When the actor poses in a skirt, he shows that he doesn’t need his self-expression to be dictated by his maleness

Jaden Smith’s gender expression brings me joy. It’s not an outfit or a recurring trend; it’s the fact the actor, rapper and son of Will demonstrably does not care what anyone thinks about what he chooses to wear. This is something the vast majority of us could learn from. He is the living, sartorial manifestation of William Purkey’s advice to “dance like nobody’s watching”.

When, as in the new Louis Vuitton ad campaign, Smith looks stunning in an outfit media outlets unironically call “womenswear”, he reminds us of the equally beautiful truth that gender expression is distinct from gender. In other words, how Jaden expresses himself is not dictated – or more importantly restricted – by him being male. In fact, I’m not sure what Jaden’s gender is, but I do know it’s not indicated by his skirt.

There are scenarios in which this campaign might pertain to the question of gender itself. For instance, if I found myself wondering whether transgender people are actually just retrograde sexists, as a small minority of radical feminists sometimes argue, I could bring to mind Jaden and his skirts. Trans or cis, being male, female or non-binary does not make a person a trouser-wearer, a dress-wearer or David Bowie respectively.

I think it must be the failure (unconscious or otherwise) to remember this distinction that leaves these radical feminists furiously confused about the existence of trans people. Gender is purely a social construct, their argument goes, which they define as a list of stereotypes: high heels and big hair; or beards, muscles and tattoos. However, you don’t need to be Jaden Smith to know that this list doesn’t equate to most people’s reality. As far as defining gender in absolutes, I’d only venture so far as my own, beyond which it doesn’t really feel like any of my business.

True, trans people are not immune from the cliched view of gender. Transition, which should be about expressing your true self, can easily become a compromise between being yourself and adopting a set of stereotypes to fit in.

Occasionally, on an individual basis, these stereotypes ring true. I’m somewhat lucky in that my gender expression ticks a few crucial “typical” white, male boxes. On the expression spectrum I’m more butch than femme and this made my transition feel like a drawn-out induction into society’s favourite club. If my gender expression was more ambiguous, other people’s acceptance of me as male, and by extension my own happiness, would be on far shakier ground.

So, wondering whether Smith is trans completely misses the point. He’s simply laughing in the face of stereotypes, which are actual barriers to acceptance of self and other people in a way that gender is not.

Nor is this about commandeering bandwagons, trans or otherwise. Smith understands that his clothes have nothing to do with his gender. Not that he might not have thoughts on gender in general, which he will hopefully bestow on us soon in the form of Capitalised Tweets. In the meantime, let’s just enjoy or critique his style for the free expression it is.

It’s worth pointing out that Jaden’s outwardly straight, male identity makes it easier for him to screw the gender binary in a mainstream context, and that’s far from ideal. But it’ll be great when (not if) other kinds of people have similar mainstream moments. And at some point, when no one cares any more about how anyone expresses their gender – or only whether it’s exceptionally photogenic – it’ll be even better.