Androgyny or Femininity?

Which characteristic made you a fan of Freja's in the first place?

A comment by reader Miranda on this post got me thinking, and now I'm curious to know, what side of Freja were you drawn to first? And what side remains your favorite? I've made no qualms about my preference for her feminine side, but I also realize that some of you probably only got to know Freja when androgyny dominated her career landscape. So the million dollar question is: Androgyny or femininity?

I made the classic and callous mistake of assuming that everyone felt the same way about the topic as I did, but many of the comments regarding Freja's i-D cover have proven me wrong and shown me that there are a fair number of you out there who prefer her androgynous side.

Perhaps our preferences are just a result of whichever aspect we encountered first? I'm generalizing of course, but it seems like the old school fans love the girlishness while the newer fans love the toughness. The old timers remember the impish teenager from Denmark with the wonderful smile while the newer fans reveal in the brooding New Yorker dressed in head-to-toe black. Despite all my mumblings and severe overuse of the words androgyny and femininity in one post, I do have a point here.

Regardless of what we prefer and how we all came to be known as fans....all these things-these differences-just provide more proof as to what a special model Freja truly is. It's really amazing that she can attract such a wide array of fans based on two characteristics that sit on opposite ends of a spectrum. That speaks to a true and very rare modeling talent. She's the chalice that holds all the different ideals that we use to make the measure of a good model. And I really can't think of another one who has such different appeals to different people. But at the same time, her personality and uniqueness are not lost, but in fact seemingly magnified. It's really quite a paradox and this is what keeps me so intrigued. For with each chapter of Freja's career the paradox seems to grows stronger. Her recent surge in work has increased the scrutiny of her off-duty persona and life. I feel like she has become more "known" than ever before. (Or maybe just more obsessed over. It's a fine line.) Yet at the same time, her work continues to display this wonderful diversity and versatility whereby we'll see her looking demure on the cover of VI one month to looking tough on the cover of i-D in another month. Or we'll see her going from slick and sleek in Vogue UK to 80's glam in W Magazine. All the while you always get the sense that you're looking at something that's utterly Freja-ish.

To be so malleable and yet so distinct is quite a feat and something that Freja's is never given enough credit for. So maybe the answer to my question isn't either or....maybe it's both?