CODE-SWITCHING

WHAT DOES IT MEAN?

WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO ME?

Many men, including me, have been programmed to dress a certain way; manly, simple, not a lot of fuss.

I realised I have also tried my best to be perceived as as straight as I possibly could. Although my fascination for fashion, I never really dared to go all out because of the fear of being seen as the 'stereotypical gay guy'.

I have (finally) come to a point where I want to be bolder, express myself and become my authentic self.

INSPIRATION

Although these examples of how I would wanna express myself may seem basic, for me it would be a huge step to actually wear these clothes and go outside. Afraid of being too much, too gay or too feminine.

I am obsessed with the combination of femininity and masculinity in this outfit <3

I aspire to be as confident in my sexuality and identity as these men. I wanna explore how I wanna position myself in gay-culture and find a way for me to feel comfortable in the way I present myself to the world.

WHAT DID WE DO?

With these pictures I tried to explore and express my desire to go and be more bold, embrace my feminine part

B

WHAT DOES IT MEAN?

WHAT DOES IT MEAN?

WHAT DOES IT MEAN?

A

Code-switching, in this context, is when a person in a minority group tones down some of the most obvious elements that associates them with their community in order to fit into a more mainstream group.
So for a BAME person, that might mean toning down their accent or dialect when they are with white people, or avoiding references to their culture so they feel they stand out less.
And someone from the LGBT community may avoid bringing up their sexuality around heterosexual people to avoid conversations which make them feel uncomfortable.
Code-switching was originally used to describe how someone who speaks more than one language changes from one to another in conversation.

https://www.bbc.com/news/newsbeat-45978770

https://www.vpro.nl/programmas/2doc/kijk/2doc-overzicht/2019/acting-straight.html

https://www.vpro.nl/programmas/de-roze-revolutie.html