/them pro-nouns for myself and for any one I can when it’s appropriate. We are ALL multidimensional dynamic creatures and as much as I understand the spectrum, the less I believe in the binary of gender, the more liberated I myself am becoming. Now let it be said, it is NOT more comfortable to wear these clothes. But I look fucking awesome. And it shouldn’t matter. Facial hair, body hair, blue steel, leg pop, hip pop, and all. I am alive, I am free, all of it is me, ALL OF IT IS YOU. From my opening monologue yesterday – “Hey. Guess what? We made it to earth! We have no idea why we’re really here but we have bodies, we have minds, we have spirits. We have laughter and rainbows, every color of the spectrum. We have community, we have our elders that paved the way, we have our youth who are rewriting what it means to be queer, and we have each-other. Now we all know that were living in some trying times, y’all, but listen. Without the bad, the glad doesn’t exist. Without the bad, @GLAAD doesn’t exist. I encourage everyone in this room to always lead with love, no matter what.”

A post shared by nicotortorella (@nicotortorella) on May 5, 2018 at 7:03am PDT

Of course, Kanye West was an early adopter of this gender-bending trend when he wore a leather Givenchy skirt onstage in 2011.

And Jared Leto rocked a skirt at the 2014 iHeartRadio Music Awards and a gorgeous flowy kimono style dress at the Firefly Music Festival in 2017.

Lonsdale, a lot of great men have come before you, but thanks for continuing to push this important fashion statement forward.

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