Streetwear has a homophobia problem

STREETWEAR HAS A HOMOPHBIA PROBLEM

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In September 2020, Highsnobiety celebrated Tom of Finland, the iconic late artist known for his masculinized homo-erotic artwork. What came next was a flood of openly homophobic statements in our comments. Many of the 3,500 comments littered our post with shockingly anti-gay sentiment. "Officially unfollowing. Disgusted" said one. "Nasty shit, time to unfollow," said another.

It wasn't the first time this had happened on our channel, or on other channels in the streetwear space.⁠⁠ Supreme's Summer 2020 tribute to ’80s era nightlife icon Leigh Bowery was treated much the same by Hypebeast readers.⁠⁠ “James Jebbia has a thing for weird AIDS infested artists,” read one comment. After appearing in a Spitfire Wheels video, trans skater Cher Strauberry told Thrasher Magazine that they received 40 death threats. A recent post of Lil Yachty and Tyler, the Creator in blond wigs on Complex’s Instagram account got a “Gay and gayer” comment.
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These examples are simply the latest in a slew of regularly occurring incidents that display a growing sentiment among many streetwear aficionados that being gay, dressing outside the gender binary, or associating yourself with anything LGBTQI+ is unacceptable in the scene.⁠⁠

Here's where the conflict lies: numerous fringe subcultures linked by a central identity of aggressive masculinity have come head-to-head with a broader culture eschewing this characteristic as no longer ideal. The cis white male dominance of streetwear has never been as disrupted as it has been over the past decade when it entered the high fashion industry and, with it, its plethora of LGBTQI+ designers.

This bigotry doesn't make sense — many of the most sought-after products are directly linked to alternative voices and cultures, and it's the innovation and creativity of marginalized communities that has pushed fashion and style forward for generations.⁠⁠ Think Frank Ocean’s coming out letter on his tumblr in 2014, or Pharrell and Kanye’s pink phase, followed by Yeezy wearing a Givenchy by Riccardo Tisci kilt in 2013 — all signifiers of “non-traditional masculinity.”

With more sets of eyes on streetwear, it has become clear how much is actually broken. Streetwear was built on community: from us, for us. And though it was formulated as a communal safe space for outsiders of all stripes, an exclusionary stripe has always persisted in skewing towards cis white straight men.

"Homophobic behavior exists deep in the core of our entire system; in all industries and every corner of our communities," says Babenzien. "We need to see people different from us as still equal to us. That is a massive behavior shift that will take time.”

HERE'S HOW WE CAN MAKE A CHANGE

● RELATED READING

POWER, CORRUPTION, AND JIZZ: 100 YEARS OF TOM OF FINLAND

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