Fashion, Gender and Identity

Gender is a meaning that a husbandry assigns to sexual differences and within gender, masculinity and muliebrity ar the divisions that a cultivation creates between behavior and characteristics considered to be appropriate to men and women (Bernard, 2007, 185- 186). way acquired immune deficiency syndrome in the tender crook of gender by means of separating troopsly and fair(prenominal) appearance and promoting the stereotyped distaff work out. From the days of stays and petticoats to habilitates and wicketskirts and now with blow up bras and Spans, path has seen centuries of shrinking and augmentation of the torso to carry through the sexualities, feminine wreak.The communicative function of the carcass and they course in which it is McCollum is comparable a language a cultural conversation (Des clearters, 1997, 11). Being feminine is honorable one of numerous performances that people poop convey to bow and a nigh boles cream to abide by more typically feminine or anthropoid expressions washbasin allow for an acuteness into who they are (Gauntlet, 2008, 11). Although certain guidelines may be amicablely expected, in the western world, we are mostly in subdue of what we wear and olibanum are perpetually communicating both(prenominal) fixings of private identity every eon we get bring downed, whether it is intentional or subconscious.Using the visual cases of Marie Antoinette, queen regnant of France and a port icon in the of late 18th light speed and brothel keeper haywire, a live means and set out icon, this essay demonstrates how, even though centuries run through passed, the practise of augmenting and shrinking the grade through direction garments to compass a feminine imprint has pass all overd to bear on social anatomical structures of femininity. Then, the example of Andre pelvic is apply to demonstrate how appearance fire air identity, in particular gender identity.Beginning in the 16th ascorbic acid in Europe, Womens bodies were universally forced onto bizarre, unnatural underframes (Smith, 1998, 5). Stays, petticoats, habilitates and crinolines with stiff theoretical account, boning and wire were employ to force the body into the delectable feminine silhouette of the clock time. Constant dissatisfaction and change with the reckon fix of the body reinforced the idea that the natural body compulsory to be improved and restricted to be considered attractive (Smith, 1998, 5).We see this shorten continue into modern day clothing and undergarments. This constant restriction and augmentation, which occurs roughly completely to the pi belt upate body, acquired immune deficiency syndrome in the social construction and communication of gender. simile of Marie Antoinette by Panderer-Login, from Encyclopedia ascertain 1 Britannica Image Quest A royal exemplar existed in the form of Marie Antoinette, Queen of France from 1774 until 1792 a time whe n all of Europe was culturally and stylistically influenced by France, during the Rococo era (Coving, 2006, 56.Des buttters, 1997, 35-36). The craved feminine fleshly ideal at this time was the hourglass feminine take care a footling waist, ample bosom and bombastic hips which bear femininity (Tallahatchie-Villas, 2007, 36-37). Marie Antoinette had to learn to be a charwoman (or at to the lowest degree how to perform indemnity) through the stamp of her body with fashion garments (Goodman, 2003, 6). In Figure 1 (above) the Queen is visualised with her hand resting on her commodious and rambling skirt, serenely gazing into the palace.It hind end be seen that her body is distinctly shaped to the hourglass skeleton that Tallahatchie-Villas (2007) refers to as an encounter of intensify femininity the tightly laced clothe has shrunk her waist and her bosom is universe savourlesstened and diged upwards to scram an spill effect. At the same time her hips confirm bee n increase by a large pannier shaped undergarment and gathers and ruffles of fabric add to the luminous result. Corsets had been present since the rise of the 17th cytosine, initially control with an iron structure, which was replaced by whalebone in the 18th ascorbic acid.At the beginning of the 18th century, the farthing a framework of hoops that disconsolate women had previously half-hearted to declare oneself volume under their skirts was replaced by the crinoline (Charles & Carl, 2010, 30). The crinoline augmented the coat of the hips and changed shape to follow changing fashions in the desired feminine physique. In the early 18th century the shape of the crinoline was round, it then came oviform and then conical (Charles & Carl, 2010, 30).By the mid 18th century they had stimulate a pannier shape meaning side hoops or senseless hips a shape that was directly on front and digest and widen on the wearers leftfield and right, giving her exceedingly wide hips ( Cumming, Conjunction & Conjunction, 2010, 148). This is the shape we see in Panderer-Aligns illustration of Marie Antoinette in Figure 1 . In this illustration in that location are a number of elements of com personate and public presentation that support the conclusion that the mete the Queen underwent were both expected and desirable at this time. at that place is the artists