Re-Making Clothing, Re-Making Worlds: On Crip Fashion Hacking

Dangerous Bodies: New Global Perspectives on Fashion and Transgression, 2023

This chapter considers how previously marginalised corporealities get incorporated into the visual mainstream and asks how—and if—fashion can help to disrupt the canons of bodily normalcy. It sets out a theoretical framework for analysing images of disability by outlining the four dominant strategies for representing disabled and other non-normative bodies in visual culture: “enfreakment” (Garland-Thomson, Introduction: From Wonder to Error—A Genealogy of Freak Discourse in Modernity. In R. Garland-Thomson (Ed.), Freakery: Cultural Spectacles of the Extraordinary Body. University Press, 1996); “mainstreaming”, a strategy that invites the viewer to negate and disregard the bodily difference (Smith, The Vulnerable Articulate: James Gillingham, Aimee Mullins, and Matthew Barney. In J. Morra & M. Smith (Eds.), The Prosthetic Impulse: From a Posthuman Present to a Biocultural Future. The MIT Press, 2006); “disability aesthetics” (Siebers, Disability Aesthetics. University of Michigan Press, 2010); and “crip aesthetics”. It then discusses recent representations of disabled bodies in fashion and lifestyle media that perform or challenge these strategies, focusing on images of amputee performer and model Viktoria Modesta, amputee war veteran and model Noah Galloway, model Melanie Gaydos as shot by photographer Tim Walker and the fashion performances organised by non-binary queer and disabled Filipinx artist and designer Sky Cubacub. I argue that the latter projects offer alternative and radical ways of representing disability within a fashion context and celebrate visible difference as a source of creative potential, rather than attempting to normalise or fetishise it, thus “cripping” fashion.

International Textile and Apparel Association Annual Conference Proceedings 81(1), 2025

The researchers of this study live with mobility disabilities. Through autoethnographic study and reflexive inquiry Kealy-Morris (2017) has developed the term ‘body dressing work’ (Kealy-Morris 2022, 2023) to represent the daily stress of getting dressed for people with disabilities who often lack choice of apparel to reflect the selves they wish to present to the world across the spectrum of ‘identity representation through apparel’ -- from standing out to fitting in (Davis, 1992; Entwistle, 2015; Goffman, 1990; Miller and Woodward, 2012; Woodward, 2005). This salon proposal will report on a narrative review (Ferrari, 2015; SciELO, 2007) the researchers are undertaking to develop a cross-disciplinary investigation within psychology, sociology, embodied dress theory, disability studies, human-centered design, and apparel design studies (both normative and adaptive). A narrative review (NR) has many strengths in an emergent multi-disciplinary and mixed method study area such as adaptive apparel. As noted by Ferrari (2015), a historical NR can be of great importance to locate and critically survey the developments of concepts and principals which can be lost in the constraining methods of a systematic review (SR). Further, in comparison to SRs, NRs can consider multiple research questions allowing for more flexibility in the inclusion selection criteria. Due to the flexibility embedded in a NR, these cannot be replicated as an SR can. For an emerging field of study such as adaptive apparel, an NR can contribute well to a greater understanding of discourse and debate within and around the study area. Additionally, a NR will produce a review of contributions and lack of knowledge in the cross-disciplinary area and propose new areas of study with the aim of developing a rigorous theoretical foundation to support the research and policy initiatives being undertaken in the adaptive and inclusive apparel arena. REFERENCES Davis, F. (1992), Fashion, Culture and Identity, Chicago, IL: Chicago University Press. Entwistle, J. (2015), The Fashioned Body: Fashion, Dress and Modern Social Theory, 2nd ed., Cambridge, UK: Polity Press. Ferrari, R, (2015), Writing narrative style literature reviews, Medical Writing, 24:4, https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1179/2047480615Z.000000000329. pp. 230-235. Goffman, E. (1990), The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life, London: Penguin. Kealy-Morris, E. (2017), The Artist's Book: Making as embodied knowledge of practice and the self, practice-based doctoral thesis, Chester, UK: University of Chester. Available from: https://chesterrep.openrepository.com/handle/10034/620375. [Accessed 29 May 2024]. Kealy-Morris, E. (2022), The Stress of Getting Dressed for Disabled People, The Guardian, June 21. Available from: https://www.theguardian.com/fashion/2022/jun/21/the-stress-of-dressing-for-disabled-people [Accessed 7 May 2024]. Kealy-Morris, E. (2023), ‘The American Look’: Memories of not fitting in, in A. Slater, S. Atkin, E. Kealy-Morris (eds), Memories of Dress: Recollections of material identities, London: Bloomsbury Press, 157-74. Miller, D. and Woodward, S. (2012), Blue Jeans: The Art of the Ordinary, Berkeley, CA: University of California Press. SciELO (2007), Editorial: Systematic literature review x narrative review, SciELO Brazil, https://www.scielo.br/j/ape/a/z7zZ4Z4GwYV6FR7S9FHTByr/?lang=en. Accessed 28 May 2024. Woodward, S. (2005), Looking Good Feeling Right – Aesthetics of the Self, in S. Küchler and D. Miller (eds.), Clothing as Material Culture, London: Berg, 21-40.

