Sources:
- Vote Equality Tee – HRC
- Denim Skirt – Gap
- Red Flats – Target
- Earrings- Gift from A2
Endnotes:
Between trying to finish up with my summer teaching and having my camera crap out during our wedding weekend, I haven’t been able to contribute much here lately. But, I wanted to add my two cents about slogan tees. I’ve enjoyed reading E’s post, both of S’s posts, and the many thoughtful comments, all of which have had me doing quite a bit of thinking on this topic.
I don’t own too many slogan tees, but the ones I do own tend to be fairly political. I own the same Obama tee that S. does, very similar to the one Tania wore for the 4th of July (I wish I had thought to wear today’s outfit on the 4th). I also own a few equality tee-shirts from HRC and a Lambda Legal shirt. I wear all of these on a regular basis with shorts or jeans when studying at a coffee shop or running errands on the weekend. I have in fact worn this tee and denim skirt combo many times, including on election day, but have never posted it, mostly because it’s rather plain and casual.
This tee in particular reveals several of my values that I am 100% confident about conveying to any stranger. I believe in equality for all, including marriage equality, I am a liberal, and I believe everyone should take the time and make the effort to exercise their right to vote. I agree with E’s point that long, intimate, and nuanced conversations about politics and personal values are far superior to the messages conveyed on any tee-shirt or bumper sticker. However, there are some things I believe so strongly in, like equality, that I want to be able to spread this message to more people that just my friends and family. So, I wear my tees and sport my bumpers stickers (equality and Obama) because I think it is is an easy way to reach more people and maybe, just maybe, change minds.
One comment on S’s post particularly resonated with me. Two Chicks Nest explained that one purpose for slogan tees is to ” show support to others who are impacted by the issue.” She goes on to say “For example, if I was in a town that I’d never been to before and I saw that pro-equality shirt from the other day, I’d think ‘This is a friendly, welcoming place’ or at the very least, ‘Phew, there is someone who is on my side.’”
I have often found myself in that exact same situation: relieved to see an equality sticker on the back of someone’s car or suddenly a bit more comfortable in my skin because of a tee-shirt worn by someone else. As we have argued over and over on this site, clothing is inherently political, fashion is a powerful thing.
A.
Bumber Stickers and Slogan Tees, originally uploaded by academichic.
I completely agree with you (and have the same stickers!)
I think that shirts and bumper stickers are just a from of expression and honestly, you aren’t putting graffiti on a building, you’re just sharing an opinion. A very very important one that defines who you are! What’s wrong that? Plus I also love to spot “friends” out in a crowd, it’s like an instant way to bond!
Thanks for this thoughtful post. I agree that everyone should wear political/slogan shirts to their own comfort level, but I was surprised by how many people were not comfortable with unsolicited displays of their political beliefs.
I wrote a blog post not about slogan t-shirts, but I was inspired by the recent exchanges on this blog. Today is Bastille Day, which was an important day in revolutionary France, but the French lower house has recently approved a bill that would ban “all face coverings” in public (it’s not law yet). This is a direct intersection of how politics and women’s dress, specifically subaltern women’s dress, reflect deep seated cultural anxieties. I think that given how both the politics of dress and politics and dress are important themes on this brilliant blog, I’d post the link (the comments are also interesting):
http://cohabitatingcloset.blogspot.com/2010/07/fashion-statement.html
When I was in grad school and even as a postdoc, I felt quite free to “wear” my opinions. However now that I’ve been hired at a small religiously affiliated liberal-arts college in a small town, I don’t feel as free to wear my opinions. I still will express myself completely in the classroom, but I don’t want to alienate students, administrators, or other faculty without having more of an opportunity to talk in the shades of gray E mentioned.
True. Someone wearing a certain t-shirt might make me think, “Phew. This is my kind of town.” It can also have a different outcome. If I saw someone dressed as you’re dressed, with bumper stickers like yours, I’d roll my eyes and think, “There goes another one.” I would assume you were yet another left-leaning grad student, cozily ensconced in some left-leaning academic environment, enjoying an education that someone else was paying for.
i just have to laugh at seeing a suburu with an obama sticker–is there anything more grad student-y?? mine is the same!
i hear you on the political shirts, and while i think a sticker is no match for a nuanced conversation, slogans, shirts, and stickers do work to produce a kind of community, and that’s important.
Glad to see you posting. Great outfit and post! I think the tee with the denim skirt looks terrific, and reminds people the importance of civic duties! Good luck with your camera!
