Born Naked, Dressed in Meaning

"We're all born naked, and the rest is drag." — RuPaul

What does it mean to be human if even our skin is considered a blank slate?

At birth, we arrive untouched by fabric, titles, or expectation. And almost immediately, we’re dressed—first in softness, then in symbols. Blue for boys, pink for girls. Little bows and suspenders. Tiny shoes made for feet that can’t yet walk, chosen not for function, but presentation.

But as RuPaul reminds us, everything after naked is drag. That doesn’t mean everyone is a performer—it means everyone is expressing. Drag, in its purest form, is the art of declaring identity through appearance. And if that’s true, we’re all doing drag—every single day.

The Evolution of Expression

Clothing has always been more than protection from the cold. In ancient Egypt, flowing linens adorned all genders; status was displayed through color and jewelry, not silhouette. In the 1700s, European men wore heels, wigs, and embroidered fabrics—symbols of power and refinement. It wasn’t until the Industrial Revolution and Victorian morality that fashion became rigidly gendered.

These roles weren’t natural—they were assigned. And for many, confining.

The modern era is a slow unraveling of those seams. We are watching, in real-time, as fashion returns to what it always was: a mirror of the self, not of societal rules.

The Resistance to Change

So why do some still panic when a boy wears nail polish, or a woman wears a suit?

Because clothing is a language, and we’ve been taught one dialect. When someone dares to speak another—especially one that breaks from gendered norms—it can feel like disobedience. But the discomfort doesn’t come from the clothes. It comes from freedom—the kind that threatens the illusion of control.

To live in a world where people wear what feels right to them is to admit that maybe, just maybe, the rules were never real.

Why It Matters

Normalizing freedom of dress isn't just about fashion—it’s about liberation. It’s about telling a child they can dress in a way that makes them feel at home in their body. It’s about letting people express grief, power, softness, or joy with color, texture, and shape. It’s about dismantling the idea that femininity equals weakness, or masculinity equals strength.

When we allow people to wear their truth, we’re making space for deeper conversations about gender, identity, vulnerability, and humanity.

The Human Truth

In the end, we dress to communicate. To align our outer world with our inner one. And the most human thing we can do—is to dress in what feels like home.

Whether it’s a gown or jeans, lace or leather, the truth remains:

We’re all born naked. The rest? That’s just us, trying to be seen.

Citations

• Breward, Christopher. The Hidden History of the Male Body: From Renaissance to Modernity. — A deep dive into how men’s fashion has evolved, including heels, lace, and flamboyance in European history.

• Steele, Valerie. Fashion and Eroticism: Ideals of Feminine Beauty from the Victorian Era to the Jazz Age. Oxford University Press — Covers the shift toward gendered dress codes during the Industrial and Victorian eras.

• Arnold, Rebecca. Fashion: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford University Press — A great overview of fashion's role in society, identity, and self-expression.

• Museum at FIT (Fashion Institute of Technology). Exhibitions and articles, especially “A Queer History of Fashion” — Offers historical context for gender expression through clothing.

• RuPaul, Charles. GuRu. Dey Street Books, 2018 — For more on RuPaul's philosophy and quotes like “We’re all born naked and the rest is drag.”

• National Geographic History Magazine (Various Issues) — Helpful in understanding how ancient cultures like Egypt viewed clothing and gender presentation.