Preview

Gender Socialisation In Fashion Essay

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1504 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Gender Socialisation In Fashion Essay
Key Points
An exploration of Gender
Due to the implications of gender identity in providing real and directly supported conclusions, philosophical and psychological theories will be referred to throughout the conclusions of gender. According to research, approximately one in two thousand cases, a baby's genital appearance poises the question: ‘is it a boy or a girl?’ so why make fashion any different (Kitzinger and Wilkinson, 1999)
Gender identity literature offers many variations on the same theme when defining the term “Gender Identity”. Hird argues that "‘sex’ referred to biological differences between women and men, whereas ‘gender’ signified the practices of femininity or masculinity in social relations" (Hird, 2000, p. 348). Due to the nature of gender identity and the
…show more content…
It can be concluded that we are born with a gender, but gender identity is something that is a socialised norm.
The theme of Gender Socialisation is present within most aspects of our lives; from the name we are given to the identity form we fill out as an adult; this is no different within fashion.
Gender socialisation has always been a direct and indirect influence in fashion. With particular focuses and influences of the gender binary
It is visually clear that products and lines based upon the wants and needs of woman offer more options and freedom throughout fashion and designs have been pushed further in comparison to mens’ clothing (5) – as does Chanels spectrum 1920s Modern Woman designs (6) and the early 1980s power dressing displays (7).
Today designers are directly targeting the removal of the gender theme that has always been present within fashion – as does Rad Hourani (8) who designs for a “unisex” consumer and his range appears to be one of the leading in the market, reaching market points Selfridges Agender (9) and Thecorner.com

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Satisfactory Essays

    Gender Roles In Fashion

    • 240 Words
    • 1 Page

    ime we start breaking the boundries of gender roles in fashion. A gender bender is a person who discords, or "bends", expected gender roles. This an espcially monumental time for Mens fashion and breaking the roles of gender. This August Gucci's show opened a whole different way to look at high-end fashion. The models looked more femine and even some of them were woman. Articles of clothing that are usually thought of as femine are making their back into mens fashion, such as skirts, silouettes, etc. As many people are thinking of this as a new trend blooming in fashion; gender-bending fashion has been around for a while. Although, it has not been seen much since the 70's, influencial people are promoting the use of gender swapping clothes.…

    • 240 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    References: Anthias, (2001) ‘The concept of “social division” and theorising social stratification: looking at ethnicity and class’, Sociology, 35, 4, 835-54 Barthes, R. (1985) The Fashion System, London: Cape Bourdieu, P. (1984) Distinction: A Social Critique of the Judgement of Taste, London: Routledge Kegan Paul Biggs, S, Phillipson, C., Leach, R. and Money, A-M (2008*) The mature imagination and consumption strategies: age and generation in the development of a United Kingdom baby boomer identity, International Journal of Ageing and Later Life, Bordo. S. (1993) Unbearable Weight: Feminism, Western Culture and the Body, Berkeley: University of California Press Brewer, R.M. (1993) ‘Theorizing race, class and gender: the new scholarship of Black feminist intellectuals and Black women’s labor’ in S. M. James and A.P.A Busia (eds) Theorizing Black Feminisms: the Visionary Pragmatism of Black Women London: Routledge Breward, C. (2000) ‘Cultures, identities, histories: fashioning a cultural approach to dress’, in N.White and I.Griffiths (eds) The Fashion Business: Theory, Practice, Image, Oxford: Berg Butler, J. P. (1993) Bodies that Matter: On the Discursive Limits of “Sex”’, London, Routledge. Clarke, A. and Miller, D. (2002) ‘Fashion and anxiety’, Fashion Theory, 6, 2, 191-214 Cole, T. C. (1992) The Journey of Life: A Cultural History of Aging in America, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press Craik, J. (1994) The Face of Fashion: Cultural Studies in Fashion, London: Routledge Crane, D. (2000) Fashion and Its Social Agendas: Class, Gender and Identity in Clothing, Chicago: University of Chicago Press Crossley, N. (2001) The Social Body: Habit, Identity and Desire, London: Sage Davis, F (1992) Fashion, Culture and Identity, Chicago: University of Chicago Press…