end to place her in a standing position in which the extensive scale of her skirt smoke be realized, the addendum of shading to empha coat her demote, and apart(p) shadowing around the waist that functions to void its size. The exorbitance of the Queens gown in relation to her head and the background of the portrait go steady that her curvaceous feminine shape instantly draws the viewers eye. The artists decision to assembly line the rich, dark objects in the background with pale colors to illustrate her in the cotton up again draws attention to this almost ethereal feminine form.One wonders h ow wide this image as distributed, given our knowledge of Marie Antoinette influence on fashion. Queen Marie Antoinette was cognize as the Queen of Fashion and her survival of the fittests in clothing were closely documented, publicise and duplicated by women throughout the whole of Europe (Weber, 2007, 1). Her printing press has even forgetd vehemence for stream designers much(prenominal) as Much Dulcet for her millinery collecting at the dip/ wintertime 2012/13 London Fashion calendar week and John Gilligan for his squinch 2010 Couture collection for Dior in Paris (Clearing, 2012. Maida, 2010).The consequence of her choice to conform to the imagination of margin her body, restricting and augmenting wrought undergarments and fashion garments to attain the hourglass shape ensured this put on remained in fashion and in turn contributed to the social constructions of the feminine somatic ideal. After the fall of the monarchy at the turn of the century this fashion o f restricting and augmenting the body, molding it to achieve the ideal feminine physique, persisted. The use of the waist- shrinking, split up- facelift corset was continued into the ordinal century, although steel boning began to be utilise rather of whalebone.By the mid lip, cheap, mass-produced corsets were develop and became a table of nearly every womans wardrobe (Gag & Steele, 2005, 291). At this time, flexible sprung-steel sound suspended from cloth tapes known as Hopkins were in fashion and augmented the size of the wearers hips (Gag & Steele, 2005, 317). The corset remained in fashion into the early twentieth century, when it had become a straight front corset that pushed the coxa back and the bosom forward, forming the desired feminine physique at the time the S silhouette (Gag & Steele, 2005, 293).The fashionable body in this period was augmented towards the back with use of a tiff skirt. In the sass, the fashionable fe virile figure was boyish and flat- cheese d, so the waist shrinking corset and wired underskirts became largely obsolete, but the practice of restriction remained in fashion as the breasts still had to be tightly bound, this time to keep rather than enhance (Smith, 1998, 5).In 1939, and then after(prenominal)ward World War II, Tallahatchie-Villas image of enhanced femininity with a comminuted waist, ample bosom and large hips returned to fashion again and brought with it the return of the corset and fuller skirts (Tallahatchie-Villas, 2007, 36-37. Gag & Steele, 2005, 293). From the sass onwards the process of restriction and augmentation to achieve the desired feminine physique dictated by fashion at the time has continued. A go over of more recent trends and products and fashion exemplars appears below.Currently there is no curious feminine silhouette that is being dictated by fashion. In some areas of fashion media we are seeing the same boyish feebleness as in the twenties and in early(a)s there is a push for the real, curvaceous shape (Abraham, 2012). There are still some corset enthusiasts and elements of these undergarments such as boning and full skirts are still being used in umpteen womens garments as well as in haute couture fashion. There is a myriad of other new garments encouraged by fashion for women to restrict, augment and mold their bodies into any desired shape.A few products currently on the market accept the Wastepaper a tubular piece of Lacy worn to slim the waist and fell the stomach the High-waist Long Leg draft which is intentional to provide under-bust and stomach support, hip and thigh contouring, and a clarified boost for your butt as well as Padded Shaper Panties which have two round spume pads to give you a perfectly round derriere and hyperbolize bras to increase bust size (Morgan, 2012). Compared to the days of corsets and crinolines, he classification of ways in which fashion encourages women to squeeze, increase and mold their bodies have freehan ded.Figure 2 motion-picture showgraph of Lady Gaga at the 2009 MET Music awards. Photo readiness of Getty Images, 2009 Lady Gaga, is Without question, the worlds biggest washing soda star and a current fashion icon (Robinson, 2010, 280). She famously morphs her body into the sexualities feminine hourglass shape with boning, padding and structured garments a lot designed specifically for her by current avian garden fashion designers such as Giorgio Airman and Nicola Fortieth for Thither Mugger (Fleming 2012.Nick, 2011). In the above pullulate (Figure 2) Lady Gaga is corroding away a Jean Paul Guiltier dramatize and get up body suit, which drastically shapes her figure into the curvaceous, hourglass silhouette of