Best of Qwear Awards 2018
At the end of every calendar year, Qwear is humbled to honor our contributors and guests with awards in writing, photography, activism, style, and make up.
This is our way of thanking people who went above and beyond, providing extraordinary work that assists Qwear in our mission to expand LGBTQIA+ visual representation.
Note: This year, we’ve changed the “quotes” category to “writing” and the “outfits” category to “style.”
Writing
"I am my name.
No one cares when you're Black.
It's not enough.
Being Black is always less.
Be less, worth less,
Being Black is always more.
Pay more, try more, be more, do more —
Than the person next to you."
— I Am My Name: An Amalgamated Retort to the Years of "Not Racist" People
"Purple sari clad caught by the moonlight, it illuminates the meaning of our last name. I know I am not that beautiful brown-skinned boy you always wanted, but I am your grandchild of mixed-race decent adorned in the bangles and bindis you used to wear."
— Touching Across Time: A Coming Out Letter to My Indian Grandmother
"See, I don’t want my curls to be something you can stomach, another vaguely ethnic dish for white eyes to consume.
"My curls are something your combs cannot tame, your brushes cannot beat back, your razors cannot cut down.
"My curls are twisted and kinky and they like to play rough."
Photography
Brian Hart
Model: Maria Carter
Stylist: Madison Cashman
Assistant: Eric Bell
Gra Photography
Models: Alysse Dalessandro and Giovonni Santiago
Hair: Sarah Delaine
Makeup: Erin Thomas
Ready to Stare at these AMAZING Engagement Photos?!
Activism
"We are a nation built off the backs of slaves. We are a country that does not honor their names — hell, we rarely gave them that basic human right. We ignore our history while repeating it every fucking day. Slavery is over? Look at our prison system, which houses 22% of the worlds' prisoners. No more Jim Crow? Consider the amount of POC who can’t vote because they have criminal records, or have the misfortune of living in heavily gerrymandered districts."
"When we see representations of queer fashion in the media, we still see mostly thin bodies. This lack of visibility not only doesn’t paint a clear picture of the LGBTQIA+ community, but it isolates plus-size babes who want to see someone who looks like them represented in queer fashion."
— Qwear Crushes: 30 LGBTQIA+ Babes Proving Fashion Has No Size
"We still live in a white supremacist, racist, patriarchal, transphobic, and homophobic society. But amidst that, I hope little Black girls and queers can see me, see Shanel and her dope ass style, and see the way she captured me and so many others, and the way I capture my subjects as a photographer. They can look at us, those who we give homage to, and so many others, and smile, the way we needed to back then."
Raina Esperanza
"Please don’t let the fatigue around our rape-obsessed culture and triggering news destroy your willingness to fight for a better culture of consent in the queer community, and please don’t forget that the battle begins at home. Femmes, queer folks, and nonbinary folks, we’re counting on you to define masculinity in a way that doesn’t define strength within a framework of assault, control, coercion, and rape."
— What Do We Do Next? One Queer Femme’s Perspective on the Kavanaugh Hearing
Style
Make Up
Kanda & Rayna Thomas
Model: Kanda
Make up: Rayna Thomas
MLR Artist Management
📸 Jaypix
Model: Lia
Backstage at our Legendary Children fashion show
Thanks for a great year!
When we work together we achieve amazing things.
Join us in the fight for LGBTQIA+ Liberation!
