‘Hey, I’m between the lines’

: the importance of negotiating dress and gender for non-binary and genderqueer people

Abstract

Many marginalised and disempowered groups utilise dress to signify a sense of identity, belonging, and a resistance to the norms and values of wider society. For trans and gender diverse people, negotiating ‘masculine’ and ‘feminine’ dress styles can be critical for personally affirming one’s feelings of gender and for performing one’s identity in public spaces. However, few qualitative research studies have attempted to understand these clothing practises and the social and cultural implications of the growing adoption of gender-fluid fashion within the LGBTQIA+ community. This scarcity of qualitative research calls for more social research on how people who live between, outside, and beyond the gender binary negotiate gendered norms associated with dress – research which will provide a deeper insight into issues of acceptance and inclusion of non-normative gender expressions and identities in public spaces. To address this knowledge gap, this thesis will explore how non-binary and genderqueer people use gendered dress styles to negotiate the challenges of the gender binary in western cultures. By adopting an ethnographic approach, this project involved conducting semi-structured interviews with non-binary and genderqueer people about their clothing practises on a personal level, as well as an ethnographic content analysis of Instagram and TikTok to explore the performative nature of gender in public spaces. This projects’ focus on destabilising norms of heteronormativity, and the gender binary will produce valuable knowledge on the trans and gender diverse people, with a particular focus on those identifying as non-binary and/or genderqueer. The aim of this research is to support the movement for the recognition and acceptance of nonnormative identities and gender expressions within western social contexts.

Date of Award	2023
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	Western Sydney University
Supervisor	Helena Onnudottir (Supervisor)