Lavender Menace: The Cap That Carries a Revolution

At Black & Beech, we don’t just make clothes. We make statements you can wear. Our brand new Lavender Menace embroidered cap isn’t just a bit of merch. This one’s personal. For the outsiders. For the queers. For the women who were told to sit down and shut up. For the ones who didn’t.

🌿 Where did Lavender Menace come from?

In 1969, Betty Friedan a leader in the US feminist movement dismissed lesbian women as a threat. She called them the Lavender Menace. She feared their presence would derail the fight for women’s rights. That queerness was too much. Too political. Too risky.

But queer women didn’t shrink. They turned insult into power. A year later, in 1970, a group of lesbian feminists stormed the Second Congress to Unite Women in New York. They wore handmade lavender t-shirts with the words Lavender Menace blazoned across them. They took the stage. Took the mic. And took their place in the movement.

This cap is for them. And for you. If you’ve ever been told you're too much, this is your sign to be more.

🧢 Why we made this cap

• To honour radical queer history
  Lavender Menace isn’t just a bit of feminist trivia. It was a turning point. These women forced the movement to reckon with itself. They brought visibility, power and humour to a space that wanted them quiet.

• To spark chat
  Someone’s going to ask you what Lavender Menace means. You’ll tell them. That’s the point. This cap is a soft entry into a hard conversation.

• To say no to watered-down feminism
  We’re not here for surface-level girl power. This is feminism that includes queer, trans, migrant and working-class voices. If it doesn’t, it’s not feminism.

✊ Made with care, worn with fire

Like all our pieces, this cap is:

• Made ethically & stitched down the road in Cardiff

• Designed to last

• Part of our commitment to give 10% of net profits to women-led and queer-led causes

We don’t chase trends or cheap slogans. We make things that stand for something. That you’ll want to wear in five years, not just for a selfie.

🧠 Want to go deeper?

Look up The Woman-Identified Woman manifesto. It’s the heart of the Lavender Menace action. Still rings true today. Just like we say in our own work, feminism isn’t feminism if it leaves people out.