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Festivity and Flamboyance

Debbie says:

WisCon is over, and a wonderful time was (apparently) had by all, or almost all. WisCon is the world’s first feminist science fiction convention, and the social mores are very difficult to describe to anyone who hasn’t been there. People who know science fiction conventions are often puzzled by the feminism, and people who know feminist and other activist spaces don’t always understand what the science fiction community brings to the party. And I’m not going to try to unwrap any of that here.

Sunday night is a big event, with the guest of honor speeches and the Tiptree Awards. Science fiction conventions have long been dress-up spaces, and Sunday night at WisCon is the high point of dress-up for this group. What I wanted to do quickly was try and explain what I mean by “dress up” in this context. Just as some beaches and hot springs are “clothing optional” spaces, WisCon is a “flamboyance optional” space. A significant number of people wear their everyday jeans and t-shirts. Some people wear what we would call on the street “costume,” which could be from a movie or a TV show, or could be elaborate face paint … whatever. Generally, it is home-made or hand-done rather than store bought.

At least 50% of the folks, however, wear dress-up clothing: something silky, something sexy, something special. To understand that, you have to realize that that 50% crosses genders, ages, and body types. I didn’t see a man in an evening gown this year (though I did last year), but I saw a few men in skirts or sarongs, as well as at least one in a tux. One of our guests of honor spoke wearing a tight corset and a black wrap; the other was more modestly (but equally beautifully) dressed. Gray hair and finery are common companions. I brought a dress that looked sexy in the catalogue but looks mother-of-the-bride on me (in a pretty good way). I didn’t wear it, however, because one of our community’s finest clothing designers waylaid me with a multicolored shimmery garment (I’d call it a poncho, but it’s far too elegant for that hippie-sounding word) that slid over my black slacks and completely uninspired black turtleneck to turn me into something out of faerie; slip a beautiful handmade necklack by one of our community’s finest jewelers over it, and I felt extremely elegant. And a lot of people confirmed that with compliments.

In a culture where fat and/or middle-aged women are invisible, the importance of finery cannot be overstated. WisCon is a space where, whatever you look like, it’s okay to dress to be seen. And people will see you, and tell you what they see in the most admiring terms.

In the back of my mind lurk questions about why being seen is equated with being sexy, why we (I) feel better in silk and shimmer than in blue jeans. Laurie, as a professional jewelry-maker, has a lot to say about that, but she’s not here. Whatever the underlying cultural issues, though, I’m here to tell you that being around hundreds of women and men dressed in ways that make them feel visible, and getting props for their choices, is something special.

, , , , , Body Impolitic

6 Responses to “Festivity and Flamboyance”

  1. Mary Kay says:

    I think it’s partly that putting on special clothes marks an occasion as special, partly that pretty clothes just make one feel prettier than jeans because they’re prettier than jeans. And as my friend Kathleen Sloan says, “Being a science fiction fan means never having to say, ‘But where would I wear that?'”

    MKK

  2. Lynn Kendall says:

    You looked fabulous. Incidentally, that poncho might also work with the fluorite necklace. I’d be willing to lend it if you’d like.

  3. johanna says:

    I stumbled upon this post via Technorati, & just wanted to say that this exactly hits on one of the (many!) reasons I love WisCon so much. Thanks for putting it so eloquently.

  4. betsyl says:

    one of the things that i like about it is that nearly everyone at wiscon recognizes gender as performative. so i can go ahead and perform the gender that i save for dressup (that being slightly modified feminine), and a) people will tell me i look faboo, and b) people will recognize that i am performing it. it’s different from going to the opera wearing that same dress, even if people there tell me i look great, too.

  5. Piglet says:

    And you looked fabulous!!

    I brought lots of dress-up this time, and changed for every evening. Doing my part, as it were.

  6. Lizzie says:

    I’m a little surprised that you see this as a Wiscon thing – I remember people dressing up flamboyantly at Westercons and Worldcons when I was going, in the 70s. Somewhere I have pictures of myself in various costumish things I wore – some Edwardian vintage pieces, and a floorlength black taffeta gown that was inspired by some pictures in Vogue of a ball in Europe, that I wore with homemade platform shoes.

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