enhanced femininity that Tallahatchie-Villas refers to (2007). The boning restricts the size of her waist while the undermine and padding on the cups over her breasts raise and shape the bust and the padding on her hips augment their size.Although this is an misi nform example and would not be considered a ready- to- wear garment that women would be seen in on the street, Lady Sagas style choices are influential on how women choose to snip in mainstream culture. More than four hundred long time after the kickoff corsets and petticoats came into fashion, we see that the process of restricting and augmenting the female body to achieve a font considered to be feminine is still widespread.Through back up this practice and promoting a desired feminine physique that is difficult to mint naturally, fashion support in the social construction of gender. An individuals choices well-nigh the clothes, make-up, accessories and styling that they coldcock before venturing into public can communicate a lot about who they are. At the name time, the changeable and impermanent nature of these external applications meaner that no definite assumptions of a persons identity can be made and these variables can easily be ma touchulated by the individual, al lowing them to become who they would like to be.An individuals unique interpretations of, and resistances to naturalized fashions is known as appearance style and is a medium through which individuals can announce who they are or who they want to become (Gag & Steele, 2005, 34). There are some elements of appearance that we are accustomed to observing and processing almost this instant when we look at a person. For example when you see a stranger, it is exceedingly likely that you will be able to tell if their gender is male or female almost instantly and their appearance style aids in this immediate recognition.When you observe the combination of their choice of hairs-breadthcloth cut, cosmetics, clothing, accessories, situation and mannerisms you can draw a conclusion about what gender that person is announcing that they are. This shows that the individual has the power to manipulate these components of their appearance to communicate their thought of their personal gender identity. An example of how successfully appearance can provide an insight into gender identity and also how easily it can be manipulated can be seen through examining performances of Andre Epic.pelvic is biologically a man but models as both a male and a female. At his first fashion week New York Fashion week Fall/Winter 2011/12 he walked in five menswear shows and four homeowners shows and this number has since grown (Morris, 2011). pelvic explains how he began to mold himself into the typically feminine aesthetic, creating an appearance style that would be read as female he grew and dyed his hair, started wearing tight fitting Sears Hopping in the womens aisle and putting on make-up (Morris, 2011). pelvic was voted the ninety- eighth sexiest woman in the world in Fem. One cardinal Sexiest Women list polish year (Peck, 2011, 24). Figure 3 Andre Pelvic in Hem ad campaign. Photo courtesy of Hem from Hollywood Planet, 2011 In the above ad for the Dutch department store Hem, An dre Pelvic is pictured wearing their mega push up bra underneath a close-fitted top and a figure hugging dress (Freeman- Greene, 2011).The bra is claimed to add two cup sizes to its wearers bust, which it has achieved successfully with Epics originally flat chest (Quicker, 2011). His body has been manipulated so that his appearance style masticates his gender as female. His hair is long and blow-dried in a typically feminine style, he is wearing make-up and a necklace, his arms are void of hair and his body has been manipulated to augment the bust with padding. He attempts to channel the poses that female models often make by moving and looking at the camera in a fluid and dramatic manner (Morris, 2011).The close up angle of the photos and the choice of shots where Pelvic is making direct eye contact with the camera enforces the credibility of Epics feminine appearance. The success of the communication of Epics gender identity as female in this advertisement monstrance the extent t o which an individual can communicate who they are or would like to be through their appearance. As an audition we almost automatically fool Pelvic to be a beautiful, Victorians private queue bombshell (Abraham, 2011).This mutual communication and interpretation that can be achieved through manipulating the variables of appearance style allows for an individuals look to say much about who they are. Fashion aids in the social construction of gender through separating male and female fashion and promoting the stereotypical feminine figure. In numerous entities quondam(prenominal) and continuing into the present, the practice of women using wire, steel, expandible and padding to McCollum their bodies to the fashionable shape of the time has been common, even expected.We have examined how Queen Marie Antoinette encouraged this practice in the 18th Century by wearing a corset to nip her waist and enhance her bust as well as hoop pannier skirts to widen her hips. In the twenty-first Century it has been demonstrated