This Great Big Story was made possible by P&G.
Love Over Bias
- The beach is not a very safe space.
Anyone can relate to feeling uncomfortable on the beach.
Men, women, queer, otherwise.
And it's also a very gendered space,
like the moment you put your toes in the sand
you know it and you feel it
and you know that you have to kind of
pick one side of the spectrum.
Either you're more on the masculine side
or you're more on the feminine side.
What does that do for everyone that
doesn't exist on one clear side or the other?
(upbeat music)
(cool music)
I am Ari Fitz,
and I run a fashion project called Tomboyish.
It in so many ways aims
to tackle the way that we see beauty
and the way that we see masculinity and femininity.
A couple years ago, I really started to balance
my own masculinity and femininity,
and I felt really good, and I felt like myself.
I wanted to help other people get there too.
To me, getting dressed in the morning
is kind of like putting on my suit of armor.
As a queer person,
as a woman, as a person of color,
I feel like there are so many things
in this world that wants to silence us,
silence me, minimize me,
and minimize my experience in this world.
What we choose to wear signifies that
we are here, we are present,
and we're not going to be silenced,
we're not going anywhere.
'Sup, Ben?
Hey!
So the project I'm working on is a really dope,
super hot lookbook that features all things
swimwear for those who don't exist
on the hyper masculine side or
the hyper feminine side, like myself.
Because I know what it feels like
to step out on a beach and not feel confident.
We have to get creative.
We have to find items that most of the time
you wouldn't really think are like swimwear
or beachwear pieces,
and we have to make them ours.
Swim vests,
also bodysuits.
And then from there, just accessorize.
(shouting and laughing)
It's a beach.
It's meant to be fun, it's meant to be light,
it's summer.
The stress and the trauma that people experience
when they go to a beach is just like,
it's so unnecessary.
The more I can do to just get that out of the way
and make the beach fun again,
that means that my job is done.
Do you, boo, just rock it!
Just make sure you're like,
rocking it with like, you know,
some confidence, and you got it.
(cool music)
(chime)