[Today’s donation was made to Black Transmen since Black Coalition of AIDS‘s website hasn’t been working for a while. Click here to see my Pride & Joy Project 2020 Daily Donations List.]
Some researchers believe our affinity for glossy and sparkly things is caused by our constant need for water. Glitter and gloss are also associated with luxury and wealth, like diamonds, precious metals, and gleaming fast cars. I always think night cityscapes are magical because the lights sparkle like glitter and at the same time, the darkness hides all the imperfections and ugliness of the city.
Glitter has its own place in the LGBTQ community. Its function has evolved from merely in make-up, to religion (such as Glitter + Ash where churches mark parishioners with glitter-infused ash on Ash Wednesday) and politics (with villains like Newt Gingrich and Michele Bachman being glitter-bombed by the Glitterati). And who can forget the iconic ruby slippers in the positively queer Wizard of Oz?
These shoes hold a special place in my heart. When my mom visited me in Los Angeles in 2018, she tore her shoe, so we had an excuse to go shopping.
(Fun fact, a few days before my mom’s arrival, Kylie Minogue, another gay icon and hero of mine, released her album Golden, which contains a song called “Raining Glitter.”)
We went to Ross in Glendale Fashion Center, and I saw these holographic glitter Guess? shoes, sparkling like opal. It was love at first sight. They were so cheap, so uncomfortable, and so perfect.
They also aren’t ruby red, and I wish I could wear them and click my heels together three times and magically be back in Indonesia with my mom. But I still love how gay they look.
In the photo, I pair them with black, skinny moto pants I got from Out of the Closet.
Photography by Yuska Lutfi Tuanakotta.