How protest fashion reflects the political landscape of its time | Alia Attar | TEDxLFHS — Transcript

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1. 0:01[Music]
2. 0:08every day we all make the decision of
3. 0:10what to wear depending on where we're
4. 0:12going and what we're doing
5. 0:14while most of us usually put little
6. 0:15thought into these everyday decisions
7. 0:17although some of us like to go the extra
8. 0:18mile
9. 0:19ultimately what we wear expresses our
10. 0:21style
11. 0:22however what we wear can also express
12. 0:24and what we believe in
13. 0:26throughout history protesters have been
14. 0:28using fashion as a way to exhibit the
15. 0:29resistance
16. 0:31and the media today we see protest
17. 0:32clothing using colors design textures
18. 0:35and symbols all as a way to cultivate a
19. 0:38message
20. 0:39there are many contemporary examples of
21. 0:41this from the nba's expression of the
22. 0:43black lives matter movement through the
23. 0:44use of slogan printed t-shirts all the
24. 0:47way to lady gaga's meat dress worn at
25. 0:49the 2010 mtv awards as an opposition
26. 0:52against the u.s military's don't ask
27. 0:54don't tell policy
28. 0:56protest clothing is a visual tactic used
29. 0:58to symbolize the rebellion against the
30. 1:00standards traditions and rules of
31. 1:02society and thus has characterized
32. 1:05a legacy of protest fashion throughout
33. 1:0720th century america
34. 1:10not only is fashion an extension of
35. 1:12protest itself but also a reflection of
36. 1:15the political landscape of the time
37. 1:17representing social change exhibited
38. 1:19even by regular citizens like us
39. 1:22protest fashion is a cultural tool
40. 1:24resistance one that demonstrates the
41. 1:26strength of solidarity and unity over a
42. 1:29moral or belief that people share
43. 1:31in fact several significant historical
44. 1:34movements have all contributed to this
45. 1:35legacy of protest fashion especially
46. 1:38within the last 100 years or so
47. 1:41first is a more traditional example yet
48. 1:43one of the most significant achievements
49. 1:45in american history the women's suffrage
50. 1:47movement
51. 1:48protesters in the women's suffrage
52. 1:50movement use specific colors in their
53. 1:52fashion such as white to represent
54. 1:55purity green to represent hope and
55. 1:57purple to represent loyalty
56. 1:59they paired these pastels in their
57. 2:01fashion and accessorized garments
58. 2:03accessorized with garments such as big
59. 2:05hats flowers and sashes often
60. 2:08accompanied by slogans
61. 2:12when marching for their voting rights
62. 2:13suffragettes use these colors and
63. 2:15symbols as a way to cultivate their
64. 2:17message additionally as a way to
65. 2:20represent what they stood for which was
66. 2:22the passing of the 19th amendment they
67. 2:24got the right to vote in with this 19th
68. 2:26amendment in june of 1919 with the aid
69. 2:29of protest fashion
70. 2:32decades later in the 1960s and beyond
71. 2:35protesters for the revolutionary black
72. 2:37power movement use fashion in their
73. 2:38fight for liberation
74. 2:40one of the most notable black
75. 2:42nationalist groups the black panthers
76. 2:44use
77. 2:45a utilitarian style in order to convey
78. 2:47their movement they dress in all black
79. 2:49leather black sunglasses black berets
80. 2:52and their natural afrocentric hair
81. 2:55these styles were met as both a
82. 2:56representation of the rejection of
83. 2:59western beauty standards as well as a
84. 3:01way to conceal members identities
85. 3:04founders huey newton who's seen on this
86. 3:06slide and bobby seal formed the black
87. 3:08panther party in the late 1960s in
88. 3:10oakland california and famous activists
89. 3:13such as angela davis and fred hampton
90. 3:15also even wore the black brace at one
91. 3:17point
92. 3:19ideology adopted from socialist
93. 3:20revolutionaries such as che guevara
94. 3:23heavily influenced the symbols of the
95. 3:24panthers
96. 3:25their attire meant to defy military
97. 3:27force by utilizing the idea of a uniform
98. 3:30in order to appear combative
99. 3:32another additional symbol of the
100. 3:34panthers was the gun often sung over
101. 3:37their shoulder as a way to represent one
102. 3:39of their ideals armed self-defense
103. 3:42beyonce and her singers appeared at the
104. 3:442016 super bowl halftime show as a way
105. 3:47to represent their visuals they dressed
106. 3:49in the black leather and black berets as
107. 3:51a nod to the intellectual roots of the
108. 3:53movement
109. 3:56the black panthers were not the only
110. 3:57example of utilizing fashion throughout
111. 4:00the 60s as a radical symbol
112. 4:03another notable example is the
113. 4:05anti-vietnam war movement where
114. 4:07protesters dress in colorful fabrics
115. 4:10such as florals and funky patterns which
116. 4:13many of us associate with the decades of
117. 4:15the 60s and 70s
118. 4:17however these fashions were more than
119. 4:18just a psychedelic or hippie way of
120. 4:20dress
121. 4:21they symbolized the rejection of the
122. 4:23military and the defiance of
123. 4:25counterculture movement today
124. 4:28for example long unkept hair on men
125. 4:30specifically and directly contrasted
126. 4:33with
127. 4:34with gender expectations as well as the
128. 4:36structured discipline of the military
129. 4:40additionally it rejected the draft which
130. 4:42many protesters considered a part of the
131. 4:44immoral war
132. 4:46bell-bottoms also defined
133. 4:48counter-culture fashions with both men
134. 4:50and women wearing the style making it
135. 4:52part of mainstream fashions during the
136. 4:5460s and 70s however the pant also
137. 4:57repurposed the style originally used in
138. 4:59the uniforms of military soldiers
139. 5:02further cementing the idea of defiance
140. 5:04of the military during the anti-vietnam
141. 5:06war protests
142. 5:09in all three movements protest fashion
143. 5:11serves like armor
144. 5:13protecting against policing and arrest
145. 5:16we see this especially today where black
146. 5:18lives matter activists wear
147. 5:20dark hoodies dark colors and masks as a
148. 5:23way to protect their identities as well
149. 5:25as from tear gas
150. 5:27so the next time you wear your favorite
151. 5:29vintage leather jacket or bell bottoms
152. 5:31remember that these styles originally
153. 5:33had deep political meaning and were a
154. 5:36radical form of protest for the brave
155. 5:37people who wore them
156. 5:39clothing often regards
157. 5:41to express one's individuality
158. 5:44however throughout history clothing has
159. 5:46also been a way to define solidarity of
160. 5:48a movement
161. 5:49sometimes even a scarf holds its own
162. 5:51protest thank you