Skip to content
1981
  1. Home
  2. A-Z Publications
  3. Fashion, Style & Popular Culture
  4. Online First Articles
  5. Online First Article
image of Contemporary queer fashion media as personal liberations: Qwear, digital media and twenty-first-century queer fashion shows

Abstract

In the twenty-first century, the emergence of numerous fashion brands catering to queer and trans communities has been accompanied by the establishment of notable queer-focused fashion media platforms. Noteworthy among these are and , which specialize in exploring the intersections of fashion, style and the experiences of queer and trans individuals. This study delves into the history and intricacies of , one of these contemporary, groundbreaking queer media outlets. By examining this outlet, we aim to unravel the multifaceted layers that distinguish them as influential conveyors of queer and trans sensibilities. To achieve our purpose, we employed a historical research method, incorporating the analysis of primary sources and oral history. Overall, has become more than just outlets for style, that is, they stand as pillars of empowerment, offering safer havens for individuals to explore, celebrate and redefine their relationship with fashion. Sonny Oram’s founding journey of , rooted in personal healing through clothing, underscores the transformative power of fashion as a tool for self-discovery, activism and solidarity within the queer and trans communities.

© 2025 Intellect Ltd
Loading

Article metrics loading...

/content/journals/10.1386/fspc_00296_1
2025-01-30
2025-03-26
Loading full text...

Full text loading...

