She said she began working on the book six years ago, and it was originally going to be a queer style manual. But then the pandemic started, and she read an article about how LGBTQ people were unable to receive community and gender-affirming care that allowed them to live and present authentically. She pivoted the book to focus on the voices of LGBTQ people and to explore how queer people use clothing and style “as a tool for self-affirmation, as a tool for self-love and as a tool for liberation,” Vita said.

Those themes became more pronounced as she was interviewing people for the book and as state lawmakers introducing hundreds of bills targeting LGBTQ rights, including the drag legislation and bills that restrict LGBTQ-related content in schools.

For example, Van Bailey, a model who uses “they” and “he” pronouns and is featured in the section of the book dedicated to visibility, told Vita that “visual cues” help them find other queer people when they’re out and creates a sense of community.

“If I see other studs or masculine-presenting queer people on a train or out and about, I’m automatically brightening up and being like, ‘Hey, those are my people,’”