Queer visibility is a strange thing when discussing women’s lingerie. A lot of indie men’s underwear designers are open about being gay and specifically market toward gay men–Andrew Christian comes to mind. Indie lingerie for women, on the other hand, seems to not get marketed as “by queer/for queer”. I wonder why: is gay male underwear seen as more distinct from straight male underwear, putting pressure on designers to come out? Are lesbian designers worried about alienating straight female customers? Is it a love of privacy on the part of queer lady designers? Especially given that homoeroticism is often used to sell lingerie (see this Sexy CPR ad for Fortnight Lingerie), it seems almost paradoxical that designers themselves often remain silent on the subject.
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