References

  1. Arnett, Jeffrey Jensen (1995a), ‘Adolescents’ uses of media for self-socialization’, Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 24:5, pp. 519–33, https://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2102/10.1007/BF01537054.
     [Google Scholar]
  2. Arnett, Jeffrey Jensen (1995b), ‘Broad and narrow socialization: The family in the context of a multidimensional theory’, Journal of Marriage and the Family, 57:3, pp. 617–28.
     [Google Scholar]
  3. Bargh, John A., Chen, Mark and Burrows, Lara (1996), ‘Automaticity of social behavior: Direct effects of trait construct and stereotype activation on action’, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 71:2, pp. 230–44, https://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2102/10.1037/0022-3514.71.2.230.
     [Google Scholar]
  4. Benoit, Yasmin (2024), ‘This is what asexual looks like’, Qwear, 5 January, https://www.qwearfashion.com/home/this-is-what-asexual-looks-like. Accessed 5 December 2024.
  5. Blake, Donnesha A. (2019), ‘“It ain’t he, it ain’t she, it’s we”: The politics of self-definition and self-valuation in the androgynous model web series’, Dress: The Journal of the Costume Society of America, 45:1, pp. 1–21, https://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2102/10.1080/03612112.2019.1559529.
     [Google Scholar]
  6. Brainthwaite, Alan (2002), ‘Investigating the power of imagery in marketing communication: Evidence-based techniques’, Qualitative Market Research: An International Journal, 5:3, pp. 164–71, https://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2102/10.1080/03612112.2019.1559529.
     [Google Scholar]
  7. Chandra, Aleksandr (n.d.), ‘Touching across time: A coming out letter to my Indian grandmother’, Qwear, 6 March, https://www.qwearfashion.com/home/touching-across-time-a-coming-out-letter-to-my-indian-grandmother. Accessed 31 May 2024.
  8. Chidester, Phil (2008), ‘May the circle stay unbroken: Friends, the presence of absence, and the rhetorical reinforcement of whiteness’, Critical Studies in Media Communication, 25:2, pp. 157–74, https://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2102/10.1080/15295030802031772.
     [Google Scholar]
  9. Corrigall-Brown, Catherine (2012), ‘The power of pictures: Images of politics and protest’, American Behavioral Scientist, 56:2, pp. 131–34, https://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2102/10.1177/0002764211419358.
     [Google Scholar]
  10. Creswell, John W. (2014), Research Design: Qualitative, Quantitative and Mixed Method Approaches, Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
     [Google Scholar]
  11. Das, Stuti and Farber, Reya (2020), ‘User-generated online queer media and the politics of queer visibility’, Sociology Compass, 14:9, p. E12824, https://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2102/10.1111/soc4.12824.
     [Google Scholar]
  12. Day, Faithe (2018), ‘Between butch/femme: On the performance of race, gender, and sexuality in a YouTube web series’, Journal of Lesbian Studies, 22:3, pp. 267–81, https://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2102/10.1080/10894160.2018.1383800.
     [Google Scholar]
  13. Erlick, Eli (2018), ‘Trans youth activism on the internet’, Frontiers: A Journal of Women Studies, 39:1, pp. 73–92, https://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2102/10.5250/fronjwomestud.39.1.0073.
     [Google Scholar]
  14. Gerbner, George, Gross, Larry and Morgan, Michael (2002), ‘Growing up with television: Cultivation processes’, in J. Bryant and D. Zillman (eds), Media Effects: Advances in Theory and Research, Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum, pp. 43–68.
     [Google Scholar]
  15. de Haan, Erik, Duckworth, Anna, Birch, David and Jones, Claire (2013), ‘Executive coaching outcome research: The contribution of common factors such as relationship, personality match, and self-efficacy’, Consulting Psychology Journal: Practice and Research, 65:1, pp. 40–57, https://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2102/10.1037/a0031635.
     [Google Scholar]
  16. Hard Decora (2024a), ‘Home page’, https://harddecora.com/. Accessed 31 May 2024.
  17. Hard Decora (2024b), ‘Tops’, https://harddecora.com/collections/tops. Accessed 31 May 2024.
  18. Hill-Collins, Patricia (2009), Black Feminist Thought: Knowledge, Consciousness, and the Politics of Empowerment, New York: Routledge.
     [Google Scholar]
  19. Kätsyri, Jari, Ravaja, Niklas and Salminen, Mikko (2012), ‘Aesthetic images modulate emotional responses to reading news messages on a small screen: A psychophysiological investigation’, International Journal of Human-Computer Studies, 70:1, pp. 72–87, https://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2102/10.1016/j.ijhcs.2011.08.007.
     [Google Scholar]
  20. Lévi-Strauss, Claude (1962), The Savage Mind, Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.
     [Google Scholar]
  21. Livingston, Jennie (1990), Paris Is Burning, USA: Off White Productions Inc.
     [Google Scholar]
  22. Mamp, Michael (2021), ‘Fashioning a male actress: Charles Pierce’, Dress, 47:2, pp. 121–37, https://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2102/10.1080/03612112.2021.1932113.
     [Google Scholar]
  23. McKinley Jones Brayboy, Bryan (2006), ‘Toward a tribal critical race theory in education’, The Urban Review, 37:5, pp. 425–46.
     [Google Scholar]
