#queerlook

[mascfashion]

[linnkashi]

Masc summer outfit outfit

[donadias]

N E G R A N I N E | nueva reme | Ya disponible en la tienda virtual 👆 Link a la tienda en bio. . 👉 Abona en efectivo/transferencia con 10% de descuento. 👉 Abona con todas las tarjetas en la tienda virtual hasta en 3 cuotas sin interés. 👉 Realizamos envíos a todo el país a través de @correooficialsa 👉 Si estás en CABA podés pasar a buscar tu compra por Colegiales y abonando en efectivo tenes un 15% de descuento. Solicitá cita y pasá por el showroom. 👉 Comprá seguro a través de la tienda online powered by @tiendanube - - - bBoysOnLine es un proyecto artístico independiente, autogestivo argentino. Los diseños de las remeras de bBoys están realizándas con dibujos de @juanpidona - - #Remeras #remera #diseños #dibujos #arte #remerasestampadas #ilustraciones #pridelook #ilustraciones #artelgtbiq #outfit #queerlook https://www.instagram.com/p/CnxDKaxuqF4/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[koistocrat]

gonna use this when someone moans about imane khalif the chad saying "still a man"

you dont like it when a queerlooking person accomplishes something, and thats very sad!

[the-queer-look]

Bee Yourself

When viewed from outside, the LGBTQIA+ community, is portrayed as a single, homogenous culture, with a few socially accepted experiences which cisgendered, heterosexual society expects use to conform to. In reality, the LGBTQIA+ community is an umbrella term for a multitude of distinct cultures, united by shared commonalities. This narrow view of what it means to be a part of our community can be extremely damaging to those looking to find themselves.

The Queer Look seeks to explore the identities and experiences of people within the LGBTQIA+ community. To show the many facets that make up a person, and the ways in which we express our identities physically.

The Queer Look aims to show that just because someone does not follow a traditionally accepted path to their identity, and does not conform to all stereotypes associated with that identity, that their experience is not less valid. A gay man who comes out in his forties is no less gay. A Lesbian who has had several boyfriends is no less a lesbian. A trans woman who does not want to wear dresses is no less a woman. And a trans man who refuses top surgery is no less a man.

We are here. We are queer. And we are as unique and distinct as the colours on our flags.

p.s. True to form, I was so excited about the first interview/photoshoot that I forgot to set up the recording equipment. Luckily, Bee took the time to answer a questionnaire that I sent after the fact, hoping to recapture the questions and answers received on the day.

Preferred Name: Bee

Age: 21

Location: Lewisham

Occupation/field of study etc: Receptionist, Arts - History/Gender Studies

Sexual Orientation: Bisexual

Gender: Non Binary

How would you dress yourself on an average day?

On the day-to-day I pretty much have a uniform! You will always find me in high waisted jeans, a white graphic tee and maroon Doc Martens. Some days I wear a binder but some days I don’t, depending on my dysphoria and level of laziness… I also always have colourful socks on because even if you can’t see them in my Docs I still love them.

At what point did you realise that you were Bisexual?

I think I properly realised when I was at college in university. I was sitting at the dining table with a friend and we were going through my tinder which had all genders selected (although tinder was still pretty binary then…) and we were both commenting on how hot we thought everyone was. Another friend came and joined us and asked what we were doing, to which we of course answered: “oh we’re just looking at hot girls on tinder”. I asked her what she thought of the girl we were currently looking at and she said “oh no I’m not into women” I ended up asking her again because I couldn’t quite wrap my head around what she meant… and in response she said “I’m not really attracted to her because I’m straight.” I think at that point I was like, oh…. I thought everyone was just attracted to everyone??? Which in retrospect I can only eyeroll a bit at my poor baby self… because it really did take me way to long to put it all together… So even though that was the exact moment, I think that was more like the moment I discovered the label applied to me rather than the moment I realised.

At what point did you realise that you were Non-Binary?

I think it was probably a similar experience to discovering I was bisexual. I realised over a year ago now when I was in USYD Queer Revue in 2018. Being around a community of trans people was something I’d never had before and listening to everyone talk about gender and how they felt made me realise that I had a lot of the same feelings… I bought a binder during the show and trying it on I just felt so like myself? I still sometimes feel insecure that I don’t have the classic narrative of knowing I was non-binary since I was a child, because it’s the narrative a lot of mainstream media likes to use for transness. But I think I needed the time to be experiment with femininity before I finally was able to put a name to how uncomfortable I’d been with it for most of my life. I think realising I was non-binary was a lot of putting pieces together rather than a moment of instant clarity. But I’m glad it took me awhile to experiment and figure out what identity fit me.

Have you noticed a distinct change in the way you present yourself from before these realisations to after? How has this changed since?

