Clothing is any item worn on the body. Typically, clothing is made of fabrics or textiles, but over time it has included garments made from animal skin and other thin sheets of materials and natural products found in the environment, put together. The wearing of clothing is mostly restricted to human beings and is a feature of all human societies. The amount and type of clothing worn depends on gender, body type, social factors, and geographic considerations. Garments cover the body, footwear covers the feet, gloves cover the hands, while hats and headgear cover the head, and underwear covers the private parts.
Disability is the experience of any condition that makes it more difficult for a person to do certain activities or have equitable access within a given society. Disabilities may be cognitive, developmental, intellectual, mental, physical, sensory, or a combination of multiple factors. Disabilities can be present from birth or can be acquired during a person's lifetime. Historically, disabilities have only been recognized based on a narrow set of criteria—however, disabilities are not binary and can be present in unique characteristics depending on the individual. A disability may be readily visible, or invisible in nature.
Ready-to-wear (RTW) – also called prêt-à-porter, or off-the-rack or off-the-peg in casual use – is the term for garments sold in finished condition in standardized sizes, as distinct from made-to-measure or bespoke clothing tailored to a particular person's frame. In other words, it is a piece of clothing that was mass produced in different sizes and sold that way instead of it being designed and sewn for one person. The term off-the-peg is sometimes used for items other than clothing, such as handbags.
Disability studies is an academic discipline that examines the meaning, nature, and consequences of disability. Initially, the field focused on the division between "impairment" and "disability", where impairment was an impairment of an individual's mind or body, while disability was considered a social construct. This premise gave rise to two distinct models of disability: the social and medical models of disability. In 1999 the social model was universally accepted as the model preferred by the field. However, in recent years, the division between the social and medical models has been challenged. Additionally, there has been an increased focus on interdisciplinary research. For example, recent investigations suggest using "cross-sectional markers of stratification" may help provide new insights on the non-random distribution of risk factors capable of acerbating disablement processes.
Inclusive design is a design process in which a product, service, or environment is designed to be usable for as many people as possible, particularly groups who are traditionally excluded from being able to use an interface or navigate an environment. Its focus is on fulfilling as many user needs as possible, not just as many users as possible. Historically, inclusive design has been linked to designing for people with physical disabilities, and accessibility is one of the key outcomes of inclusive design. However, rather than focusing on designing for disabilities, inclusive design is a methodology that considers many aspects of human diversity that could affect a person's ability to use a product, service, or environment, such as ability, language, culture, gender, and age. The Inclusive Design Research Center reframes disability as a mismatch between the needs of a user and the design of a product or system, emphasizing that disability can be experienced by any user. With this framing, it becomes clear that inclusive design is not limited to interfaces or technologies, but may also be applied to the design of policies and infrastructure.
Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha is a U.S./Canadian poet, writer, educator and social activist. Their writing and performance art focuses on documenting the stories of queer and trans people of color, abuse survivors, mixed-race people and diasporic South Asians and Sri Lankans. A central concern of their work is the interconnection of systems of colonialism, abuse and violence. They are also a writer and organizer within the disability justice movement.
Fat feminism, often associated with "body-positivity", is a social movement that incorporates feminist themes of equality, social justice, and cultural analysis based on the weight of a woman. This branch of feminism intersects misogyny and sexism with anti-fat bias. Fat feminists advocate body-positive acceptance for all bodies, regardless of their weight, as well as eliminating biases experienced directly or indirectly by fat people. Fat feminists originated during third-wave feminism and is aligned with the fat acceptance movement. A significant portion of body positivity in the third-wave focused on embracing and reclaiming femininity, such as wearing makeup and high heels, even though the second-wave fought against these things. Contemporary western fat feminism works to dismantle oppressive power structures which disproportionately affect working class poor people or poor people generally. It covers a wide range of topics such as diet culture, fat-phobia, representation in media, ableism, and employment discrimination.
Fashion design is the art of applying design, aesthetics, clothing construction and natural beauty to clothing and its accessories. It is influenced by culture and different trends, and has varied over time and place. "A fashion designer creates clothing, including dresses, suits, pants, and skirts, and accessories like shoes and handbags, for consumers. He or she can specialize in clothing, accessory, or jewelry design, or may work in more than one of these areas."
