Our Generation is a movement for social change led by minorities. Each individual uses their cultural identity to empower each other to become great leaders and inspire change.

We are not born socially aware, we learn to adapt to the ideologies around us. Our Generation’s  ideology stands apart by recognizing the complexity and intersectionality of an individual’s identity and fights the idea of boxes surrounding heteronormativity, cisnormativity, and Eurocentric ideas. Our Generation embraces Queer, Trans, Black, Brown, Femme, and so much more. We represent our social consciousness in many forms from writing, speaking, thinking, reading, and even to what we wear.

Clothing brands like KIDDBELL contribute to the culture of socially aware merchandise by focusing on being a charitable, ethical, and sustainable brand. Their merchandise, specifically their clothing, reflects the awareness people have and allows for people to represent their views on their clothing. One shirt contains the following message: “Pro Black, Pro Brown, Pro Queer, Pro Trans, Pro Science, Pro Choice, and Pro Hoe.”

People are born with diverse identities and some are what we choose. The shirt advocates for those mentioned. “It is important to remember that our differences make us powerful and it’s the autonomy and uniqueness we should work to preserve and create within society,” states DAMchic model and Oregon State student Aja Rayburn.  

Another element to the brand KIDDBELL is advocating for gender neutral clothing.  Gender neutral clothing is important because it creates space for an identity to represent itself. There are also other perspectives when it comes to gender neutral clothing. For instance, Natan Gonzalez Bartolo, non-binary identifying community member explains,  “For some Trans Folx they want to feel more masculine and/or more feminine and by being cisnormative they are stereotyping that everyone wants to look androgynous which isn’t always the case.” Our Generation recognizes that the need for each identity to have space to express themselves is important.

Having the accessibility to be expressively free sends a positive message to those around us. In some societies, not everyone is able to wear what they choose. Reagan Slater, queer identifying community member speaks to this by saying that “to be able to have a voice is important especially since the platform that we express ourselves on is within our community and online, it’s really important for people to know what you stand for.”

Our Generation is so much more than what we choose to wear. Our Generation is a movement, a wave of young socially aware adults. Front and center of this movement is Queer Folx, People of Color, and Women. These minorities represent the majority of the social change that is happening throughout the United States today. As minorities we need to take advantage of every platform that comes our way. We cannot sit back and watch, or this progress will not continue. We need to empower each other and in order to create this culture of change. Our culture is what makes us leaders, it is what makes us, us. This is: Our Generation.