Definitely!!! I guess the first thing is that I stopped wearing things that make me uncomfortable! When I first came out I tried so hard to fit into the “traditional” narrative of being non-binary, which for afab non-binary people boils down to “if you’re not masc you’re not non-binary”. I wore my binder constantly, I lovvvved button ups and I wore a lot of low-waisted pants and baggy jumpers. After awhile I realised that it didn’t make me as happy as I thought it would, because even though I wasn’t being forced to perform femininity, I was still performing my gender. Now I think what I wear lies somewhere in the middle of what I used to wear before and after coming out. Before I came out I definitely tried as hard as I could to be the “perfect woman”. Lots of femme cut tops, dresses, skirts, heels (which god I hate wearing… just like so much…) and make-up. I still have a few of the clothing pieces I wore back then, but almost all of my wardrobe is completely different. I still wear elements now of what I used to wear – I have always been a jeans and graphic t-shirt person - but I now style them in very different ways.

I’ve also started to reclaim some of the things I vehemently rejected when I was in my masc phase. When I first came out I vowed I would never wear make-up again. But now I’ve come to love wearing make-up as a form of expression when I’m going out or to a party. I still feel pretty dysphoric wearing it day to day, but wearing colourful and bold make-up is something I’ve come to love again. I’ll also very occasionally wear a dress if I feel like it, but I tend to just wear the things that make me comfortable. Now basically all I wear is high-waisted jeans, they don’t give me a very masculine silhouette but when I see myself in photos or in the mirror I look like myself. I joke a lot that I wear a lot of dad fashion, and I think that’s maybe what I’ve become most comfortable in, knowing that people are probably still going to read me as a woman no matter what I wear (thank you heteronormativity…) so I may as well wear what makes me happy and for me that’s feeling like a fancy ass dad.

Do you believe that there is any weight to stereotypes about the way people dress based on their sexuality/gender? e.g. bi people tuck in their shirts, lesbians wear flannel etc. Do you believe that there are inherent differences in the way that lgbt+ people present themselves that make them more visible to other members of the community?

Oh god as someone who adheres to all the stereotypes (eep) this is a hard question! But yes, I think so. I think it really depends on the generation and identity. But I think a lot of people do wear things to make ourselves visible to each other. Whether that’s subtle things like adhering to stereotypes or more overt things like wearing activist or identity shirts.

But a lot of it just comes from LGBT+ culture. There’s an obvious style, way of talking, relating, and expression that LGBT+ people have developed historically and that almost all of us continue to participate in. I think a lot of it comes from musicians, particularly drag or music videos, historical figures like Bowie but now from lots of different singers like Janelle Monáe, Troye Sivan, Kim Petras, King Princess etc etc. I think stereotypes have developed because our culture is so prevalent, and most LGBT+ people adopt stereotypes unconsciously because we surround ourselves with people who express themselves in certain ways and are inspired by them. So, while sometimes we actively try to become visible to each other, I think it’s more that we’re all just hopelessly and lovingly enthralled in our own culture.

Do you feel that a lack of lgbt+ representation in media contributes to a more narrow, shared understanding of lgbt+ fashion, when compared to cis/het counterparts?

Oh god yes. Yes yes yes. Coming out as non-binary I think a lack of representation was so much of what contributed to me struggling with my identity. Before I came out I knew only ONE famous non-binary person… Ash Hardell I’m looking at you. While knowing about Ash was really helpful to me and representation of any form of expression is so important, the overwhelming narrative for afab non-binary people is that if you’re not masc presenting you’re not non-binary. For awhile that meant I tried so so hard to validate my identity by presenting as masculine as I possibly could. I cut my hair, I wore a binder every damn day, I wore joggers and button-ups, I wore hoodies constantly (because apparently to me that was the height of masculinity??). But after doing that for awhile, I realised I was just as unhappy eradicating every ounce of femininity from myself as I was when it was all I expressed. I think going through that process of experimentation was really important for me to realise that instead of trying to fit into what cis/het culture expected non-binary people to look like, I needed to just be myself first and wear what I love and want to wear and know myself that being non-binary is still part of who I am. And a HUGE part of that process was also finding femme presenting non-binary people, especially afab femme enbies. For me it helped enormously in accepting my body and realising that I didn’t have to hate it as violently as I was because it didn’t fit into the definition it was supposed to. Finding people like Dorian Electra (omg please do yourself a favour and look them up they are the epitomy of my gender), Alok Vaid-Menon, Tillett Wright, Sasha Velour etc etc made me realise that there are more ways to be non-binary than just one. Which is what is so damaging about having less representation – it only validates one path, so either you have to bush-bash yourself a new one (which is insanely tiring, emotionally exhaustive and scary) or you have to squeeze yourself into the one path that is provided for you to claim validity. Honestly, I could go on and on about representation but yes it’s so goddamn important. So Mark Zuckerberg and inc. if you’re reading this like I know you are FIX IT YOU HAVE SO MUCH MONEY PLEASE FOR THE LOVE OF GOD FIX IT.

