Amy E. Harth, PhD on unflattering

I remember being told once by a man, dripping with distain, that my favorite pair of shoes were “lesbian shoes.” I barely knew this person! I still think those are awesome shoes and have no desire to change my footwear style. But this feels easy for me compared to clothes where I would like to wear styles that I can’t find in my size, an accessible fabric etc. and that I like for a combination of my own aesthetic preferences and the social power they give me. I think it’s important to recognize that no matter how much we find our own styles those styles will always also be political statements and have relationships to power. What are we doing with our power and positionality beyond our personal style choices? I think this matters so much. How do we talk about clothes and fashion, our own and others bodies and what do we do to make the world a more equitable place in relation to these dynamics?