How Leandra Medine Propelled Me To Think Twice With This Video

Have you seen this video with Leandra Medine where she asks men on the streets of New York what they think of her outfit? I just love her- her authenticity and wit and self-confidence, not to mention her imperfectly perfect sense of style. I am so attracted to her realness and intelligence which is so refreshing. Anyway, I watched the video for the same reason I read and watch all of her stuff, to learn something new and to be entertained-- but it ended up propelling me into deeper thought surrounding my own views on men in regards to their views on women.

She is hilarious in this, right? I thought so too. I laughed out loud pretty much the whole way through it. I also, however, found myself amidst a lot of "hmmms" and head cocking to one side or another, which is my way of being curious or surprised- or in this case, both.

When I listened to her opening in the video, I thought, "Yeessss. This is going to be good." In retrospect, I think I had this idea that I was going to see a bunch of men ripping Leandra’s “man repelling” outfit apart that would only prove their lack of understanding of a woman’s appearance from standpoint that doesn’t involve sex appeal (and then I was excited to see her intelligent and witty responses to them). I was definitely waiting to hear at least one sexist remark and I thought some of these dudes would even ignore- perhaps because they didn't find her attractive or simply out of intimidation because she looks so freakin' cool. :P The responses were the opposite across the board.

Do I sound like a man hater? Or like I have some horrid, twisted view of men? I hope not. I most definitely don’t. I appreciate men as I do women and have some amazing men in my life who I look up to and think the world of.

Anyway, one guy declined to go on a date with Leandra, but did point out his appreciation for her individuality and independence.

When she asked another young guy if he would want his girlfriend to be wearing her outfit, he responded, “my girlfriend can wear whatever the hell she wants”.

Another charming young man (French, of course) had never thought about what type of style he liked to see on a woman because he was more interested in who she is rather than what she was wearing.

A couple of men didn't love the outfit because it didn't "frame her" or show off her body- to which Leandra, brilliantly and half heartedly, responded with that perhaps this shows her female independence and power.

One kid called her a wizard, which I don’t know about you but I would mark that one off as a compliment.

I found myself so surprised by the men’s responses and it got me thinking: Do I have unfair preconceived notions about the average man and their attitudes surrounding women on a superficial level?

Being attractive to men is not something that even crosses my mind. I don't ever think about looking in such a way that will draw attention from the male species so I haven't really explored this arena much. But I think I've realized that I feel like men would often put their own ideas of what it means for a woman to be attractive ahead of the woman herself- perhaps a mold that they prefer women to fit. I have this idea that men would be turned off by a woman that dresses for herself and not for them--meaning a woman who wears what she likes and in dresses in accordance to her personality, as opposed to what will get her noticed by men- and apparently I believe that what gets you noticed by men is revealing clothing--but am I wrong? And a man who isn’t concerned about any of this would only be one who is emotionally advanced. Did I give birth to all of these ideas without enough consideration? Maybe I think the way I do because I live (and always have) in L.A where young guys work out too much and drive their mom's BMWs and think women would only be lucky to get to be with them. Either way, maybe men do like a sexier look on a woman, but perhaps they also appreciate a woman for her individuality and being who she is-- a virtue I thought was specifically of that of women.

Don’t get me wrong, I know that not all men are created equal. I speak on an average when I say these things-- but my point is that maybe my idea of the average man is wrong. Leandra approached random men on the street and most every one of them appreciated her look and did not put their own ideas of attractiveness ahead of hers. Yay for these rad men of NY!

I am curious to hear your thoughts on this!!