The style icon is on a mission to dismantle stereotypes
BY NIC CROSARA, IMAGE PROVIDED BY ALLISON GRAHAM
Allison Graham (aka @shedoeshim) joins our Zoom call from her trip to the Caribbean. The Jamaican-born and Brooklyn-based style icon is surrounded by dogs and her ‘fit is serving dapper beach vibes. She talks to me about being a masculine-presenting woman on a mission.
A digital creator and fashion innovator, she’s the driving force behind the trailblazing campaign Masculinity Is Not A Gender and the founder of the clothing brand She Does Him. As if that wasn’t awesome enough, Allison is committed to utilising her platform to dismantle stereotypes that surround Black and LGBTQIA folks.
DIVA: I love what you do with your platform. Can you tell me a bit more about what it was like growing up in Jamaica?
Allison: It was interesting [laughs]. I always felt protected in some spaces and my family was very protective of me, allowing me to be very verbal with who I was. And it was fun breaking the norm in Jamaica. But it was also very interesting because there are so many queer folks in Jamaica who knew who they were but were still battling those spaces because of how conservative Jamaica is.
Can you tell me about the moment you knew you wanted to start She Does Him?
I came to America when I was 15 and I’ve been exploring my identity since. I had more of a liberation in America to be able to experience that outside of Jamaica. I started wearing my dad’s clothes which then instilled the want and the need to seek confidence in myself dressing as a masculine-presenting woman. At that moment I just felt the urge to start taking pictures and posting them on Instagram. Initially, it was just the need to build my own confidence and then I realised how many people I could relate to in that aspect. So I felt like it was very important to keep that space and maintain that space. To help others.
Do you remember how it felt when you first expressed yourself in public in a masculine-presenting way?
I have a best friend whose uncle bought me a men’s sweatsuit for Christmas and I got to wear it out with her. It was the most joyful moment that I’ve ever had. It really pushed the journey of me wanting to explore that side. And it was so comfortable and so me.
Shop for your She Does Him apparel at shedoeshim.com.
Follow @shedoeshim and @masculinityisnotagender.
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