When you are in an exclusively lgbt+ setting, do you feel pressured to “play up” your queerness? If so, does this heightened queer exterior feel more true to yourself?

Yes, I think there are still definitely elements of performance to being in a queer space. Sometimes they can be negative, which generally come from the part of me that is still insecure about my identity and worried about how valid I am. I think a lot of queer spaces still hold at their core a performance of queerness that can be a bit exhausting? As cliché as it is, watching Hannah Gadsby’s Nannettereally helped me understand that. Because part of being queer is finding ways to survive, and so much of queer culture revolves around making jokes about our experiences that sometimes are so limiting in how they allow us to exist. We are all just so starved of space to talk about queerness, that when we can I think we all tend to fall into the trap of performing our identities as much as humanly possible. I’m really curious about how other queer people feel about it, but I think for me there is definitely an element of performance that I still struggle with a little. However, I am still so indebted and so in love with queer spaces and queer people. I always feel so at ease being around people who share a way of thinking. And I mean hey, I’m queer, performing is in my blood.

Find all images from the interviews on facebook: facebook.com/thequeerlook

follow us on instagram at: @thequeerlook

[ma-studyblr]

DAYS OF PRODUCTIVITY [ 3 / 50 ]

3.31.2019

Worked in the morning until late afternoon. It was exhausting but fun guys. I then rewarded myself a big cheese sandwich for my ridiculous tireless energy :) these lately days I woke up pretty early and had just little difficulty in dragging myself out of bed; seems like being an early bird benefits me more than I thought (well...I get the chance to get more work done).

Today’s achievement: finishing a paper regarding “keyword-by-choice” for my writing class. I did the word “non-refoulement,” which is interesting as it’s a legal term and rarely used in daily conversations. Done the reading In A Queer Time And Place written by Judith Halberstam about transgender gaze in cinema representation/contexts. It was phenomenal and I loved it. Also watched the movie “Boys Don’t Cry” and well...there are still so many mixed feelings and interpretations in my head so far.

This week’s tiny unhappy stuffs: the dining hall of my college ran out of vanilla coffee guys!!! This did not piss me off but upset me a bit, as I really enjoyed its taste.

[rodeoh]

@itsliftyboi “ Go do the thing ✔️ ⠀ Love, ⠀ Your favorite Dads 💋” ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ #queer #nonbinary #nonbinarytrans #transmasculine #govote #voteforourrights #queercouple #liftyboitraining #liftyboi #queerfashion #couplelooks #femme #masc #daddy4daddy #earthsignenergy #cheeky #vivelarevolution #queerlooks #shecangetit #havefun #blm #acab #ivoted #RodeoHs https://www.instagram.com/p/CHQ1eTtBGio/?igshid=xr098mihv6xj

[becomingmorgan]

Picked up this gem of a pallete for Pride next month and for retail therapy....I am so impressed. . . . . . . . #girlslikeus #transisbeautiful #transinpublic #transirl #transgirl #transgender #trans #mtftransgender #mtf #maletofemaletransgender #maletofemale #wlw #lgbtq #pride #pridelooks #cosmetics #makeup #hipdot #heyrooney #queerlooks #trendsetter https://www.instagram.com/p/BxsPYnznRiS/?igshid=1v8s1u3sc0z0k

[peacockbluey]

How to dress for a work meeting on your off day, part 2.

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bokb9rPnxgN/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1q1q7kxipsdys

[everything-but-my-bones]

It's been a minute. #selfie #myface #qpoc #queerlooks #lesbianofcolor #lesbian #snapchat #smile #cheesemode #chubbycheeks #boish #queer #brownboi https://www.instagram.com/p/BplmQdshu08/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=6gxp8qlyv4nz

[mxxnicky]

My nails match my shoes?!?!?! Check out the rest of my hybrid realness tonight @counterpulse for our annual benefit party! 7-10pm see ya there 😘 🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤 #benefit #counterpulse #counterpulsebenefit #holographic #docmartens #feelingcute #gettingreadyfortonight #queer #queerlooks #genderfluid (at CounterPulse)

[mascfashion]

old money aesthetic style

[etoilegarden]

Wuh-luh-wuh’s hit me up 😘🐝 #wlw #queerlooks (at Hawke’s Bay, New Zealand)

