Posts tagged with "Non Binary"

LITTLEJOHN STYLE

This Man’s Brand is a collection inspired by the timelessness and ubiquity of denim, infused with a bold aesthetic. Sheers, netting, and vinyl are juxtaposed with poignant strapping details, color blocking, unexpected pockets, collars & cuffs. Provocative exposed zippers and subtle rhinestones complete the look. Each piece was handcrafted by the designer to unleash the hero or rockstar in you! Marc Littlejohn is a native Angeleno, who has been inspired by his international travels as well as the western films that are rooted in Hollywood.

ABOUT THE DESIGNER

Fashion Director and Star Designer Marc Littlejohn has over 20 years of experience in the fashion and entertainment industry. He clothed the following celebrities: Beyoncé, Vivica A. Fox, Eminem, Queen Latifah, Shemar Moore, Courteney Cox, Vanessa Williams, Snoop Dogg and Tyra Banks.

He attended the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising, where he obtained his degree in manufacturing management and fashion design. This is where he learned to be well-balanced in all aspects of fashion.

After working on Michael Jackson’s final tour, and later on Cher’s farewell tour, he extended his creative stream to include costume design and photography. At the helm of 360 MAGAZINE, he has stylized and photographed numerous artists including Steve Aoki, Jasmine V, and TYGA.

He has worked in costuming and styling for international ad campaigns for A&E Network, Lifetime, the CW, and lent his wardrobe talents to the fourth season of Netflix’s Narcos.

Marc continues to build on his multifaceted career in the fashion industry, allowing his skills and experience in these diverse disciplines to guide his creative vision.

Photos: Aaron Tyler

"I Wanna Be A Boy" single cover art via Leigh Greaney for use by 360 MAGAZINE

Addison Grace – “I Wanna Be A Boy”

Musician and TikTok phenomenon Addison Grace released their single, “I Wanna Be A Boy,” that discusses their own intimate tour with gender. Throughout writing the song and exploring what gender truly meant to them, Addison was able to discover their pronouns – he/they – and come out as nonbinary. Addison sings, “I guess I wanna be a boy,” coming full terms with this sincere and profound message.

Listen to “I Wanna Be A BoyHERE.

Addison pondered with never releasing the song past his own social media, but after posting it online and observing the feedback, he knew that it deserved an appropriate debut. While speaking with B Drop, Addison states, “I initially started writing it when I was questioning a lot of things about myself. I’m very open with how I identify online and I’ve always openly been a queer creator, queer musician, and at that time I was really not understanding how I identified with my gender and how I felt about it, and so it started off as a song about gender roles and how I was jealous of guys and how they got to have certain things I couldn’t have. With time, I realized it was very much me explaining — in song form — that I wasn’t a girl and that I was nonbinary instead.

“A lot of people ended up relating to the song. I had trans men relating to it saying “I’ve always felt like that.” I’ve had trans women being like “I used to deny I was a woman and I wanted to be a boy; I wanted to be “normal” — quote, unquote. I even had my friends who were born female and identify as female feel that way because they felt they were a tomboy and never fit in with the “girlie girls” so to speak.” He continues, “Even though, for me, it’s a song about gender identity and finding myself in that way, I think really at the core — it becomes a song about not understanding yourself and wishing so desperately that you could and it’s a very vulnerable song for that reason.”

The cover art for the piece showcases several images of Addison while they were growing up, at different time periods. He talks about this, saying, “I feel like a lot of my work recently has been about growing up and about those awkward moments in your life, so for this song, I wanted it to be a collage of my face growing up. I didn’t want it to be something someone had drawn. I wanted it to be realistic so I searched through a bunch of scrapbooks and I found pictures of two-year old me, 10-year old me, 15-year old me and a picture of me from last year and we ended up crafting it all together because I’ve always loved the idea of putting photos together and it makes something else. I wanted to put stickers and all that because when you’re finding yourself, it feels like these weird puzzle that don’t fit quite right, so I wanted it to look slightly off… I really love it and it feels really nostalgic to me.”

The journey of coming out as non-binary for Addison was a difficult road and is something that he aims to inspire others with. They strive to empower individuals with the power to live their own lives as genuinely as possible. Through sharing his own journey, Addison nurtures the idea that gender identity is a voyage that they went on and hope that others can embark on as well.

