What's In a Color?

DESTIGMATIZING THE CLOTHING WE WEAR

Maya Terry is a sophomore studying Psychological and Brain Sciences and is passionate about advocacy work and fighting social injustices. At WashU she works for the Center for Diversity and Inclusion and is involved with service work.

Hassan Folks is a sophomore varsity basketball player, an African and African-American studies major, and pre-med student who is in the Sigma Iota Rho International Area Studies Honorary and is a member of the Association of Black Students.

Take a second to picture your average black man in America. Is he wearing a prison jumpsuit or pants that sag too far below the waist? Is he wearing a snapback and jeans with chains and more bling? Is it an NFL or NBA Jersey? Or is it a black hoodie? In 2012, it became a crime for a Black man to wear just that when Trayvon Martin was killed for appearing suspicious to George Zimmerman in the street that night. Grantland writer Wesley Morris states, “The hoodie is ‘hood.’ It’s ‘hoodlum.’ For most black men, the only way to be perceived in a hoodie is as hard.”

The perception of the black male in the public eye is too often confined to a rigid box of stereotypes that includes hip hop culture, gangs/drugs, and professional sports. The black male has become synonymous to the notion of hypermasculinity, or in other words, “the psychological term for the exaggeration of male stereotypical behavior, such as an emphasis on physical strength, aggression, and sexuality.” These beliefs extend to the types of clothing black men are expected to wear. When they deviate from this norm, both their blackness and masculinity are called into question. Dressed up in a suit and tie or in Sperrys, khaki shorts, and a Vineyard Vines shirt, black men are often seen as trying to fit in with a whiter audience.

As per Hassan’s experience, New York City private schools often restrict what students wear by enforcing dress codes involving polo or button up shirts, khakis, and plain sneakers or shoes. For some young Black men in predominantly white spaces, they are often presented with an identity crisis between being their true selves or who their peers expect them to be. Hassan recounts:

“Throughout my nine years at Poly Prep Country Day School in Brooklyn, New York I became acquired to the preppy look and wore that style even when I was not at school. My style was deemed “not Black enough” by my African-American friends who played on my travel basketball team. Suddenly, I was caught between being comfortable in my “preppy” clothing at school and not being trendy enough anywhere else. Black men must always prescribe to the trends of Hip Hop or streetwear in order to maintain their identity. The prejudices that surround our clothing does not afford us the opportunities to dress “preppy” and still be trendy. I should be able to both wear a pink oxford shirt and cranberry corduroy dress pants and retain my African American identity. It should not be seen as a rejection of black culture to choose not to wear street clothes or typical hip-hop fashion.”

Black identity and masculinity should not be related to the appearance of black bodies, but instead the minds underneath them. Everyone has intersecting, fundamental identities that contribute to the complexities of human nature; therefore, we should aim to eliminate biases associated with a certain “type” of person, which includes the clothing they wear. Tyler the Creator’s most recent album Flower Boy depicted him on the cover surrounded by yellow daisies. The colors of the background were bright yellow and greens. Similarly, Cam’ron, a legendary Harlem rapper, has an infamous photo of him in a Pink Mink coat, wearing a Pink headphone and talking on a Pink phone. Together, the two rappers’ portrayal of themselves surrounded by feminine colors inspired Jeremy and me to not be afraid of wearing colors stereotypically reserved for women. Throughout this photoshoot the array of pinks, reds, greens, floral patterns and formal wear is representative of the rejection of the masculine Black men’s exclusive wardrobe of dark colors, streetwear, and hip-hop fashion.

Black men and the clothing they wear should not subscribe to expectations that are often flawed in judgement. Not all Black men are threatening criminals, League-bound athletes, or up-and-coming hip hop artists. Identities are dynamic—what it means to be African American or masculine can and should be allowed to find different expression in every Black man. It’s time to start acknowledging the diversity of Black men in America and the fluidity of Blackness and masculinity.

photography DEVON LITTERAL

models JEREMY BARNES & HASSAN FOLKS

fashion EMMA TANG

writing MAYA TERRY & HASSAN FOLKS