Legendary Children

The 21st century: A time where queer identity has never been more accepted, present, and even celebrated. Looking back, it was not too long ago that being anything but heterosexual was frowned upon. Queer people often had to hide their ways of self-expression in order to not be scrutinized by society. Stepping outside of the box in the later 20th century, celebrities started showing a little more of their queer identity. Think about icons who identified as gay, such as David Bowie, Elton John, or Freddie Mercury. They wore pieces and styled themselves in a way much different than others. Though many people were against their looks, the stars stayed true to themselves and refrained from conforming with society’s perspective. Coming back to present day, the queer community continues to create these personas, looks, or styles more than ever before.

To start, nineteen year old Carlos Jaymz DeJesus living in Chicago, Illinois is a recent graduate from Douglas J. Aveda Institute. Growing up in a small Indiana town, he expressed himself in things like theater and doing his friend’s and family member’s makeup. DeJesus found himself wanting to try things such as drag or simply wearing makeup in public, but it was hard living in such a small, narrow- minded town.

“Different types of people in the LGBTQ+ community express their own individuality in different ways,” DeJesus said. Finally breaking free from his hometown, DeJesus was able to fully embrace his identity and express himself in arts and beauty more than ever before. As someone who has loved fashion and beauty from a young age, it was no surprise when DeJesus decided to become a cosmetologist.

“The beauty and fashion industry to me is something that influences my everyday life,” DeJesus said. “I can express myself through makeup, hair styling, and editorial work.”

DeJesus explains that his style icons are Ariana Grande, Troye Sivan, and Billy Porter. His mother, Maegan DeJesus, is a huge inspiration, as well.

The young cosmetologist has created his own style that incorporates all of these influencers, “My fashion and style defines who I am,” DeJesus said. “I’ve always found myself to dress more formal and playful, I like to take pride in my style to make me feel like a boss ass bitch.”

DeJesus stated that the LGBTQ+ community certainly impacts fashion. “We can demand equality and change through our style choices,” DeJesus said. “There is more gender fluidity in this society now than ever, blending the line between men’s and women’s clothing.”

model from Indianapolis, Indiana. The young woman spends a large amount of her time traveling across the country for meetings and shoots with agencies such as Mother Model, IMG NYC, and Nomad LA. Though Sophia is heavily invested in her work, she is also extremely passionate about fashion, the LGBTQ+ community, and ultimately, owning her identity. “I‘m Yanna, a lesbian, gender ambiguous model,” Sophia said. “I identify as genderqueer seeing as I’m constantly playing with identity and I use she/they pronouns interchangeably, and am honestly comfortable with any.”

For as long as she could remember, Prince has always been one of her biggest style icons. She described his style as “timeless and ever-inspiring” and pays homage to the musician with her multiple pairs of third eye sunglasses,

which he was seen wearing for several events. Along with the glasses, Sophia also favors her vintage blouses, animal prints, leather pieces, and rainbow accents.

“I’ve always loved leather and the power it seems to hold, especially when I’m wearing it,” Sophia said. “Leather has strong roots in gay history, and I feel like wearing it so over-the-top-ly is the greatest way to embody the energy of and pay homage to that. I love tiny rainbow things and accents as a tell to other queers who see me out in public, but I think that everything about how I present myself does that job anyway.does that job anyway.

Growing up, Sophia was intimidated when people would stare and felt uncomfort--able when she would turn heads.

As she became more confident, the eighteen year old found complete comfort in her own skin and is unapologetically herself.

“I remember when I first started dressing myself exactly how I wanted to and going out and it was one of the most empowering experiences of my life,” Sophia said. “This coincides with me also cutting all of my hair off, and going from having hair long and flowing down my back to a freshly shaved head, which brought me a newfound confidence and comfort in my identity. I enjoy and revel in the ability to spark curiosity in others, to maybe even make them look deeper in themselves. Or maybe to just laugh or give a weird look.”

The eighteen year old admits that fash- ion impacts the queer community in many powerful ways. She explained that for many LGBTQ+ people, fashion and getting dressed up is the first time they feel like they can tru- ly express themselves, or the first time they truly can look in the mirror and really see themselves for who they know themselves to be on the inside. Sophia explains that fashion is so deeply rooted in the LGBTQ+ culture and history and queer.

“Fashion has only brought me closer to my LGBTQ+ family, as we all live to pull a look and many of us share the same passion for it,” Sophia said. “Queer fashion is revolu- tionary and it is also survival. It’s a story and a language. Queer fashion can truly be any- thing you want it to be, and along the way it teaches you that you can be too.”

Rachael Moore