More about Addison Grace

With an outstanding 3.8 million followers on TikTok, almost 400k followers on Instagram and close to 200k YouTube subscribers, Addison Grace become an online sensation through hard work and dedication. He began his journey online with an iPhone 6 and a dream, often encouraging his own audiences to follow their dreams despite their situations. Addison stands as waterproof that anyone can become an artist if they’re dedicated to the craft, stating, “You’re enough and what you’re doing is enough.”

As an activist for the LGBTQIA+ community, upcoming artists and mental health, Addison is known for disclosing his own individual experiences living with ADHD. He makes sure to communicate to his fanbases that “normal” is a made-up concept, and that the truth is very real. They transmit the importance of the truth with “I Wanna Be A Boy,” which you can stream everywhere now.

Art Exhibition illustration by Heather Skovlund for 360 Magazine

LA Art Show

The LA Art Show returns July 29th – August 1st. They’re not unaware that they aren’t considered the “cool kids” in the landscape of art fairs in LA, but they are the oldest (26 years) and frankly, the most popular with 60k visitors per year. Obviously this will be a different year but with their new director, Kassandra Voyagis and a primarily female team we have made a hard focus on what’s now.

The future is now.

Vellum LA, the first physical gallery for NFT-backed digital art in Los Angeles opens on Melrose Ave in September, and is presenting a world first major art fair NFT exhibition at the LA Art Show.

Titled Sea Change, the exhibit was created with top NFT marketplace SuperRare (also an official partner of the fair, their first), and curated by Nxt Museum curator Jesse Damiani with Vellum LA curator Sinziana Velicescu. It will also be the first public appearance of a brand new technology for displaying digital artworks in the real world, built by award-winning StandardVision.

Importantly, this first-of-its-kind show features only women and non-binary artists.

Artist List

Claudia HartAuriea HarveyKrista KimMarjan MoghaddamItzel Yard (Ix Shells)Blake KathrynNicole RuggieroSam Clover (PLANTTDADDII)Sabrina Ratté and more.

Each NFT at Vellum LA’s inaugural Sea Change Exhibition will be showcased on Luma Canvas displays, developed by Vellum LA’s technology partner Standard Vision to be the first ever collector digital art displays. Luma Canvas offers a museum-grade LED display ideal for digital art and NFTs, available in a variety of sizes for different viewing environments and artwork types. The Luma Canvas software allows owners to automatically upload their NFT collection directly onto Luma Canvas displays, which boast vivid, three dimensional qualities optimal for presenting digital works in a physical way.

LA Art Show will be one of the first major art fairs to hold live NFTs on the floor.

DIVERSEartLA

Curator Marisa Caichiolo returns with a focus on the presence, contributions, research and documentation of women and non-binary artists at the forefront of work at the intersection of art, science and technology represented by guests Museums and Institutions.

San Marcos Museum of Art (MASM) from Lima, Perú, which will bring a new media project by Peruvian artist Angie Bonino. “The Symphony Of Now,” consists of a video installation, and interactive sound installation focusing on the Andean techno de-colonial shamanism.

Museum La Neomudejar from Madrid is bringing DATA | ergo sum RELOADED by artist Ana Marcos, an interactive art installation that visualizes the capability of viewing machines using artificial intelligence to extract data by a simple observation of visitors.

Art Museum of the Americas (AMA) has joined with a special project curated by Fabian Goncálves, that will feature a compilation of material and an exhibition of the work of women artists who have played a central role in the development of new media practices throughout history and women and non-binary people whose forward-thinking practices are currently reshaping the field.

UCLA Chicano Studies Research Center is bringing a special project curated by Chon Noriega titled Immersive Distancing by LA-based artists Carmen Argote and Zeynep Abes, which will examine recent media art produced during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Now Art LA and Building Bridges Art Exchange have joined forces as local non-profit organizations to exhibit the work Agua by Luciana Abait, a video projection created as part of LUMINEX Project by Now Art LA. This work is inspired by the flood-myth motif that occurs in many cultures, in which water acts a healing and rebirth tool, often referencing ideas of creation, purification, and sustaining life. The projected FLOOD will run down the main aisle of the LA Art Show.

The most unconventional and anticipated contribution to the section is Tiffany Trenda, a multidisciplinary performance artist, known for exploring the relationship of the female body to today’s ever-changing technologies.