I don’t know if Serena will read this again, but I don’t understand the idea that someone else is paying for a person’s graduate education? Even fully funded graduate students teach and work as research assistances, and they work hard. They’re supposed to work no more than 20 hours/week, and from my experiences, we often go over this amount because we love what we do. Those who get fellowships (which are rare) compete for them, and get them based on their qualifications and the relevance of their research, and they must work as part of the terms of the fellowship. No one else is “paying” for a grad student’s education anymore than someone else pays a private sector employee’s rent. This is a confusing comment and I’d love some clarification
This discussion makes me think that whilst freedom of expression is empowering, it can also reinforce and legitimate oppressing power dynamics. I spent most of my graduate years in message t-shirts that conveyed not only important political messages but also resorted to wit, irony and dark humour (which I think are an essential part of my personality). Postdoc onwards I stopped… not in a mechanistic sort of way (nothing like “it is time to stop this now”)… it was more the result of reflecting on my own role as an academic. I somehow became concerned about imposing a message to students. I have not personally changed, but I do feel I have a responsibility not to impose my personal views on students, which is something that given the power dynamics between tutors and students, it’s more likely to happen and could negatively impact the way I perceive my role to be, which is to support students grow intellectually and find their own epistemological position.
The other side of this reflection is that I also ask myself what message does that send about me (uncompromising? uninterested?). I wonder…
Just wondering outloud here – why aren’t your stickers actually stuck to your car? Why are they taped on from the inside instead of permanently attached?
@Laura: my guess is that A. would like to avoid the possibility of bumper sticker residue in case she decides to sell the Subaru. My best friend is the same way.
Personally, I’ve always felt that actions speak much louder than words, or in this case t-shirts or bumper stickers. I’ve seen too may cases where someone has a bumper sticker and is behaving completely opposite of what is displayed. For example, those who have bumper stickers with a bicycle photo that says “Share the Road” – meanwhile they are behaving very rudely and aggressively towards bikers. Of course, maybe they bought the car with the bumper sticker already on it, it’s a family member’s vehicle, etc, but I’ve seen the same thing with specialty license plates that you actually pay extra for (also “share the road”). Doesn’t make me think very highly of them and the things they supposedly support when I see that.
Also, maybe I’m just a more private person in general, but I don’t particularly like broadcasting my views to the world. I think it’s great that people have differing viewpoints and welcome conversation, however absolutely detest when someone attempts to insist that his/her view is the only correct one and that mine is wrong if it differs :)
Hi! I love this blog entry of yours! I have to say – this is why I love Academichic, and why I think you three are the best style bloggers out there.
Thank you for articulating that style is political, and why.
I just read through the comments, and felt a need to post a second comment.
I’m sort of surprised by some of the comments about keeping personal beliefs private and to oneself.
I personally love bumper stickers and t-shirts with political slogans. Of course, I like the ones that are in line with my own beliefs better.
I agree with the people who said those messages can be useful when determining the sentiment of a certain geographical area.
I also agree that nuanced, personal conversations are better at building understanding and sharing thoughts about politics. But there isn’t always time for that.
I’m more than happy to engage in a nuanced conversation on politics with anyone who is open-minded, and I would welcome the invitation a bumper sticker or a t-shirt slogan might convey. I know there have been plenty of times I’ve commented to strangers that I like their t-shirt, or their bumper sticker, or their poster, or something, and it’s opened to door to a conversation I otherwise might not have had.
Still, I did more freely adhere bumperstickers and wear sloganed t-shirts during my college years than I do now.
As a professional, though, I’ve chosen a work enviroment that is professional, but inherently political so the nuanced and thoughtful conversations on politics and policy have continued while the bumper stickers and t-shirts have subsided a little. It just might be a part of the maturing process. Or maybe an attempt to not label things so directly.
But it’s my job, deliberately, to talk politics and policy and I think it’s very important to have a civil, open debate available to everyone.
Also, why would being part of Academia make someone think someone else is paying for an expensive education? I’m a part of Academia, as a professional, and I paid 100% of all my schooling myself. No parents or trustfund here! There are self-made Academics out there.
I love that you three women of Academichic are strong, smart, feminist, political, open-minded, and left leaning/liberals. You are my favorite bloggers out there because of these things.
I was hesitant to respond to the comments on this post but feel that I do need to clarify a few things.
1. I have never worn these t-shirts (or anything overtly political) to teach in. I agree with many of you that commented about the power dynamics, etc involved in expressing political opinions in the classroom.
2. My bumper stickers are taped onto the inside of my car window b/c I hate when the rain makes the stickers disintegrate.
3. No one has ever paid for any part of my education. Throughout my undergraduate degree I held a part-time jobs to get by and took out student loans. For my masters, and now to fund my PhD degree I teach at the university and still work part-time to have enough money for the extras.
4. I am far from living in an academic bubble since I am an out lesbian living with my partner in a very conservative Midwestern state. This is exactly why I find it so important to express myself in whatever way I can! (Unfortunately, it sometimes feels like taking quite a risk to do so.)
5. I have had some very meaningful and interesting conversations with people that have been sparked by my t-shirts.
Thanks as always for all of your thoughtful comments!
A.
[...] last week about slogan t-shirts. I responded to some of the questions/concerns raised in a lengthy comment of my own. Summer Picnic, originally uploaded by academichic. Category: Night Without Grading, Our Best [...]