Journal of Multimodal Rhetorics, 2020

Drama Research Methods: Provocations of Practice, 2019

This chapter argues for a critical revisitation of Emancipatory Disability Research (EDR) (Oliver, 1992) through a crip queer lens. To achieve this, there will be a shift away from the Social Model of Disability (UPIAS, 1976; Oliver, 1990) often associated with EDR, to a Political-Relational Model (coined by Kafer, 2014) of disability so that EDR might be true to its political and activist aspirations. The authors believe that if crip and queer theory is not situated at the core of EDR, then such a research method is in danger of undermining its very intentions, in which "participants are involved in a process designed specifically to heighten political awareness and to lead to radical social change" (Walmsley and Johnson 2003 p.28). To take a "critically queer" position is to work within the idea of always failing to conform to a fixed identity, indeed to the very notion of a 'norm' itself (Butler (1993), Halberstam (2011). Both crip and queer theory actively work against the existing oppressive systems that adhere to the constructed norm, pushing towards a political and activist reimagining of society instead. Cripping insists that the system of compulsory able-bodiedness is not and should not be the norm and, crucially, it imagines bodies and desires that fit beyond that system (McRuer 2006 p.32). In this way, crip may be thought of as inherently queer in a way that queer theory is not, perhaps, inherently crip though it should be 1. In what follows, the authors will offer the reader practice-based insight into the cripping and queering of EDR through their critique of the processes and outcomes of a devised performance research project, Not F..ckin' Sorry 2. The performance reappropriated the Freak Show as a means of both exposing the enduring discriminatory and voyeuristic experiences of learning disabled 3 (LD) and neurodivergent people 4 , and rejecting the objectified positioning inherent to a medical model of disability (WHO, 2001). The performance research project enabled the participants/co researchers to 'come out' as crip through a series of devising tasks which functioned, here, as research methods. These included a crip queer revisitation of 'stimming' (a socially taboo behaviour of selfstimulation often associated with neurodivergent people); the use of masks as an improvisation task to challenge the 'stigma management' 5 often performed daily by LD people and, crucially, the cripping and queering of the autobiographical stories reflecting

2016

This paper is an exploration into the connections between disability, identity, and clothing. The age of adolescence is marked with remarkable transformation in the body and brain. This development changes how teens look and interact with the world. Clothing is the manifestation of shared experiences between the individual and their surrounding environment. What does this dialogue look like if your body doesn't conform to current societal standards of normalization? What materializes when these experiences are negative? Teens with physical disabilities face such experiences through micro-aggressions. Desexualization, denial of privacy, and denial of identity are just some of the ways that disabled teens experience the world around them. In these