Galleries

While we won’t have as many international galleries, we have managed to bring together a fantastic roster of galleries that celebrate the experimental vibe that is LA.

2021 brings legendary LA galleries: Track-16 (first fair) and Coagula Curatorial. Plus 14 year-old wonder kid and LA native, Tex Hammond exhibits at his first fair under Acosta Arts.

Returning: Arcadia Contemporary, Caldwell Snyder Gallery, Simard Bilodeau Contemporary, and Rebecca Hossack Art Gallery from London for the lineup of Modern + Contemporary.

The show will once again have an international presence with the Pigment Gallery returning from Spain, In The Gallery returning from Denmark, Gallery KITAI from Japan, and exploring new territory, the Spaceless Gallery based in Paris and operating through a circuit of innovative pop-up locations all over the world, looks beyond the walls of a traditional white cube space to provide an ever-changing experience for both our artists and audience. The gallery’s nomadic nature ties in with its decentralized art programs that aim to establish fresh dialogues between the exhibition venue, the works and the viewer integrating all art forms, including music and performance art.

Transgender illustration by Heather Skovlund (Original Photo Credit: Pixabay) for 360 Magazine

Parents Open Letter to Lawmakers

1,500+ Parents of Transgender, Non-Binary, and Gender-Expansive Youth Condemn Anti-Trans Bills in Open Letter to Lawmakers

More than 1,500 parents of transgender, non-binary, and gender-expansive youth — from all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico — signed a letter imploring elected officials to oppose anti-transgender bills under consideration in state legislatures across the country.  

The letter — organized by the Human Rights Campaign’s Parents for Transgender Equality National Council — was sent to elected officials Monday morning.

The letter comes in response to a fast and furious effort led by national groups aiming to stymie LGBTQ progress made on the national level and in many states. There are currently more than 200 anti-LGBTQ bills under consideration in state legislatures across the country. Of these discriminatory bills, 106 directly target transgender people, including efforts to ban transgender girls and women from participating in sports consistent with their gender identity and prohibit evidence-based, life-saving health care for transgender youth.

“Transgender kids all across the country are listening to what you say and watching what you do. The act of writing bills like this, holding hearings, and later casting votes sends a direct message to them: ‘You aren’t real to us. We don’t believe you when you tell us who you are. Your existence is dangerous to the other kids around you. We are okay if you feel lonely, isolated, and unwelcome. We are willing to take away even the smallest concessions that have been made for you because we have power and you don’t,’” the parents wrote. “Transgender folks are so tired, tired of fighting for their existence. And parents like us are tired of begging you to see our kids and treat them as full and equal members of society.”

“Transgender children are children. They deserve the ability to play organized sports and have access to medically necessary care, just like all children. These bills are cruel — and parents are not going to be silent when elected officials attack their children through discriminatory legislation,” said Human Rights Campaign President Alphonso David. “Transgender, non-binary, and gender-expansive youth impacted by these bills are among the most vulnerable to experience depression and engage in self-harm, including suicide. Legislators must realize the seriousness of this issue and remember that they were elected to lead — not call into question whether certain children have the right to exist, to be happy, or to live authentically.”

“As a trans person, I know what it means to have lawmakers try to write me out of existence — imagine being a trans child trying to cope with this reality. There is a coordinated attack on transgender, non-binary, and gender-expansive youth being waged in state legislatures across the country and it is having a devastating impact on the mental health of kids, who just want to be kids,” said Jay Brown, Senior Vice President, HRC Programs, Research & Training. “Parents will not back down when it comes to protecting their children, and they will not tolerate their elected officials using their positions of power to harm and further oppress them. We will never give up hope that if people — including elected officials — hear from people at the center of the policy debate, and their loved ones, that their hearts will open, and their minds will change.”

The full letter is below.

April 12, 2021

Dear Elected Officials,

Many of you are sponsoring, co-sponsoring, or considering voting for legislation that would force transgender children to participate in sports based on a letter on their birth certificate rather than who they are – or not participate at all. Some of you are also sponsoring, co-sponsoring, or considering voting for bills that would criminalize best-practice, evidence-based, life-saving health care that transgender youth need (and deserve!) to thrive. 

Parents of transgender, non-binary, and gender-expansive youth like us have called you, sent you emails, and have showed up in the midst of a global pandemic to testify about how devastating these bills are…not only if or when they pass and become law, but also right now because, by whipping up a firestorm of attacks on our kids, they have already caused damage to our families.