[donadias]

bBoys Remeras___ + de 20 diseños diferentes | 👆 Link a la tienda en bio. 🔥DICIEMBRE ON FIRE🔥 👉10% OFF ABONANDO POR TRANSFERENCIA BANCARIA O DEPOSITO. 👉15% OFF ABONANDO EN EFECTIVO EN SHOWROOM. 👉ENVÍOS GRATIS A TODO EL PAÍS PARA COMPRAS MAYORES A $15.000 CORREO ARGENTINO SHIPPING. SERVICIO ESTÁNDAR A SUCURSAL. 👉HASTA 3 CUOTAS SIN INTERÉS USANDO LA OPCIÓN PAGO NUBE. - - bBoysOnLine es un proyecto artístico independiente, autogestivo argentino. Los diseños de las remeras de bBoys están realizándas con dibujos de @juanpidona - - #Remeras #remera #diseños #dibujos #arte #remerasestampadas #ilustraciones #pridelook #ilustraciones #artelgtbiq #outfit #queerlook https://www.instagram.com/p/CmPXnmIMNrG/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[melitalatham]

Oooo Fashion! A day at the royal pavilion and @brighton_museums was a treat for our eyes! As you know I love Fashion and enjoyed the #queerlooks exhibition, showcasing over 50 years of LGBTQ styles. Gotta love Brighton! ❤ Head over to melitalatham.com to for a snippet of the full articles to come. . . . . . . . #fashion #brighton #brightonmuseum #ooofashion #lgbtq #brightonandhove #brightonrocks #thisisbrighton #brightonupyourday #visitbrighton #newpost #brightonpride #brightonuk #love #seaside #brightonbucketlist (at Brighton Museum & Art Gallery) https://www.instagram.com/p/B2Pf-BJhi0M/?igshid=14nzhs5ecxip

[the-queer-look]

The Vampire you want to be

Personal presentation is difficult for many of us. The focus on gendered presentation can be liberating and guiding for some, but restrictive and distressing for others. And more often than not, a person’s way of dressing and presenting themselves, as in the way that they identify, is a mixture of both traditionally feminine and masculine identities. I myself struggle to represent my own femininity in a way that works with my body type, but if you’re out there having the same troubles, just know that you will find yourself.

-K

Name: Portia

Age: 20

Sexuality: Lesbian

Studying: Bachelor of Psychology

From: Leichhardt

I probably realised I was gay when I was about thirteen. It was the point at which everyone else started talking about boys, and I just had no interest. Boys were fine as friends, but I always felt more emotionally connected to women. There was a point at which I started noticing my friends in a different kind of way, which was the point at which I began to allow myself to think those things.

I remember lying in bed and thinking “you can either fight this, or just see where it goes” and I went with the second option because I decided that if this was who I was, then I should find out if it was for real.

It was some time before I came out to my parents, but I think that that period of three or four years before I came out to them was really important, because it gave me time to become really comfortable with myself as a lesbian before beginning to share that identity with everybody else. It gave me a chance to see what kind of people I was interested in, romantically and sexually. And for that to be something that was just for me, and I feel that it should be that way, as often gay people’s love lives seem to be very public, and up for debate, when sexuality is private, and no one else’s business.

Around the same time that I realised that I was a lesbian, I began to dress more like I do now, experimenting with 50s/60s hairstyles, more grunge-y clothing. I tried to accept a slightly more masculine edge to my femininity, as I feel that so many women shy away from that, when I feel that it suits me. I do like my makeup, and I now wear bright red lipstick daily, have very prominently winged eyeliner, and I think that I try to do that to lean into looking a bit more different on a day to day basis, and to celebrate that difference. Finding ways to accentuate my queerness… feels empowering, and I think highlights a difference between myself and straight women, so I go with it.

I think that stereotyped styles within the LGBTQIA+ community can be very limiting, because although there are obviously people who feel that those are the best ways to express their identities, I dont think that it captures to reality of how individual and varied the community actually is. I think that’s partly why I struggled to find a look of my own for a while, because I felt like I was treading a fine line between masculine and feminine presentation, and worried about straying too far to either side, when I eventually came to realise that… It didn’t matter? That I could just own myself, and make my presentation work for me.

I definitely think that a lack of LGBTQIA+ representation in traditional western media has contributed to a narrower understanding of queer fashion trends. For example, when I was first trying to present myself as a lesbian, the only thing that came to mind was Ellen Degenerous and… Not that I don’t like her, but I couldn’t see myself presenting anywhere near similarly to her. It wasnt until I really went searching on the internet that I found representation that I felt was closer to who I felt I was, which was Natasha Negovanlis from Carmilla. She presented herself in a much more feminine way, but with that harder, subtly masculine edge, which really appealed to me. And it definitely helped that we have similar features – dark hair, pale skin etc – She was all at once my sexual awakening, and a reflection of exactly what I wanted to grow into. I actually got to meet her last year (2018) and she told me that she loved my style, and that was the biggest compliment that I ever remember receiving.

I strongly believe in the idea of “If you see it, you can be it” and I feel that a lot of people have trouble finding their style once they come out, because they don’t have the appropriate representation out there.

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