Translated by: Isabel Guarache (@isagbeauty)

Resistance refers to those actions exercised with the aim of standing against or standing firm on an idea or thought. This word is so strong and powerful, generally related to great mobilizations, marches and fights. 

Demonstration for women’s liberation in New York on August 26, 1970. 

Source: Huffpost

 

However, throughout history there has been a type of resistance that has been imperceptible but powerful, which is rarely spoken of. According to anthropologist James C. Scott, these are everyday forms of resistance. With this concept, he enlightens us to see and recognize those insignificant, individual, and sometimes covert and not-so-flashy acts that manifest in our day-to-day practices. It is a form of passive disobedience endowed with intentions, values, and purposes that, although they do not make headlines, when multiplied by a thousand, they can generate change and be more effective than direct confrontations. 

 

This way, fashion understood as a way to transmit a social feeling in a particular historical moment, allows us to understand how the individual, insignificant, and everyday act of dressing and adorning our bodies can be a vehicle for struggle and resistance. 

 

(photo)

Garments made by Dos Latinas. Made for the purpose of transmitting a message and allocate profits to workshops in rural areas of Mexico and Colombia.

Source: Cartel Urbano 

 

A clear example of this is the use of braids by the population of African slaves during the transatlantic slave trade. Through the braids, messages were transmitted and maps were created that indicated the escape routes that allowed them to escape from their captors, being a discreet and easy way of disguise. Additionally, seeds were hidden so that freed slaves could farm and survive.

 

Escape maps hidden in braids, used by African slaves.

Source: Afrofeminas.

 

Every day, we continuously choose the way in which we present ourselves to the world and the way we want to be perceived by others, these being political and resistance acts that communicate and transmit messages to our environment. 

That is way choosing to buy sustainable brands, following brands that lean towards fair trade, choosing a garment based on its color, print, or silhouette, wearing an accessory like a scarf or a pin, and even keeping our roots alive through clothing are everyday actions that may seem insignificant and imperceptible at first glance, but they have a social impact and contribute to producing social changes. 

 

References.

 

-SCOTT, James (2014). “Normal exploitation, normal resistance.” In: International Relations, number 26, June 2014 – September 2014, International Relations Study Group (GERI) – UAM, pp. 85-105.

-Sharma, Chirali (2018). “When black women hid escape maps from slavery in their hairstyles.” In Afrofeminas. Retrieved from https://afrofeminas.com/2019/06/17/when-las-mujeres-negras-ocultaban-los-mapas-de-escape-de-la-esclavitud-en-sus-peinados/