The Routledge Handbook of Queer Rhetoric, 2022

For those whose bodies are marginalized across multiple institutional settings-queer and trans people, fat people, people of color, people with disabilities-fashion might seem like a frivolous concern or a trivial location from which to imagine resistance to systems of oppression. But if fashion is viewed as a resource for reclaiming supposedly ugly and shameful corporeal differences, then dressing the stigmatized body in "fabulous" queer style might be a means of agency and opposition, a way to rework the terms of visibility by which bodies are surveilled, and a source of joy, pleasure, and community (Moore 29). Rebirth Garments, a brand of "gender non-conforming wearables and accessories centering Non-binary, Trans, Disabled and Mad Queers of all sizes and ages," engages in just such an endeavor, offering a glimpse of the possibilities of queercrip style as a rhetorical and political project and a case for the significance of fashion to queer rhetoric (RebirthGarments.com). 1 Developed by Sky Cubacub (they/ them), a non-binary queer person of color with disabilities, Rebirth Garments challenges traditional standards of beauty, celebrating the full range of gender, size, and ability, and encouraging the unique expression of identity and individuality. Rebirth Garments's distinctive aesthetic is exuberant, playful, and sexy. The close-fitting and revealing garments (think swimwear, underwear, lingerie, crop tops, leggings, unitards, and club wear) are made from sparkly, sheer, shiny, lacy, and usually stretchy textiles; they feature neon and primary colors, color-blocked patterns, and bold geometric prints, and are often embellished with Cubacub's signature chainmaille headpieces and other accessories. This aesthetic also incorporates an emphasis on accessibility, both embodied (in terms of ability and size) and economic. For instance, there are no standard sizes at Rebirth Garments-most items are sold through an Etsy shop and custom made to the consumer's specific measurements and bodily needs, including, for example, accommodating an insulin pump, an ostomy bag, or an amputated or prosthetic limb, or having the seams on the outside for those with sensory sensitivities. And sliding payment scales and free binding and tucking garments are available for young people who do not have a credit card or cannot afford the gender affirming apparel they need. Cubacub refers to the aesthetic and mission of Rebirth Garments as "radical visibility," or "a call to action to dress in order to not be ignored, to reject 'passing' and assimilation," and to claim intersectional queercrip bodies in all their contradictions. They assert, "In the face of what society tells us to hide, we are unapologetic individuals who want to celebrate and highlight our bodies. Instead of hiding the aspects of our identities that make us unique, we are Radically Visible." The promotion of radical visibility distinguishes Rebirth Garments from more mainstream "unisex" or "gender-neutral" fashion lines that tend to favor oversize shapes and muted colors, and which Cubacub refers to with canny specificity as "queer death wrapped in faux utilitarian

LGBTQ communities globally continue to gain momentum in social acceptance yet continue to be challenged in their pursuits of equality. This research inquiry seeks to acknowledge and illuminate Design-Activism's relevancy among LGBTQ communities with a focus on Activism, Entrepreneurship and (Invisibility) Disability Culture. This study uses a mixed methods approach to understand Design-Activism's capacity towards accessing new and alternative modes of social inclusion. Drawing from theoretical and design-driven generated forms of knowledge, this study aligns pre-assumed disconnected concepts and highlights the unnoticed interconnectedness. Discovered are the boundaries and forces needed to expand Design's potential role towards championing Design beyond traditional commercial applications, with a concentrated effort towards service gaps and accessibility. These communities, although historically antagonized, demonstrate genuine insights and contributions towards the practice of Design Activism, thus revealing much more about people and the importance of Design.

2008

This thesis consists of a series of extensive projects which aim to explore a new designer role for fashion. It is a role that experiments with how fashion can be reverse engineered, hacked, tuned and shared among many participants as a form of social activism. This ...

Disability/postmodernity: embodying disability theory, 2002

Fashion photographs by Alexander McQueen, photographer Nick Knight, by Mat Fraser in the Fashion-Able shoot, Fraser as the dandy. Published in In: Disability/Postmodernity: Embodying Disability Theory Mairian Corker, Tom Shakespeare (eds), 2002, Bloomsbury

The Oxford Handbook of Music and Disability Studies, 2016

This essay is focused on (post)subculture and disability and specifically on punk rock. It aims to extend our understanding both of punk itself and of subcultural theory, adding to ideas around postsubculture by cripping it, that is, by identifying the sounds and styles and bodies of the disabled, who are the neglected already-present of punk, and whose presence disrupts subculture theory, even while such theory exists in large part to understand the disruptive potential of gesture, music, youth, fashion, attitude, and modes of walking and talking. Here I concur with, and seek to develop, the observation by David Church that “disability has been one of the most foundational—and yet, one of the least explored—representational tropes of the punk milieu”. The essay contains two main areas: an initial discussion of subculture and counterculture in terms of theory and of disability and a focus on the original British punk scene of the late 1970s and three major artists, varyingly disabled, from it: Ian Dury, Johnny Rotten, Ian Curtis. It concludes with a view of punk’s “cultural legacy” in the disability arts movement.