Afropunk fashions: bodies as resistance

One of my favorite things about the AFROPUNK fest – besides the music, obviously – are the fashions. It’s legit the best outfit-watching of the year, and the festival is full of gorgeous people getting really creative with the ways they get dressed.

For those of you wondering how a fashion post fits into a feminist political project, I’m here to tell you how deeply political the way we adorn ourselves can be. Our decisions about the ways we present our genders and our bodies, the choice to love our bodies even when we are told they are too dark, too gender non-conforming, too fat, too queer, can be freeing in a way that is absolutely radical. Dressing in a way that feels good, in which we celebrate our bodies, in ways that represent our truest selves, is an act of resistance for those whose bodies are policed, medicated, targeted, and too often threatened with violence. Of course, everyone has different reasons for presenting themselves the ways they do, but Afropunk has created a space in which a lot of folks can feel a little safer walking in by stating out front:

NO: SEXISM, RACISM, ABELISM, HOMOPHOBIA, FATPHOBIA, TRANSPHOBIA or GENERAL HATEFULLNESS ALLOWED. – YOU WILL BE ASKED TO LEAVE.

So I decided to take pictures of some of the coolest fashions I spotted. I only brought my camera on Day 2, and was quite busy checking out all the great acts, so even though I missed some really choice outfits, I was still able to snap some great looks from folks young and old, thin and thick, mamas and babies, queer and gender non-conforming. Shoutout to those of you who got hype when I told you I was from Feministing – we love you too!

Verónica wants to talk about the intersection of feminism and outfits forever.