The space between the words you speak and the image you portray to the world is a thin veil, becoming ever thinner. Think about Beyoncé’s Lemonade as a visual album, artists like Kanye West, who first became known for the words he rapped is now just as known for the designs he creates under his brand, Yeezy. Similarly, visual artists like Marina Abramovic are writing memoirs that can stir emotions just as much as the work they created in their stunning performance art.
Your body can speak your truth as much as the words you say. Whether you want to declare a spiritual affinity to the environment around you or declare an affinity to radical change attached from a political moment, your body can make a statement to the world in many ways.
Tattoos
Tattoos are an ancient art form that can be found in several cultures across the world. In Samoa, tattoos could symbolize tribal loyalty, position in society, or even spiritual milestones. The tattoo artist was held in high regard within their culture, as there was no written language; the symbols they placed on others’ bodies were important in carrying meaning to others. The patterns each had their symbolic significance, and the part of the body they were placed upon was also highly symbolic. In the Celtic tradition, tattoos were used to intimidate enemies, and particular animals may have adorned your body to grant you attributes like courage and ferocity.
While nowadays, tattoos can be temporary and, in some cases, even removed completely, they are still associated with permanence. This should be considered when you decide to adorn your body. Symbols that represent your core beliefs and values may be appropriate. Moods and emotions can change over time, but your tattoo will linger on your body for years to come. Their placement on your body is also appropriate. An intimate tattoo can be for your private enjoyment or revealed to those close to you. But you may choose to show other parts of your body more often. If you wish your tattoo to be a statement to passersby, then placing your tattoo on a neck or face may make it more eye-catching than on your arm or leg, for instance.
Clothing
Unlike tattoos, your clothing is ever-changing. You may dress for a particular occasion, weather, or even to suit your mood. There is nothing to stop you from having multiple outfit changes within one day. Clothing can often be a way of demonstrating acts of rebellion in subtle ways. An example of this might be how a student adapts their school uniform while still sticking to the ‘rules,’ they are letting their personality shine through the modifications they make.
Apparel can also show loyalty. Branded clothes can demonstrate your ethical values or where quality is prioritized in your personality. Clothing can help you deconstruct preconceived notions about your identity. It can also demonstrate the flux you might live within as you change your look from one day to the next.
Palm Angels for Men is apparel inspired by the LA Skate scene, but that doesn’t mean you have to be a skater to wear it or even identify as male. Fashion is fabric, and our identity is fabricated. So we can use fashion to craft our personality, change it, and alter it as much as we want. Or if we so choose, we can also make a statement by wearing the same outfit every day.
Piercings
Piercings, like tattoos, are an ancient art form. According to Kolopiercing, the earliest recorded evidence of piercing is a stone relief from Iraq, which shows a man with a pierced ear. Tutankhamen’s ears were perforated, and there is even discussion of earrings in the bible. Body modification is not a new phenomenon. While the techniques we use have developed over time, allowing us to modify many parts of our body safely, the symbology has endured. Often piercings are made by people as a rite of passage. Whether to mark an occasion, such as a child’s birth or to become an adult within your society, body modification can be subtle or elaborate. The preference is yours.
Hairstyles
Like clothes, your hair can change from day to day and be fashioned to suit whatever occasion. Unlike clothes, however, your hair is very much a part of your body. As such, your hairstyle can be incredibly entwined with your sense of self. Emma Dabiri’s book Don’t Touch My Hair talks extensively about how her racial identity is entwined with her hair and the need to reclaim ownership of your identity through the reclamation of your hair. Hair can change shape, color, texture and can even be shaved entirely off. Each can be a statement about yourself.
Hair can be political too. Cornrows were used by enslaved Africans to create maps of escape that could be communicated to others. This hairstyle is often considered to be part of cultural appropriation when people from other cultures use them. Be aware of this when making your hair choices. Fashion statements often have a history. Know what you are saying and why with any statement you choose to make. Be prepared to listen when challenged as well. While our body is our own, many fashions’ rich heritage and tradition can be a shared responsibility.
Makeup
Makeup can transform your look in sensational ways. The simple act of application can transform people’s lives and help them find their identity. For many Queer identifying people, makeup might have been the first thing they reached for when they wished to break from societal conventions of ‘normality.’ Make-up can be subtle, bombastic, and everywhere in between. Remember that beauty in itself is a construct. Your definition of beauty is built from within yourself. It can be chosen to be expressed on your body in any way you see fit. Your body is the vessel through which you will experience this world, but it is also the vessel through which the world might experience you. Let your beauty and truth shine through your body; however, you may choose to express it.
This is a contributed post. Photo: Vin Los for Ada + Nik.