Kay Ulanday Barrett is a published poet, performer, educator, food writer, cultural strategist, and transgender, gender non-conforming, and disability advocate based in New York and New Jersey, whose work has been showcased nationally and internationally. Their second book, More Than Organs received a 2021 Stonewall Honor Book Award by the American Library Association and is a 2021 Lambda Literary Award for Transgender Literature Finalist. They are a 2020 James Baldwin Fellowship recipient, three-time Pushcart Prize Nominee, and two-time Best of the Net Nominee. Barrett's writing and performance centers on the experience of queer, transgender, people of color, mixed race people, Asian, and Filipino/a/x community. The focus of their artistic work navigates multiple systems of oppression in the context of the U.S.
Aimee Louw is a disabled activist, writer, and radio host currently living in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. She works to fight ableism and her work is informed by queer and feminist theory. She studied Political Science at Concordia University. She has presented at conferences at both McGill University and York University about her research on social movements and disability rhetoric. She works for Cinema Politica, cofounded Accessibilize Montreal, and co-hosts the radio show Native Solidarity News. She has also spoken on the radio show Talking Radically. She is the creator of the zine and tumblr Underwater City Project. She has been published in the Montreal Gazette.
Annie Segarra, also known as Annie Elainey, is an American YouTuber, artist, and activist for LGBT and disability rights. Segarra, who is queer, Latinx, and disabled, advocates for accessibility, body positivity, and media representation of marginalized communities.
Alok Vaid-Menon is an American writer, performance artist, and media personality. Vaid-Menon is gender non-conforming and transfeminine, and uses the singular they third person pronouns.
Queer fashion is fashion among queer and nonbinary people that goes beyond common style conventions that usually associate certain colors and shapes with one of the two binary genders. Queer fashion aims to be perceived by consumers as a fashion style that focuses on experimenting garments based on people's different body shapes instead of following the restrictions given by gendered clothing categorization.
Stephanie Thomas is an American disability fashion stylist, public speaker, voice actor, and professor.
Jennifer White-Johnson is an artist and activist living in Baltimore, Maryland, US. As a disabled Afro-Latina artist with ADHD and Graves' Disease she uses graphic design and photography as a means to discuss the intersection of disability rights and anti-racism, and to give visibility to misrepresented voices. After completing her Masters degree, she taught as professor of Visual Communication Design at Bowie State University. Some of her more famous works include the Black Disabled Lives Matter symbol, and a Black Autistic Joy advocacy zine called Knox Roxs.
Raul Pizarro is a queer, disabled, latinx visual artist who known for his Day of the Dead series, as well as his paintings about his queerness and his disability.
Dykes, Disability & Stuff was a lesbian and disability magazine founded in 1988 in Boston, Massachusetts and published in Madison, Wisconsin. Its publication ended in Fall 2001.
Mira Bellwether was an American author, artist, and sex educator best known for Fucking Trans Women, a single-issue zine in which she wrote and illustrated all articles. Described in Sexuality & Culture as "a comprehensive guide to trans women's sexuality", Fucking Trans Women was the first publication of note to focus on sex with trans women and was innovative in its focus on trans women's own perspectives and its inclusion of instructions for many of the sex acts depicted.
Rora Blue is an American visual artist, fashion designer, and model. Their work primarily focuses on sexuality, gender, and disability. They are well-known for The Unsent Project and After the Beep. Blue's work primarily takes the form of text-based art, installations, and audience interaction. Blue's work also revolves around the importance of color. Blue has stated that their work is based on their every day experiences of being "multiply marginalized" as a person who is queer, disabled, and a gender minority.
Disability and LGBT identity both can play significant roles in the life of an individual. Disability and sexuality can intersect in compounding ways, and, for many people, being both disabled and LGBT can result in double marginizalization. The two identities, either by themselves or in tandem, can complicate questions of discrimination and access to resources like accommodations, support groups, and elder care.