Parenting during a pandemic is hard enough. The fact that these bills exist at all—that the lives of our children are up for debate in any state in this nation—adds a layer of worry to an already fraught time. Let’s be clear: the impact of these bills goes far beyond sports and medical care; they call into question whether our children have the right to exist, to be happy, to live authentically. The answer is yes. They absolutely do.

We have shared studies with you explaining that trans youth are more susceptible to struggle with anxiety or depression, not because they are transgender but because of stigma and discrimination. You have heard that being able to participate in sports and being on a team with friends and classmates can improve their mental health. You have heard adolescents tell you how afraid they are of experiencing the wrong puberty or how terrified teenagers are of having their medically-prescribed hormones denied to them. 

This isn’t the first time. We tried telling you all of this a year ago before the pandemic thankfully cut many legislative sessions short and these bills floundered. After hearing some of these concerns last year, a senator in Missouri was quoted dismissively saying “We can’t be responsible for everyone’s mental health.”

We are pointedly telling you now that you actually are responsible for the mental health of these kids. We are holding you personally responsible for the amount of stress, anxiety, and fear our precious children are currently struggling with. We are holding you responsible for how some of our children are crying themselves to sleep every night, asking why so many people hate trans kids and want them to suffer. You are the reason they are asking to move somewhere where they will be protected, because their home doesn’t feel safe anymore with you in charge of creating its laws.

You were elected to your positions to lead. And leaders understand that in our great but imperfect system of government, we favor the concept of “majority rule, minority rights.” Leaders do not use their positions of power to harm and further oppress a struggling and hurting minority.

Transgender kids all across the country are listening to what you say and watching what you do. The act of writing bills like this, holding hearings, and later casting votes sends a direct message to them: “You aren’t real to us. We don’t believe you when you tell us who you are. Your existence is dangerous to the other kids around you. We are okay if you feel lonely, isolated, and unwelcome. We are willing to take away even the smallest concessions that have been made for you because we have power, and you don’t.”

Transgender folks are so tired, tired of fighting for their existence. And parents like us are tired of begging you to see our kids and treat them as full and equal members of society. 

Here is a powerful quote from Nomi Ruiz, a Puerto Rican trans woman, artist and performer, that we’d like you to take time to think about…

“The outside world will never truly understand the magnitude of the trans experience, especially that of a child who has an undying need to live in truth despite being ostracized for it. The only way for trans children to thrive is to allow them to live freely in the face of a society that abuses them for it.”

Stop abusing our kids by creating legislation that targets them. Kill these bills now and leave our kids alone.

Justifiably angry,

Parents of Transgender, Non-Binary, and Gender-Expansive Youth

Rita Azar Illustrates an Entertainment Article for 360 MAGAZINE

Nielsen’s 2020 TV Inclusion Report

We’re excited to share with you Nielsen’s latest Diverse Intelligence Series report: Being Seen on Screen: Diverse Representation and Inclusion on TV.  In the current day and age, visibility on screen is more powerful than ever. Through Nielsen’s latest report, the clear facts about representation on television are laid out in a clear and coherent way for interested parties.

This is Nielsen’s first ever report that measures the television media landscape’s progress and gaps in on-screen inclusion. The report reviews a variety of underrepresented groups in TV, including women, people of color and LGBTQ+ folks.

Some major takeaways from the report:

  • Hispanic/Latinx women are consistently and significantly less represented across all platforms
  • Across all TV, Native Americans’ share of screen is less that one quarter of their presence in population estimates
  • Of the top 300 programs across broadcast, cable and SVOD, only 2.3% have non-binary representation

From these takeaways, it is clear that although television has moved in a direction of representation, there is still plenty of progress to be made. If Nielsen continues to report this information yearly, it will be interesting to track these developments over time.

You can download the full report and learn more here: nielsen.com/inclusionanalytics

Sam Smith illustration done by Mina Tocalini of 360 MAGAZINE.

Sam Smith – My Oasis

Sam Smith and Burna Boy join forces on Smith’s new track “My Oasis,” out now via Capitol Records. “My Oasis” marks the start of a new chapter for Smith who has to date sold over 25 million adjusted albums worldwide. Born from a mutual respect for one another, Smith and Burna Boy made this cross-continent collaboration happen over the last few months and the result is a brilliant song of love lost and longing, intertwining their distinctive vocals. Stream “My Oasis” HERE.

