This Is What A Feminist Looks Like

I have never felt a conflict between my feminist beliefs and my enjoyment of dressing up. I don't have a man to dress up for, and I have no desire to seduce strangers. I dress to make myself happy. I find skirts more comfortable to wear than trousers, and easier to find in a size that fits. I usually wear flat shoes, but heels in my size are hard to come by, so I can't honestly say that's making a statement. I shave my legs in summer because the hair makes me sweat more (gross, I know!) and my armpits all year around for the same reason. I wear make-up, but I don't think it's hiding the real me, rather, I see it as helping me express myself. But then I don't believe in natural make-up. What's the point in all that effort, just to look like everybody else?

I don't want to be a 'natural woman'. Firstly, I don't think such a thing exists, secondly, purple is a difficult colour to produce with natural dye, and thirdly, although I love nature and want to contribute to protecting the environment, I love nature on the other side of the window, outside the bus, at a safe distance from me. There are wasps and bees and other stinging things out there. But enough about my phobias. If we left things the way "nature intended" (nature didn't design itself, so this phrase makes no sense IMO) life would be shorter, harder work, and a lot more tedious. To dismiss someone's claim to feminism because of the clothes and make-up they wear and the fashions they follow is to be just as superficial as the culture you claim they support. And clothes and make-up can be used as the palette to turn yourself into art. But the art should be of your own design, and I don't mean that you have to design your own clothes. I mean that the images of women in the fashion industry are manipulative, but I don't see that there is a problem with clothes and make-up if we don't use fashion as an excuse to devalue other people, and don't create oppressive beauty standards which consume our time and erode our sense of self-worth. You, reading this, are privileged. You have a choice. You can choose to refuse to let the beauty industry charm you. You can decide to stop caring how much more you weigh than the skeletons who walk down the runway. You can decide to teach yourself not to worry about whether curly or straight hair is more socially acceptable. You don't have to ignore it. If you ignore it, of course, you can only serve yourself. Refuse it, deliberately. If you catch yourself looking at a stranger, or a friend, and thinking "Wow, she is so fat", remind yourself that it doesn't matter what you, or anybody else thinks about her, and it doesn't matter how much she weighs, she has the same right to be happy as everyone else. When you look in the mirror, don't start comparing bits of your body with other people. Recognise yourself. It's all you, just you. You don't have to be like anybody else, and you shouldn't. You should be you, and happy with who that person is.

I've always thought the point of feminism is to grant women the freedom to chose their own lifestyles and destinies. I don't judge people based on the way they look. I'm not a saint. I laugh at the bad sartorial decisions of celebrities. I giggle when I see somebody wearing something out-of-the-ordinary. But I would never dismiss someone, or stop valuing them as a human being, because of the way they look.

Clothes can actually be a useful tool for feminists. You can wear your beliefs on your sleeve and proclaim your politics across your chest. They can be subversive. They can also serve as a reminder to you to be stronger. And so, I bring you my guide to style with a feminist twist! You must have known this one was coming...

The Obvious

Make it clear. You are a feminist. Me, yeah, this is what a feminist looks like. Join the Fawcett Society and get the t-shirt. Whilst you've got the card out, if you're into crafting but haven't tried reconstructing a t-shirt yet, or need some new ideas, consider ordering Generation T: 108 Ways to Transform a T-Shirt: 101 Ways to Transform a T-Shirt, it's rather great (full review coming soon). If you like, you can make that ordinary-shaped shirt (and the others I will mention later) into something more interesting, and to use a cliché, more "you". If you don't like t-shirts, MyMy has a whole section of 1-inch badges for Grrrls + Feminists, JenSykotic does an ultra-cheap pack of ten and helloamber has the perfect badge for all those who enjoyed Muscio's take on a declaration of independence. You can also proclaim that you are on the rag (I suggest wearing it all the time to confuse people), point out that the best man for a job may be a woman, or let the world know that feminism loves you, quite a different sentiment to that expressed by my personal favourite badge (although I'm not sure I'd actually wear it) - Punch Misogynists In The Face. I'm in a pretty assertive mode at the moment, I guess!

Depending on how you feel about the issues, you may also enjoy wearing a Bin the Bunny t-shirt or badge (I saw some at the London Reclaim The Night march last year, and they look way nicer in real life, the photos sadly misrepresent the quality) and/or some of Abortion Rights' pro-choice majority gear.

If you knit, let the world know you have yarn skils and are a domestic feminist, if you like, although I'm not sure domestic is the right word, personally. Sometimes I think of myself as a feral knitter, not quite wild, but I don't stick to the pattern either, and one of my pairs of needles are chopsticks swiped from Yo! Sushi.

The More Subtle

Surprise people when they take a second look, give them some wisdom to squint at. Wear a feminist dress, this tender folds felt brooch, and/or one or a few of the feminist message bobby pins from Gia's Gems in your hair. If you love your period, be proud of it. Carry a bag with a relevant message or quote, and pull a recycled Bitch wallet out of it. Make sure you visit the page for that wallet, the item description is hilarious. Decorate your wall, make it look deceptively twee.

You can carry the theme through to your underwear - make sure your lover gets the message. Uterus underpants in a selection of sizes can be found amongst the uteri (is that the correct plural of uterus?) themed products from Harvey & Eileen.

But the uteri don't stop there - my favourite item out of all those I have listed has to be this beautiful "Uteri In The Sky" (I must be right then!) necklace from tangerined. She has a whole range of lovely, quirky and colourful jewellery too in her shop.

I hope you enjoyed this post and didn't mind my mini-essay at the start. Do you ever, or have you ever, dressed with politics in mind?