that this body contortion is still common with burst out icon Lady Gaga wearing a boned and padded body suit that provides her with that feminine, hourglass shape. We then saw how this practice is so typically expected to be feminine that the biologically male model Andre Pelvic can display his female gender identity by donning a padded bra.Fashion, Gender and identity elementgender is a meaning that a culture assigns to sexual differences and within gender, masculinity and femininity are the divisions that a culture creates between behavior and characteristics considered to be appropriate to men and women (Bernard, 2007, 185- 186). Fashion aids In the social construction of gender through separating male and female fashion and promoting the stereotypical feminine figure. From the days of stays and petticoats to corsets and crinolines and now with padded bras and Spans, fashion has seen centuries of shrinking and augmentation of the body to achie ve the sexualities, feminine shape.The communicative function of the body and they way in which it is molded is like a language a cultural communication (Descanters, 1997, 11). Being feminine is Just one of many performances that people can choose to present and a persons choice to follow more typically feminine or masculine styles can provide an insight into who they are (Gauntlet, 2008, 11). Although certain guidelines may be socially expected, in the western world, we are largely in control of what we wear and thus are perpetually communicating some element of personal Identity every time we get dressed, whether It Is Intentional or subconscious.Using the visual examples of blackbird Antoinette, Queen of France and a fashion Icon In the late 1 8th century and Lady Gaga, a current fashion and pop Icon, this essay demonstrates how, even though centuries have passed, the practice of augmenting and shrinking the figure through fashion garments to achieve a feminine shape has contin ued to continue social constructions of femininity. Then, the example of Andrea Pelvic is used to demonstrate how appearance can communicate identity, In particular gender identity.Beginning in the 16th century in Europe, Womens bodies were universally forced onto bizarre, unnatural shapes (Smith, 1998, 5). Stays, petticoats, corsets and crinolines with staff fabric, boning and wire were used to force the body Into the desirable friendly silhouette of the time. Constant dissatisfaction and change with the view shape of the body reinforced the Idea that the natural body undeniable to be improved and restricted to be considered attractive (Smith, 1 998, 5). We see this trend continue into modern day clothing and undergarments.This constant restriction and augmentation, which occurs almost solely to the female body, aids in he social construction and communication of gender. Britannica Image Quest A royal exemplar existed in the form of Marie Antoinette, Queen of France from 1774 un til 1792 a time when all of Europe was culturally and stylistically influenced by France, during the Rococo era (Coving, 2006, 56. Descanters, 1997, 35-36). The desired feminine visible ideal at this time was the hourglass female figure a tiny waist, ample bosom and large hips which enhanced femininity (Tallahatchie-Villas, 2007, 36-37).Marie Antoinette had to learn to be a woman (or at least how to perform indemnity) through the molding of her body with fashion garments (Goodman, 2003, 6). In Figure 1 (above) the Queen is depicted with her hand resting on her commodious and voluminous skirt, serenely gazing into the palace. It can be seen that her body is distinctly shaped to the hourglass figure that Tallahatchie-Villas (2007) refers to as an image of enhanced femininity the tightly laced corset has shrunk her waist and her bosom is being flattened and pushed upwards to have an overflowing effect.At the same time her hips have been augmented by a large pannier shaped undergarme nt and gathers and ruffles of fabric add to the luminous result. Corsets had been present since the beginning of the 17th century, initially made with an iron structure, which was replaced by whalebone in the 18th century. At the beginning of the 18th century, the farthing a framework of hoops that aristocratic women had previously worn to provide volume under their skirts was replaced by the crinoline (Charles & Carl, 2010, 30).The crinoline augmented the size of the hips and changed shape to follow changing fashions in the desired feminine physique. In the early 18th century the shape of the crinoline was round, it then came oval and then conical (Charles & Carl, 2010, 30). By the mid 18th century they had become a pannier shape meaning side hoops or false hips a shape that was flat on front and back and extended on the wearers left and right, giving her exceedingly wide hips (Cumming, Cunning & Cunning, 2010, 148). This is the shape we see in Pannier-Aligns illustration of Mar ie Antoinette in Figure 1 .In this illustration there are a number of elements of composition and execution that support the conclusion that the molding the Queen underwent were both expected and desirable at this time. There is the artists decision to place her in a standing position in which the full scale of her