Conservative Evangelical Christian pastor Dale Patridge was mocked online after he demanded that men "should dress like men" and "ditch the gay look" only to receive an epic history lesson from other social media users.
Writing on Twitter, Partridge suggested that culture is "trying to blur these lines" between male and female dress codes and said that Christians "should exemplify the distinctions."
He advised women to "wear dresses often, keep your hair long, and stay healthy." As for men, they should "ditch the gay look, grow a beard, and get strong."
You can see what Partridge wrote below.
\u201cMen should dress like men and women should dress like women. Culture is clearly trying to blur these lines and Christians should exemplify the distinctions. \n\nLadies, wear dresses often, keep your hair long, & stay healthy. \n\nMen, ditch the gay look, grow a beard, & get strong.\u201d— Dale Partridge (@Dale Partridge) 1667058780
A few Twitter users pointed out that male fashion sense wasn't always like what Partridge envisions as the peak of masculinity.
\u201c@dalepartridge Lads, the best way to show off your Get Strong\u2122\ufe0f muscular legs is to wear knee-length breeches, close-fitting (clocked!) stockings, and shoes with a modest/high heel a la 18th century\u201d— Dale Partridge (@Dale Partridge) 1667058780
\u201cLike this? Men in tights with capes and collars? \ud83d\ude0a I kind of like it!\u201d— Red (@Red) 1667267002
\u201c@dalepartridge My dude, LOL.\n\nhttps://t.co/2Y4YwaAqvX\u201d— Dale Partridge (@Dale Partridge) 1667058780
\u201c@dalepartridge The founding fathers with their velvet suits and lace would like a word.\u201d— Dale Partridge (@Dale Partridge) 1667058780
\u201c@dalepartridge https://t.co/tlWBvp8sTI\u201d— Dale Partridge (@Dale Partridge) 1667058780
Indeed, even going by just men's fashion trends in the late 1700s—the time of the Founding Fathers—it's clear that they would be considered more feminine by today's standards.
For example, shirt sleeves were full, gathered at the wrist and dropped at the shoulder. Full-dress shirts had ruffles of fine fabric or lace, while undress shirts ended in plain wrist bands.
Wigs were worn for formal occasions, or the hair was worn long and powdered, brushed back from the forehead and clubbed (tied back at the nape of the neck) with a black ribbon.
Men also commonly wore breeches covering the body from the waist down, with separate coverings for each leg, usually stopping just below the knee, though in some cases reaching to the ankles. Breeches remained in style until the mid 19th century, when trousers caused them to fall out of favor.
Other Twitter users were less inclined to give Partridge a history lesson and more inclined to mock him directly for making such an asinine statement.
\u201clol. I encourage you to attend a bear bar and then talk about growing a beard to avoiding looking gay. \n\nDale is a complete idiot, y\u2019all.\u201d— . (@.) 1667312007
\u201cGood morning to everyone but Dale who thinks he can police bodies and clothes! \n\nThis is why we have the expressions "Live and let live" and "Mind your own business"\u201d— \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8 \ud83d\uddfdCoronaViolet Will Not Go Back\ud83d\uddfd\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6 (@\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8 \ud83d\uddfdCoronaViolet Will Not Go Back\ud83d\uddfd\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6) 1667309375
\u201cCrying at growing a beard and getting strong being the *opposite* of the gay look\u201d— Hellvetika (@Hellvetika) 1667176929
\u201c\u201cGet strong\u201d\n\nChoose your fighter:\u201d— jadyn. (@jadyn.) 1667175582
\u201c\u201cDitch the gay look\u201d \u201cget strong\u201d bro the call is coming from inside the house\u201d— Justin Whang \ud83d\udc19 (@Justin Whang \ud83d\udc19) 1667176466
This isn't the first time Partridge has made waves online for policing what people may or may not choose to wear, such as a 2015 Good Morning America appearance when Partridge revealed that his views on women's leggings influenced his wife to discard them from her wardrobe.
His statements sparked significant commentary online as both conservatives and liberals clashed with each other on the age-old issue of using fashion as a tool to express one's ideology
When not posting absurd things on Twitter, Partridge has made headlines for frequent plagiarism, attributing quotes from Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Ricky Martin, Ron Finley, and John Wooden as his own words in his social media posts, books, and podcasts.
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