Avow addresses gender norms in society and explores how the chest binder can be an active asset in the process of limiting gender dysphoria whilst simultaneously challenging the existing chest binders in an innovative and subversive way.
I call this project Avow as I have been working with gender-affirming clothing for the gender-diverse person assigned female at birth, mainly focusing on the practice of chest binding and the chest as an identity marker.
The chest is a gender indicator since most people tend to view a fuller chest as an indicator of the female gender. Suppose the person assigned female at birth does not align their gender identity with having a chest. In that case, they can experience body and gender dysphoria, limiting their quality of life. The chest binder can be a tool to limit the dysphoric feeling and, in some cases, be a tool to reach a euphoric state of mind.
Throughout the project, I have worked strategically together with the target group of gender-diverse people who were assigned females at birth through surveys, workshops, and interviews to create four binders that challenge the existing chest binder.
Furthermore, this project has worked as a starting point for a start-up company that I am creating in collaboration with my close friend Askild Fenix Emillian Rosenstand.