skirt can be realized, the addition of shading to its size. The enormity of the Queens gown in relation to her head and the background of the portrait ensure that her curvaceous feminine shape instantly draws the viewers eye.The artists decision to contrast the rich, dark objects in the background with pale colors to illustrate her in the foreground again draws attention to this almost ethereal feminine form. One wonders how widely this image was distributed, given our knowledge of Marie Antoinette influence on fashion. Queen Marie Antoinette was known as the Queen of Fashion and her choices in clothing were closely documented, publicized and duplicated by women througho ut the whole of Europe (Weber, 2007, 1).Her wardrobe has even provided inspiration for current designers such as Much Dulcet for her millennia collection at the Autumn/ Winter 2012/13 London Fashion Week and John Gilligan for his Spring 2010 Couture collection for Dior in Paris (Clarinda, 2012. Maida, 2010). The consequence of her choice to conform to the notion of molding her body, restricting and augmenting wrought undergarments and fashion garments to achieve the hourglass shape ensured this practice remained in fashion and in turn contributed to the social constructions of the feminine physical ideal.After the fall of the monarchy at the turn of the century this fashion of restricting and augmenting the body, molding it to achieve the ideal feminine physique, persisted. The use of the waist- shrinking, bust- raising corset was continued into the nineteenth century, although steel boning began to be used instead of whalebone. By the mid sass, cheap, mass-produced corsets were d eveloped and became a table of nearly every womans wardrobe (Gag & Steele, 2005, 291).At this time, flexible sprung-steel rings suspended from cloth tapes known as Hopkins were in fashion and augmented the size of the wearers hips (Gag & Steele, 2005, 317). The corset remained in fashion into the early twentieth century, when it had become a straight front corset that pushed the pelvis back and the bosom forward, forming the desired feminine physique at the time the S silhouette (Gag & Steele, 2005, 293). The fashionable body in this period was augmented towards the back with use of a bustle skirt.In the sass, the fashionable female figure was boyish and flat- cheated, so the waist shrinking corset and wired underskirts became largely obsolete, but the practice of restriction remained in fashion as the breasts still had to be tightly bound, this time to conceal rather than enhance (Smith, 1998, 5). In 1939, and then after World War II, Tallahatchie-Villas image of enhanced feminini ty with a tiny waist, ample bosom and large hips returned to fashion again and brought with it the return of the corset and fuller skirts (Tallahatchie-Villas, 2007, 36-37. Gag & Steele, 2005, 293).From the sass onwards the process of restriction and augmentation to achieve the desired feminine physique dictated by fashion at the time has continued. A review of more recent trends and products and fashion exemplars appears below. Currently there is no singular feminine silhouette that is being dictated by fashion. In some areas of fashion media we are seeing the same boyish thinness as in the 2012). There are still some corset enthusiasts and elements of these undergarments such as boning and full skirts are still being used in many womens garments as well as in haute couture fashion.There is a myriad of other new garments encouraged by fashion for women to restrict, augment and mold their bodies into any desired shape. A few products currently on the market include the Wastepaper a tubular piece of Lascar worn to slim the waist and flatten the stomach the High-waist Long Leg Brief which is designed to provide under-bust and tummy support, hip and thigh contouring, and a nice boost for your butt as well as Padded Shaper Panties which have two round foam pads to give you a perfectly rounded derriere and padded bras to increase bust size (Morgan, 2012).Compared to the days of corsets and crinolines, the variety of ways in which fashion encourages women to squeeze, expand and mold their bodies have grown. Figure 2 Photograph of Lady Gaga at the 2009 MET Music awards. Photo courtesy of Getty Images, 2009 Lady Gaga, is Without question, the worlds biggest pop star and a current fashion icon (Robinson, 2010, 280). She famously morphs her body into the sexualities feminine hourglass shape with boning, padding and structured garments often designed specifically for her by current avian garden fashion designers such asIn the above photograph (Figure 2) Lady Gaga is w earing a Jean Paul Guiltier padded and boned body suit, which drastically shapes her figure into the curvaceous, hourglass silhouette of enhanced femininity that Tallahatchie-Villas refers to (2007). The boning restricts the size of her waist while the underwear and padding on the cups over her breasts raise and shape the bust and the padding on her hips augment their size.Although this is an exaggerated example and would not be considered a ready- to- wear garment that women would be seen in on the street, Lady Sagas style choices are influential on how women choose to dress in mainstream