T-Shirts That Tell Tales: Remembrance and Resistance in T-Shirt Designs in Hawaii
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Issue Date
2012
Authors
Kelly, Marjorie
Keywords
Type
Journal Article
Peer-Reviewed
Peer-Reviewed
Abstract
The imagery on T-shirts produced in Hawai‟i for the resident population are carefully thought
out reflections of and responses to local concerns. They express the wearer‟s self-image and
group identity, as well as his/her social values and allegiance. The article examines the T-shirt
images designed for two specific groups: locals (or non-Caucasian, lifelong residents of the
islands) and Native Hawaiians. Given the relentless pace of globalization in the 1990s, island
residents felt their way of life was threatened and responded by remembering the past and/or
wearing T-shirts that alluded to another way of life. Whether the images recall the communal
society of plantation life or the political and spiritual aspects of Hawaiian identity, the widelyworn shirts described in the article provide insight into island society during a time of intense
change.