hello!
A recent discussion in on one of my filters has me making a rare public post.
I had mentioned my trepidation about the NOLOSE Fashion Olympics (TM) because I am about as broke as Bob Cratchett. Ok, maybe not that broke. But still. I can't afford to by a NOLOSE trouseau this year. A conversation ensued about the privilege involved in the Fashion Olympics, and how it perpetuates standards of beauty, doesn't support size diversity and is classist to say the least.
pinkprincesszoe, who is getting her PhD in Thinking right now, pointed out some interesting things about mainstream hegemonies and how we bring them into NOLOSE when we participate in the Fashion Olympics. Those of us who can and do participate, exercise our privilege in doing so-we are not too fat for cool clothes, we have the money to buy cool clothes, etc. And, by the very nature of calling it the Fashion Olympics, we identify it as a competition-one that fuels the already underlying femme competition and butch bravado.
Now, we also talked about fashion being about fun, about NOLOSE being a place to come and feel sexy if that's what you want from it, and that people should certainly wear clothes that make them feel good. And dressing up in ways we might not otherwise do is also an important part of NOLOSE for folks-even just wearing a bathing suit or swimming naked is a big fucking deal.
So, I want to talk about this. There was talk of making a DIY workshop at the conference on this topic, but I would like to hear some discussion about it before we even get to Northampton. I think it's good prep work for attending. At least, I think it would be for me.
Thoughts?