Posts tagged gender
Underground Ballroom Culture From the 1980s to Now: Flowers Still Bloom in the Dark
Underground Ballroom Culture From the 1980s to Now: Flowers Still Bloom in the Dark

Superman has nothing on the 80s ballroom scene. These similarly cape-clad and tights-sporting superheroes’ “by-day/by-night” transformation involved a lot more than taking off a pair of dorky glasses. Rather, the late 20th century underground ballroom scene involved a largely black and latinx community of LGBTQ+ people gathering to transform into their billowed, feathered, studded and extravagant true selves. A forced by social convention to walk the city streets as a stereotypically straight-laced masculine man “by day” could indulge in glinting glamor, pearlescent luxury “by night.” Ballrooms spelled a necessary escape, where opulence, grandeur and self-expression could safely congregate. Members received no accolades or attention for their boundary-smashing efforts in self-exploration. On the contrary, prevalent themes in stories of the ballroom circuit are concealment and designated safe spaces for self-expression.

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Entertainment, LifestyleAudrey Clarendondrag, 80s, 90s, coun, gender, gender norms
Embracing Femininity in Fashion
Embracing Femininity in Fashion

With the rise of these aesthetics, I asked myself the question: can a woman dressing feminine be empowering? I think it can. In a society that constantly puts down femininity, I think it is powerful to embrace it as a woman. Femininity doesn’t necessarily have to have a negative connotation. We are expected to behave like men because they are the standard for most things in society. Masculine traits, like being assertive and being driven, are, by logic,  praised. Through dressing in a feminine way, women that are part of these aesthetics reclaim their femininity, and they are proud of it. Women do not have to hide their femininity and can embrace all sides of their identities.

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FashionIsa GrauFemininity, ballet core, tik tok, TikTok aesthetic, pink, bows, gender
The Alien Era: What does the alien aesthetic mean for self expression in fashion?
The Alien Era: What does the alien aesthetic mean for self expression in fashion?

This is just it—the alien aesthetic creates a “new world” which allows us to play with, or even completely forget, gendered beauty norms. If gendered beauty norms expect women to have perfect, arched brows, then let’s shave them completely. If there is an obsession with women’s feet, then let’s turn our feet into reptile feet. Let’s show that you can still be gorgeous when you break these norms.

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FashionGigi Cepedaaesthetic, alien, Gucci, alexander mcqueen, drag, gender