"Dapper? Dandy? Redefining Black Masculinity" was just one of the workshops at the National Youth Pride Services Midwest Regional Black LGBT Youth Conference, held at the University of Chicago's Harper Memorial Library Oct. 20-21.
Holiday Simmons, national community educator at Lambda Legal, served as the workshop's facilitator. He spoke to about 10 people about fashion as it relates to the way the world views masculinity as well as historical and contemporary images of dapper people.
Simmons, who is transgender, noted some questions to ponder, including the implications of dapper/preppy style on masculine of center people of color. He explained that a dandy person is someone who is excessively attentive to his/her clothes and appearance while a fop is someone foolishly attentive to and vain of attire and mannerisms.
Simmons noted that B. Cole of the Brown Boi Project coined the term "masculine of center." The term recognizes the breadth and depth of identity for lesbian/queer/womyn who tilt toward the masculine side of the gender scale and includes a wide range of identities such as butch, stud, aggressive/AG, dom, macha, tomboi and transmasculine, as well as cisgender men ( at times ).
Historical images of dapper/dandy people go all the way back to the mid-1700s with the Negro Election Days and Pinkster Parades, Simmons noted. He shared other historical images of dapper/dandy people, including the play Mungo Macoroni in the Padlock and other blackface theater offerings, the Pullman Porters, Native American boarding schools where boys were forced to dress in suits and cut their hair short, and zoot suits.
Dandy/dapper dress and gender fluidity can also be seen in the musical world, noted Simmons, with examples including Prince, Michael Jackson, MC Lyte, Queen Latifah, Janet Jackson, Janelle Monae and Lil' Kim.
An interactive activity followed Simmons' presentation. He divided the audience into three groups and each group was charged with discussing and reporting out on specific questions: What are the implications of dapper/preppy style on masculine of center people of color? How can wearing a bowtie/tie/ascot/etc underscore vulnerability and open one to unwanted exposure? How do dapper images reinforce or subvert class inequalities?
See www.youthprideservices.org for more information.