feature: the ‘we dem boi(s)’ project – “a celebration of queer boi culture in chicago’s pilsen neighborhood”

Check out the ‘We Dem Boi(s)‘ project – a photo and video project that celebrates queer women and boihood (the collaborative effort of Chicago based web publication AMFM Magazine and lifestyle brand BOI Society). Ciera Mckissick, founder of AMFM, says: “The “We Dem Bois” video and issue celebrates being comfortable in your own skin and being yourself. It celebrates diversity and individual style. And being free. So often women are confined to society’s rigid boxes or labels of beauty. Queer identity rejects those labels and embraces all shades of the spectrum and this is something the video highlights.” Mckissick adds: “I was inspired by the Wiz Kalifah video “We Dem Boyz,” and then later the Los Rakas rendition “We Dem Rakaz,” because it took a concept as well and flipped it to fit a whole nother cultural narrative and lifestyle. Aside from just loving the song as well, I wanted to do a queer version for androgynous women who consider themselves ‘bois’ and show what that looks like in a snippet of a community. I definitely wasn’t looking to represent all bois or queers, but merely a slice of life for a moment. A celebration. A sense of belonging and freedom. It was sort of like a boihood.” Explore below (photography by Nicci Briann).

By Alexander Aplerku, AFROPUNK Contributor

.

.

.

“Defining the Boi Community is not easy!! Boi(s) come in all different shapes and sizes, different genders, and ethnicities. Different classes and of course we all dress differently, but that is what makes us all great. I believe that my job as the leader of Boi(s) is not to define the community, my job is just to build the platform and give the community the opportunity to define itself.”—Brooklyn Wright, founder of Boi Society

.