It’s 2023 and this bridal couple is still stuck in the “women must wear dresses and men must wear suits” era.
How in this day and age can people still be so narrow-minded?
An unhappy Reddit user has taken to the AITA group to share why they no longer want to take part in their brother’s wedding.
They explained how thrilled they were to be asked to be part of the bridal party; this until they were informed of the dress code.
“I was thrilled and excited to be included, but then she (the bride) informed me that the dress code for the bridal party was gender-specific, with women expected to wear dresses and men expected to wear suits,” shares the user.
“As someone who identifies as non-binary and is more masculine presenting, I am uncomfortable with conforming to a gender binary that doesn’t accurately represent me. I brought this up with my brother and his fiancé, but they insisted that they wanted all their guests to adhere to the dress code, regardless of how it made them feel.”
Due to this, they decided not to attend the wedding at all.
“I did not feel comfortable being pressured to conform to a gender binary that doesn’t accurately represent me. My brother and his fiancé are now upset with me, accusing me of being difficult and not willing to compromise.”
“After a fight with them, I found out they went behind my back and involved my mom. She called me yesterday and told me I can put aside my identity for one day to make the day special for my little brother.”
The user now feels bad because they didn't realise something as small as the clothes they feel comfortable wearing would cause a rift within their family.
They now want to know from Reddit users if they are the a**hole in refusing the go to the wedding.
“Here’s my identity for one day”. Uh, no. NTA (not the a**hole). It is fine for them to dictate the formality of the wedding. It is not fine for them to dictate your preferred gender expression. A suit that is on the same level of formality as suits others are wearing should be considered just fine,” commented one user.
“NTA, I get a dress code for a wedding but there’s a difference between ‘we want you to wear this style’ and ‘we want you to act like you're another gender’ If you can't wear the outfit of your choice, don't go,” said another.