FUBU

I have seen quite a few Irish men wearing FUBU shirts and sweatshirts since I got to Dublin and it always makes me think of a friend in California who was uncomfortable wearing a FUBU shirt he got as a gift because he isn't black and felt it was a black-identified product (For Us By Us). Maybe the marketing for them has changed; maybe folks don't always know (or care) what the logo on the shirt represents. Much as I enjoy seeing gender-bending performances that don't have a direct correlation or relevance to sexual orientation, I do like seeing folks of different races and ethnicities wearing a brand that has been linked with one group.

Of course, these men weren't necessarily making a statement by wearing their FUBU clothes. He may have simply bought what was comfortable, or a color he liked, or it might have been a gift. But it does make the labels less relevant when they don't work as a tool for implicit identification. I can walk around making assumptions about these Irish men who wear FUBU, but I'd probably be incorrect in my assumptions. And I like that.