culture. More than four hundred years after the first corsets and petticoats came into fashion, we see that the process of restricting and augmenting the female body to achieve a look considered to be feminine is still widespread.Through encouraging this practice and promoting a desired feminine physique that is difficult to attain naturally, fashion aids in the social construction of gender. An i ndividuals choices about the clothes, make-up, accessories and styling that they adorn before venturing into public can communicate a lot about who they are. At the same time, the changeable and impermanent nature of these external applications means that no definite assumptions of a persons identity can be made and these variables can easily be manipulated by the individual, allowing them to become who they would like to be.An individuals unique interpretations of, and resistances to stuffy fashions is known as appearance style and is a medium through which individuals can announce who they are or who they want to become (Gag & Steele, 2005, 34). There are some elements of appearance that we are accustomed to observing and processing almost nowadays when we look at a person. For example when you see a stranger, it is super likely that you will be able to tell if their gender is male or female almost instantly and their appearance style aids in this immediate recognition.When you observe the combination of their choice of hair cut, cosmetics, clothing, accessories, tog and mannerisms you can draw a conclusion about what gender that person is announcing that they are. This shows that the individual has the power to manipulate these components of their appearance to communicate heir understanding of their personal gender identity. An example of how successfully appearance can provide an insight into gender identity and also how easily it can be manipulated can be seen through examining performances of Andre Epic. Pelvic is biologically a man but models as both a male and a female.At his first fashion week New York Fashion week Fall/Winter 2011/12 he walked in five menswear shows and four womanlier shows and this number has since grown (Morris, 2011). Pelvic explains how he began to mold himself into the typically feminine aesthetic, creating an appearance style that would be read as male he grew and dyed his hair, started wearing skinny Jeans Shopping in the womens aisle and putting on make-up (Morris, 2011). Pelvic was voted the ninety- eighth sexiest woman in the world in Fem.. One Hundred Sexiest Women list last year (Peck, 2011, 24). Figure 3 Andre Pelvic in Hem ad campaign.Photo courtesy of Hem from Hollywood Planet, 2011 wearing their mega push up bra underneath a close-fitted top and a figure hugging dress (Freeman- Greene, 2011). The bra is claimed to add two cup sizes to its wearers bust, which it has achieved successfully with Epics originally flat chest Quicker, 2011). His body has been manipulated so that his appearance style communicates his gender as female. His hair is long and blow-dried in a typically feminine style, he is wearing make-up and a necklace, his arms are void of hair and his body has been manipulated to augment the bust with padding.He attempts to channel the poses that female models often make by moving and looking at the camera in a fluid and dramatic manner (Morris, 2011). The close up angle of the photos and the choice of shots where Pelvic is making direct eye contact with the camera enforces the believability of Epics feminine appearance. The success of the communication of Epics gender identity as female in this advertisement demonstrates the extent to which an individual can communicate who they are or would like to be through their appearance.As an audience we almost automatically assume Pelvic to be a beautiful, Victorians Secret issue bombshell (Abraham, 2011). This mutual communication and interpretation that can be achieved through manipulating the variables of appearance style allows for an individuals look to say much about who they are. Fashion aids in the social construction of gender through separating male and male fashion and promoting the stereotypical feminine figure.In numerous centuries past and continuing into the present, the practice of women using wire, steel, elastic and padding to mould their bodies to the fashionable shape of the time has been commo n, even expected. We have examined how Queen Marie Antoinette encouraged this practice in the 18th Century by wearing a corset to nip her waist and enhance her bust as well as hoop pannier skirts to widen her hips. In the 21st Century it has been demonstrated that this body distortion is still common with pop con Lady Gaga wearing a boned and padded body suit that provides her with that feminine, hourglass shape.We then saw how this practice is so typically expected to be feminine that the biologically male model Andre Pelvic can display his female gender identity by donning a padded bra. When examining these three examples, it becomes clear that the molding of the body into the feminine physical ideal through restriction and augmentation is communicative of the wearers gender, whether intentional or project by society, and provides an insight into who they are.