Authors T-shirts Gender Is Over on the fight against gender norms
In early summer, Miley Cyrus told in an interview with Paper Magazine, which considers its gender identity "changeable" and then launched an instagram campaign in support of people who do not fit into the strict framework of the binary gender system. It is unlikely that someone from the fans was surprised to see her relaxed photo with Snoop Dogg - where Miley is in a cloud of smoke and a T-shirt with the inscription "GENDER IS OVER (if you want it)".
T-shirt makers - and the social campaign of the same name - Marie McGuire and Nina Mashurova launched it after the "many years of frustration with normative binary gender roles and compulsory gender identification." It all started with the idea of a single tweet, but eventually it grew into a whole movement. These shirts are now not only Miley, but also, for example, the lead singer of the punk rock band Against Me! Laura Jane Grace. The girls talked about their mission, celebrity support and what young people can expect in the future, which refuses to classify themselves as one gender.
Is this campaign something personal to you?
Maria: All my life I did not fit into the typical standards for women that exist in society (especially in the south): I grew up with a tomb, I always loved tinkering and tinkering with tools. She wore a haircut pot, put on androgynous things and always chose not to draw any clear gender boundaries. These sides of my personality caused different reactions in others - from humility to complete rejection. But until I got into the community, where diversity is valued, and did not accept my queer identity, I did not fully understand how they impose gender roles on us, how they put pressure on us, especially on transgender people and non-binary people, and I can also contribute to change this situation.
Nina: Personally, I am very concerned about how much society forces us to integrate into the gender “norm” and how much people hold on to the idea that gender is unshakable and “given out” to you at birth. Yes, I am from a female birth, but I have never felt completely comfortable in the normative standards of femininity. It always seemed to me that this was my own business, which should not touch or touch anyone - but for some reason I constantly got it from my family, at school, at work, from partners, and so on. Thanks to this experience, I began to perceive this problem not as a personal, but as a political one; I have formed certain views on feminism, queer identity and the blurring of gender boundaries. Of course, all my views continue to change and develop. At the same time, I learned how important it is to be an ally for other people, to take responsibility for what is happening in the world and to be open to the experience of other people. It is impossible not to notice how much anger and aggression one has to endure transgender women every day or how gender issues are related to the class system, skin color, capitalism, colonialism, statehood, infringement of freedoms and so on.
Why did you decide to fight it all with t-shirts? Where did the slogan come from?
Nina: This is a paraphrase and beaten slogan "War is Over (If You Want It)". I like the fact that he simultaneously demonstrates a personal attitude to gender for those who wear T-shirts, and at the same time, the utopism of the idea itself. Both war and gender are aspects of a far greater system of power, both always win over the individual, and both have not been eradicated yet.
Maria: The idea came up with Nina, and she immediately hooked me. I am a designer by profession, so I had every opportunity to turn it into reality. First of all, I wanted this slogan to be clearly referred to the campaign "War Is Over".
Nina: Mary made the whole design. I am not a big fan of all this rainbow queer aesthetics, especially since corporations began to exploit it. I like the brutality, gothic and dystopic monochrome. The form of T-shirts, by the way, also speaks volumes - first of all in the context of how much gender division in sports and how silent about the topic of transgender athletes.
Maria: As for the T-shirt itself as a wardrobe item, I really like to “turn it inside out” things that traditionally “belong” to social groups, seemingly far from the queer movement. Of course, the aggressiveness and the "masculine" charge of the sport come to mind. Honestly, typing such an inscription on something black, mesh and sports is already rebellious.
You are not afraid that you will have problems with the slogan War Is Over? Someone probably has a copyright on him.
Maria: I studied this question, and as far as I understand, we are protected by the fact that this project is considered a “parody” of the original slogan. In addition, we have registered the slogan "Gender Is Over! (If You Want It)", so that corporations in the future could not cash in on our work.
Nina: It seems to me that this is included in the concept of fair and ethical use, but if not, we will only be happy to discuss this issue with Yoko, to whom we have boundless respect <3
And how do you hear from celebrities? How did that happen? Is this a complete surprise for you, or were you in the know?
Maria: The whole story with the support of celebrities is absolutely incredible. Very very cool. This is a very powerful force that helps in talking about important things - and we believe that the mainstream should be included in this conversation. At the same time, the recognition of the slogan and the support of celebrities inevitably make you worry - is there no devaluation of the idea, because people often prefer not to go into it and simplify the message. As a result, many people do not even think about the huge number of marginalized people who are deeply wounded by gender-based violence and oppression.
We do our best to make sure that first of all people are heard for whom this project really means a lot - for example, with the help of a toggle switch. Projects like #InstaPride, which Miley launched, or the True Trans series on AOL, which Laura Jane Grace does, is a great idea for exactly the same reason: they make it possible to talk about these things to a wide audience. Of course, this is not enough, but, I hope, with the help of celebrities, we will be able to encourage people to take a more conscious stance, become activists and support transgender and non-binary people. Become a catalyst for change.
Of course, we know who buys and wears our T-shirts: I must say thanks to the social networks, thanks to which everything has turned out so well. First, Sadie Dupuis bought the shirt, then she told Laura Jane Grace about it on Twitter, we added, and so it went. We really keep track of who our customers are, so we are fully aware of where and to whom we send them!
Nina: I am very pleased that the stars that our T-shirts wear are people whose work we respect, they support feminism, queer community and transgender rights. Anyway, we live in a world seriously tied to the media, where stars influence modern culture, raise important issues, help change the rules of what is permissible in society. And I am very grateful to them for their support - and the fact that they are in sight helps to promote very significant things that go far beyond the limits of publicity.