  24. McManis, Mark H., Bradley, Margaret M., Berg, W. Keith, Cuthbert, Bruce N. and Lang, Peter J. (2001), ‘Emotional reactions in children: Verbal, physiological, and behavioral responses to affective pictures’, Psychophysiology, 38:2, pp. 222–31, https://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2102/10.1111/1469-8986.3820222.
     [Google Scholar]
  25. Napoles, Desmond (n.d.), ‘Teased? With Desmond Napoles’, Qwear, 13 October, https://www.qwearfashion.com/home/qweary-how-can-i-dress-bisexual-without-being-teased-with-desmond-napoles. Accessed 31 May 2024.
  26. Newton, Esther (1979), Mother Camp: Female Impersonators in America, Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.
     [Google Scholar]
  27. O’Neill, Matthew G. (2014), ‘Transgender youth and YouTube videos: Self-representation and five identifiable trans youth narratives’, in C. Pullen (ed.), Queer Youth and Media Cultures, London: Palgrave Macmillan, pp. 34–43.
     [Google Scholar]
  28. Oram, Sonny (n.d.), ‘Why I founded Qwear: The clothes that made me’, Qwear, 27 November, https://www.qwearfashion.com/home/why-i-founded-qwear-the-clothes-that-made-me. Accessed 16 December 2023.
  29. Qwear (n.d.a), ‘About Qwear Fashion’, https://www.qwearfashion.com/statement. Accessed 16 December 2023.
  30. Qwear (n.d.b), ‘Deconstructing fashion & queer performance’, https://www.qwearfashion.com/fashion-shows/dismantle-me/2015. Accessed 19 January 2024.
  31. Qwear (n.d.c), ‘Femme desire, 2016’, https://www.qwearfashion.com/fashion-shows/femme-desire-2016. Accessed 19 January 2024.
  32. Qwear (n.d.d), ‘Home page’, https://www.qwearfashion.com/. Accessed 16 December 2023.
  33. Qwear (n.d.e), ‘Qwear Pride 2020 fashion show’, https://www.qwearfashion.com/fashion-shows/qwear-pride-2020-fashion-show. Accessed 19 January 2024.
  34. Qwear (n.d.), ‘Qweary: My mom wants me to wear sexier underwear’, Qwear, 21 November, https://www.qwearfashion.com/home/my-mom-wants-me-to-wear-sexier-underwear. Accessed 31 May 2024.
  35. Reddy-Best, Kelly L. (2017), ‘Miki Vargas: Queer fashion photographer and the handsome revolution’, Clothing Cultures, 4:2, pp. 153–70, https://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2102/10.1386/cc.4.2.153_1.
     [Google Scholar]
  36. Reddy-Best, Kelly L. (2020), ‘The politicization of fashion in virtual queer spaces: A case study of Saint Harridan, one of the pioneering queer fashion brands in the twenty-first century’, in A. Reilly and B. Barry (eds), Crossing Gender Boundaries: Fashion to Deconstruct and Reimagine Gender, Bristol: Intellect, pp. 91–108.
     [Google Scholar]
  37. Reddy-Best, Kelly L., Streck, Kyra and Gordon, Jennifer (2022), ‘Visibly queer and trans fashion brands and retailers in the twenty-first century: The production and distribution of binders, packers, underwear, lingerie, and bras’, Dress: The Journal of the Costume Society of America, 48:1, pp. 33–53, https://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2102/10.1080/03612112.2021.1967606.
     [Google Scholar]
  38. Reynolds, Pamela (2018), ‘In “forms & alterations”, artists use fashion to unravel gender politics and identity’, wbur, 1 February, https://www.wbur.org/news/2018/02/01/forms-alterations-fashion. Accessed 22 January 2024.
  39. Ritchie, D. (2003), Doing Oral History: A Practical Guide, Oxford: Oxford University Press.
     [Google Scholar]
  40. Rosas Navarrete, Homero (2021), ‘The queer fashion show archives: Keeping history alive’, City on a Hill Press, 10 June, https://cityonahillpress.com/2021/06/10/the-queer-fashion-show-archives-keeping-history-alive/. Accessed 4 November 2023.
  41. Rotman, Dana and Preece, Jennifer (2010), ‘The “WeTube” in YouTube: Creating an online community through video sharing’, International Journal of Web-Based Communities, 6:3, pp. 317–33, https://www.researchgate.net/deref/http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1504%2FIJWBC.2010.033755.
     [Google Scholar]
  42. Stocchetti, Matteo and Kukkonen, Karin (2011), Images in Use: Towards the Critical Analysis of Visual Communication, Amsterdam: John Benjamins.
     [Google Scholar]
  43. Williamson, Candice (2011), ‘Tania Hammidi on LA’s queer fashion scene’, DapperQ, 6 December, https://www.dapperq.com/2011/12/la-queer-fashion/. Accessed 4 November 2023.
     [Google Scholar]
  44. Winkielman, Piotr and Cacioppo, John T. (2001), ‘Mind at ease puts a smile on the face: Psychophysiological evidence that processing facilitation elicits positive affects’, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 81:6, pp. 989–1000, https://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2102/10.1037/0022-3514.81.6.989.
     [Google Scholar]
/content/journals/10.1386/fspc_00296_1
Loading
Contemporary queer fashion media as personal liberations: Qwear, digital media and twenty-first-century queer fashion shows
Intellect ; https://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2102/10.1386/fspc_00296_1
/content/journals/10.1386/fspc_00296_1
/content/journals/10.1386/fspc_00296_1
Loading

Data & Media loading...

  • Article Type: Article
Keywords: socialization ; oral history ; self-empowerment ; justice ; trans ; historic research

Most Cited Most Cited RSS feed

This is a required field
Please enter a valid email address
Approval was a success
Invalid data
An error occurred
Approval was partially successful, following selected items could not be processed due to error
Please enter a valid_number test