As a child I never felt girlie. I was a tomboy. I was called frumpy and boyish. I always felt like an outsider; whether I immersed myself in the company of boys or girls, I didn't fit. It was an ever-present fog in my life, and puberty just made it more challenging.

My friends were attractive and showered with attention, and I was the funny one. I dreamt wistfully of the day I'd feel like a "proper woman", the ones I saw on TV. Spoiler alert, it didn't happen. Instead, I began lying a mask of an overly feminine aesthetic onto my body every day. I was still uncomfortable.

I'd always loved fashion. The more avant-garde the better. When clothes become art, gender is not even close to the top of the list of priorities. Drag is my favourite art fashion movement. I began watching more and more drag; I pushed my make up skills and bought more outrageous outfits. The further I pushed, the more confident I felt. The further I rejected societal norms, the more confident I felt. I created Bipolar Abdul and finally found a way to show myself to the world. I'm a non-binary drag queen, and I'm unstoppable.

Bipola Abdul x the anti-casting 

All the womxn featured on the underargument have been selected based on the personal story they shared with us which was inspired by one of our collections' themes. We only receive stories, no photos and no measurements. This is what we call the anti-casting and it is our way of reclaiming the representation of women's diversity and utilising the power of storytelling to empower ourselves and others. Find out more and maybe submit your story too here. 

Bipolar Abdul is wearing collection no.14 For belonging// Against fitting in.