Have you read Miley's interview at PAPER, where she talks about her unwillingness to self-determine within the framework of one gender? What do you think?
Maria: I think it's super! I was most surprised that such a significant figure of the mainstream culture absolutely openly declares itself as a queer person and is not afraid of it.
Nina: I also think that this is a very positive step.
In your opinion, as representatives of the generation of 20-s-something summer, modern youth is more open? After all, now people are already growing in other conditions than before, the gender-church is being discussed, much more celebrities talk about such things, there is a feeling that you are not alone.
Maria: Plus there is internet. This truth is very helpful and plays a significant role in supporting non-gender-determined youth. There is a feeling that more and more young people are “sticking to the topic,” and this opens the way for further action. It seems to me that now more than ever, each of us can find support in the community, gain courage and freedom to live outside social norms. On the other hand, young people are constantly forced to face a heteronormative society in real life - and there are a lot of obstacles to overcome before society recognizes your right to be who you are and how you feel. The approval of society is still very important.
Nina: This is utterly wild - I didn’t even have words to express all this until I was twenty and a little. And even then I scooped most of my knowledge and ideas from theoretical texts or the queer subcultures. And now you go to Tumbler - and all these teenagers no longer just intuitively own the topic, but ahead of their time and set their own rules. It is both striking and encouraging. But there is something sad about this, because if you look at the rest of the world, it pulls up very slowly. On the one hand, adolescents can grope and show their identity due to a highly developed online community (in my teens, nothing happened), but in real life everything is the same: adolescents have no special support, they are very dependent on the opinions of their parents , teachers and other adults who refuse to recognize their identity or devalue it, who have, in fact, unlimited power in their hands. No wonder that there are so many trances and quirs in the world who run away from home.
It seems to me that publicity is very important - young people need to somehow see that they are not alone, that the culture to which they identify themselves is represented in the media, it is important to show that gender nonconformists can live a full, cool life - instead of showing queer characters only as tragic or comic figures. And it is also important that adults begin to take this seriously, and not as some kind of teenage fool. At the same time, it is important to remember that celebrities have tremendous cultural and financial power and they forgive behavior that is still considered abnormal and forbidden in less privileged societies. Publicity and visibility - this is not the limit, there is still a lot of work ahead.
What do you do in everyday life? Have you done anything in the field of fashion before?
Maria: I work in the IT industry. In addition to the main responsibilities that I perform as a designer and product manager, I also struggle with all my strength against the infringement of rights in our industry, be it sexism, racial discrimination or homophobia. IT today is a huge part of society, and there are a lot of problems in it, the work on which makes my life meaningful.
I have never had anything to do with fashion, but I know well how to be effective. In recent years, I have become skilled in finding my own individuality and have learned to manifest it through my own style. Therefore, it was fun for me to somehow express myself and my individuality outside of my personal wardrobe.
Nina: I work in the media, engaged in culture and art, mainly related to activist activities. I am also a member of the art group Silent Barn. I use every opportunity to start a difficult discussion and make sure that the voices of those whom the society refuses to hear are finally heard. Fashion is interesting to me as a medium for building communication; I think a lot about how it influences music communities, expresses and fixes gender norms, etc. At the same time, I have never worked in the fashion sphere - for example, I trimmed my T-shirt sleeves a couple of times.
The success of your T-shirts somehow reflected in your idea of what can be achieved today in fashion and pop culture?
Maria: I think it is too early for me to draw any conclusions. I can say for sure that I was surprised by how many people reacted positively to our T-shirts. I was counting on such a reaction from friends and acquaintances, but I did not expect at all from people who were not in my circle of contacts. I like to watch how the discussion of our project takes place equally in real life and in social networks. At the same time, I’m not completely sure when it will be possible to say for sure "yes, this is success." We chose a dangerous path, many things and phenomena that shot on the Internet were quickly forgotten, so it is important for me to see how our project will live and develop. If in the end our campaign will have a real, measurable impact on life (specialized organizations will receive donations, laws will be passed, gender-neutral toilets will appear, the percentage of suicides among transgender people will decrease), then I will be pleased.
Nina: "Success" is a fun thing. I am glad that our project has resonated with so many people. I was wildly touched by the reviews that I read on the Internet. I am happy that we were able to help and attract donations for organizations that are engaged in human rights and educational activities.
What do you think, what future awaits the next generation, those who are younger than Miley and even younger than her fans, and especially those who do not fit into the traditional gender system or are gay?
Nina: I hope that society and social institutions will keep up with the times, so that these children will be able to grow, accumulate personal experience and at the same time feel important. I hope that they will not have to worry that they can be kicked out of their house at any time, forced to get treatment, beaten up at school, refused to work or put in jail just because they are what they are.
Maria: I want the future generation to have space for personal development, so that they develop in the direction they want, without regard for the errors of modern society. I want them to have more opportunities to cultivate their uniqueness. I want people to develop and change, and the society encouraged them.
Would you agree to make a joint collection with the Happy Hippie Foundation, if Miley suggested this to you? How can you be contacted at all?
Maria: Most likely, I would answer yes, although I’m not sure. In working on this project, it is very important for me to understand how everything will happen, how cooperation will be built and what is the global goal of all this. Therefore, I doubt and therefore I need a little more information for an exact answer. The Happy Hippie Foundation is an incredible foundation, and I am very, very glad that an organization has emerged that helps homeless LGBT youth. You can quickly contact me through social networks, my nickname @the_citylion!
Nina: Yes, it all depends on the conditions, but we are definitely open to cooperation. I'm generally all the time online - @neonsigh.