You totally rock! :)
It seems to me that what some people find objectionable about slogans on t-shirts and cars aren’t really the medium, but the intention–which can be uninformed opinion following trends. Sometimes the assumption about the intention is carried with the medium.
I think being knowledgeable about the opinions you broadcast is the best way to ensure that you’re not deserving of an eye roll. I’m guessing that this is the case for you and I cheer your tees and stickers! You are creating community. I’m sure you’re conscientious enough to not do hypocritical things and do invite very rewarding conversations with sloganed things.
It’s just unfortunate that the medium does carry associations. For tees, it can speak about someone as having shallow interest in their slogan or wearing slogans to be fashionable. (The equivalent for tons of bumper stickers is that the driver is somehow mad, right? Too passionate about something.)
This is the danger that’s kept me from wearing many slogan shirts. I, however, inspired to wear “Infinity MPG” (http://www.threadless.com/product/562/Infinity_MPG) in the horribly bike unfriendly city I’ve just moved to. It is so lacking in community for bikers, especially those who use their bikes for transportation! It’s a tiny thing, and I like to think, a brave thing too. I think it must be for you, so cheers!
Thanks for your response A! I too had to pay for my own education or compete for grants and work for the university.(In fact my student loans dating back to undergrad days are just now coming out of deferment so I will be paying for my education for the foreseeable future.) Some of my current reticence concerning bumper stickers and message T’s in my off hours is probably because I am still learning about my context. I did my PhD in a major metropolitan area of Canada and now I’m teaching and living in small town American South. As I feel more comfortable, I hope that I too will be able to express myself in whatever ways I can.
I’m pretty picky about what slogans I’ll emblazon across my chest, but I’d certainly rock a marriage equality t-shirt to show my support, because that’s something that I feel very strongly about. And with Prop 8 currently back in the courts here in California, it’s also a very timely message. I’m a fiercely proud San Franciscan through and through, and I think it’s particularly important for straight people to raise their voices alongside the LGBT community and show that we’re all in this together.
Sure, a nuanced, thorough discussion about politics is great, but sometimes a simple slogan can have a very powerful message if it penetrates deeply enough into the public psyche; just look at what “Hope” did for Obama. Sometimes a simple message, seen over and over again, is what finally makes a new idea take root.
I think it also comes down to what the message is and how it’s presented. I think it’s much more effective to sport a positive message than a negative one, so as much as I might despise the neo-cons, you probably won’t see me in a “Kill Palin” shirt anytime soon. :-)
Thanks for the mention, A. I think this is such an interesting conversation and after reading through the comments I have something else to say. A lot of people have mentioned keeping their politics private and I can respect that perspective. On the other hand, I think of the invisibility this creates particularly for queer students (in this case) who are looking around campus and assuming that no one cares about queer issues and maybe also that there are no other queer folks around. To me, the t-shirt is akin to a safe zone sticker. Maybe when A is in the library or at a coffee shop or at the bookstore wearing the shirt in question, she is also sending a signal to a student that they are not alone and that she is someone that they can approach. When we try to appear apolitical, we might inadvertantly be sending a politcal a message too.
i find it funny that people get so caught up in wearing t’s with slogans on them. honestly, i thought one of the best parts of this post was that it actually seemed like my normal everyday wardrobe of a t-shirt and skirt, t-shirt and shorts, t-shirt and jeans, etc. i was so excited i barely even noticed the slogans (kidding about that last part)!
anyway, i think it is all about venue. i don’t wear t-shirts with slogans on them to teach, except maybe under a sweater or cardigan. and i would definitely avoid political slogans when teaching since i try very hard to be approachable and accessible to students no matter what their political opinions are. anyway, the vast majority of my t-shirts with slogans are university gear. i still haven’t given up that habit, and expect that at the age of 50 you will find me on the weekend in jeans and a college t-shirt :)
Love the tee. I just commented on S.’s post about her tees too.
A high school friend of mine recently got a new tattoo on her foot. A rainbow colored fish. I saw pics of it on facebook. Very pretty.
I found out a few days later that she had gotten it in honor of a mutual high school friend of ours who passed away recently. Our mutual friend had the last name “trout” and she was gay, she came out in college.
I was shocked and very very happy when I realized what the tattoo was for and that so many other high school friends knew the symbolism behind it and were complimenting the tattoo and its tribute to our late friend.
I grew up in a very conservative, somewhat stifling rural environment, and it’s encouraging to me to see that either time has had an effect or that my generation has different viewpoints than our parents, but regardless of why, the extremely conservative judgmental viewpoints that I grew up with are not the only visible ones in the area anymore. More liberal views and accompanying lifestyles are accepted and celebrated, at least in certain circles. I was quite happy to learn that.
[...] please see S.’s post which started a productive debate last summer about “slogan T’s”. A.’s post also about her stance in favor T-shirts that state things clearly. And E.’s post about her reservations surrounding wearing any clothing that states opinion or [...]