This track has been a beautiful release of emotions for me during this time, says Smith who wrote the track with Jimmy Napes and Burna Boy. I’ve been a fan of Burna Boy for years now and am so happy to have a tune with him.

Since the release of their 2014 debut album, In The Lonely Hour, Smith has sold over 25 million adjusted albums worldwide. They have won four GRAMMY Awards, an Oscar, a Golden Globe and three BRIT Awards. Smith’s sophomore album, The Thrill Of It All, debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 in 2017 and also topped the charts in the U.K., Ireland, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden, the Netherlands and Belgium. Awarded four stars by Rolling Stone, the album included the hit single “Too Good At Goodbyes,” which recently became Smith’s second song to receive over a billion streams on Spotify, after “Stay With Me.”

In the course of the last year, Smith has released a quartet of smash singles. The chart-topping collaboration with Normani, “Dancing with a Stranger” has sold more than 13 million units and racked up over 2.5 billion streams worldwide. It was followed by “How Do You Sleep?,” which has amassed over 8 million units and 1.5 billion global streams. “To Die For,” released along with its accompanying video on Valentine’s Day, has surpassed 35 million video views and the powerful and unabashed slice of pop perfection, “I’m Ready” with Demi Lovato will appear on Smith’s forthcoming third studio album.

Follow Sam Smith: Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | YouTube

Follow Burna Boy: Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | YouTube

Illustration, 360 magazine, sara sandman

Glitter Up the Dark: How Pop Music Broke the Binary

Glitter Up the Dark: How Pop Music Broke the Binary

A sharp, insightful, wide-ranging survey of the queerness coursing through pop music history, Sasha Geffen’s first book shows how music allows rigid gender roles to fall away in a sensual and ambiguous exchange between performer and listener.

Starting with early blues and the Beatles and continuing with performers such as David Bowie, Prince, Missy Elliot, and Frank Ocean, Geffen explores how artists have used music, fashion, language, and technology to break out of the confines mandated by gender essentialism and establish the voice as the primary expression of gender transgression. From glam rock and punk to disco, techno, and hip-hop, music helped set the stage for today’s conversations about trans rights and recognition of nonbinary and third-gender identities. Glitter Up the Dark takes a long look back at the path that led here.

Glitter Up the Dark Playlist

Praise for GLITTER UP THE DARK

“[Glitter Up the Dark] is a unique examination of gender fluidity and queerness across genres of popular music; a must-read for music lovers.”—Ms. Magazine

“Fortunately, there are progressive art objects. There are transgressive art objects. But every now and then, we get revolutionary art objects that change how we talk, read, and think. Sasha Geffen’s Glitter Up the Dark changed the way I hear music and the convenient way I understand gender and performance in and outside of music. One will not hear or reproduce traditional understandings of gender ever again after experiencing this boldly brilliant book.”—Kiese Laymon, author of Heavy

“With simply brilliant writing and joyfully queer insights, Sasha Geffen dives deep into rock’s gendersmashing history, reminding us of the ecstatic potential when art and transgression collide.”—Michelle Tea, author of Against Memoir and creator of the Drag Queen Story Hour

“How does music make gender audible in all of its rich, expressive, shifting forms, far beyond binary definitions? How have artists as ubiquitous as the Beatles and as cult-yet-crucial as Poly Styrene or Wendy Carlos helped us hear and understand the truths of bodies who, as the author writes, demand to choose their own shapes? This scintillating and deeply considered history of pop’s queer and trans history answers those questions with inspiring stories of rebellion and community, bratty punks and androgynous poets, studio inventors and prophets of the dance floor. An absolutely necessary account of what has always been the heart of popular music: transformation.”—Ann Powers, author of Good Booty

“Sasha Geffen follows the glamour and the glitter across a musical universe of queer and trans performances. Not looking simply at particular stars nor following a musical movement like punk from its roots to its demise, Glitter Up the Dark travels the multiple lanes of a trans-musical express. With riffs on the trans voice, careful attention to histories of performance, reception, and fashion, and theories of queer time and space, this book sparkles and glows. Read it, listen to it, love it.”—Jack Halberstam, author of Gaga Feminism

$18.95 paperback
978-1-4773-1878-2

PUBLICATION DATE:
APRIL 7, 2020