15 1. Lesbian Activism and Crafted Fashion Eleanor Medhurst The clothing culture of lesbian activism is intrinsically tied to craft. When fashion meets activism, its most common goal is to make an impact or leave a message – and what better way to make a garment stand out than by emblazoning a statement across it? Now, in the twenty-first century, online brands and on-demand printing mean that it is easier than ever to buy and wear a t-shirt printed with words like ‘dyke’, or less specific messages like ‘girls girls girls’. This was not always the case. For lesbian activists from the 1970s through to the early 2000s, to wear their identity, poli- tics, group affiliation, or event participation on their bodies, they would have to take the matter quite literally into their own hands. Crafted or customized fashion in the landscape of lesbian activism takes many forms, but the most typical include t-shirts, badges, and knitwear. While occasionally garments like t-shirts or badges would be semi-mass-produced, perhaps by a lesbian organi- zation, event, or publication, these ready-made examples were more likely to show affiliation with a group rather than a general lesbian identity or ideology (Burkhardt 2017: n.pag.). As such, it is under- standable that some individuals or small groups chose to handcraft or customize their clothing with their own messages and designs. Forms of craft, things that are handmade (often for practical use), have always been devalued when it comes to the skill and intent put into them. The hierarchy of art over craft is rooted in class and gender, where anything made by a working-class person or a woman is intrinsically lesser. The political and artistic significance of crafted items, but especially those forms done largely by women,