    • 6681 Words
    • 27 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    West and Zimmerman (1987, p. 125) believed gender was constructed through “psychological, cultural and social means”. Gender appeared less of an ‘accomplishment’ as a result of anthropological, psychological, and social essentials researched, for example the division of labour, the development of gender identities, and the social inferiority of females in contrast to males. The belief of gender socialisation theories made known the powerful information that while gender may be ‘accomplished’ until the age of five, after that it’s definitely fixed and unchanging, just like sex (West and Zimmerman, 1987, p. 126). 1975 and onwards, the uncertainty about gender escalated, because people came to the realisation that the connection between genetic…

    • 728 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Society has drilled an image into our minds as people of how the role of each gender should be played out. There are two recognized types of genders, a male and a female. Most people come to think that gender is just male or female. Yet it has become more complex then that. Today it is not just that if you have male parts, you are a man, the opposite goes for women. According to the authors Aaron Devor and Deborah Blum. Gender is much more complex then just male and female, it is more socially composed. We are taught to be male and female trough things like media, our parents, and role model figures. These gender roles are not something that we are born with; we are not genetically put together to act male or female. Using the ideas of Devor and Blum to advice. My paper will display how gender is socially engineered, by analyzing an ad for Marc Jacobs’s male fragrance Bang.…

    • 1201 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Sex is biologically given. Some animal species have one sex; others have two, or three. Gender is how nature interprets the apparent biological differences between particular human bodies of different sexual anatomy. The distinctions between bodies observed and imposed by our culture is where sociologists and theorists of gender identity find their theoretical interests aroused, poised for deconstruction action. This essay will visit the various approaches to gender realization under biological, interpersonal, or cultural. The essay will specify the one that I view being most valid, citing two personal experiences and two examples from scholarly sources.…

    • 990 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Was men are allowed when and where wear them is increasingly left to their own today. And that's exactly the problem. It is true that a number of stylistic figures claim that they know how to exploit the new freedom. But this security is only an apparent one. For the self-appointed decision-makers propose combinations of classical phenotypes, which transform men into uninspired bourgeois conformists. A look at ten of the most common fashion shows what can be improved beyond the dressing rules of the past century.…

    • 908 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Gendered Clothing

    • 887 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Women and the clothes they wear have consequences of how they are viewed and accepted in society. Feminine clothing distinguishes gender differences amongst men and women. Ultimately gendering based on clothing is a form of stratification that creates bias assumptions. Assumptions that would follow such labeling would be to say that “only women wear pink” or “wearing purple is feminine”. This is only one form in which women’s bodies are regulated in terms of clothing and “stylized practices”. There are many more such as gender bending and devaluing women.…

    • 887 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Best Essays

    Sociology of Fashion

    • 2684 Words
    • 11 Pages

    Bibliography: Slater, Don (1997) Consumer Culture and Modernity, Polity Press: Cambridge Barnard, Malcolm (1996) Fashion as Communication, Routledge Davis, Fred (1992) Fashion, Culture and Identity, The University of Chicago Press Shilling Chris (2003) The Body and Social Theory, SAGE Publications Barthes, Roland (1985) The Fashion System, The Trinity Press: Worchester and London Edited by Gelder, Ken and Thornton, Sarah, (1997) The Subcultures Reader, Routledge McDowell, Colin (2003) Fashion Today, Phaidon Press, Inc…

    • 2684 Words
    • 11 Pages
    Best Essays
  • Better Essays

    Nowadays, fashion is sometimes defined as a constantly changing trend, rather than practical or logical reasons. Nevertheless, at the present moment fashion has a profound influence on the life of people. Clothing has turned into a self-realization of every person. It is no longer just an “external screen” more than that it may cause losing a very important physical, psychological and social aspect of a person’s life. The type of clothing fully depends on the person who is wearing it; therefore it becomes a reflection of his perception of himself, which causes us to the term – personal identity. The choice of clothing and accessories is as critical as identification through the color of hair, height, skin and gender. In addition, clothing is a media of information about the person wearing it. It is a cipher; a code that needs a decryption in order to understand what kind of person is underneath it. (Barnard 2002). As every cloth contains a strong message about its owner…

    • 1432 Words
    • 41 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Better Essays

    Gender is the word given to describe the socially constructed behaviours, roles and attributes which are set by society through the different channels which may consist of family, educational institutes and workplaces. These gender roles and gender stereotypes are given to males and females by society depending on their values and customs and social beliefs. (Mikkola, 2011) “Gender roles are set by convention and other social, economic, political and cultural forces” -(Esplen, E., Jolly, S. 2006). In short, sex distinguishes male from female and gender - masculinity from femininity.…

    • 1134 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Gender Identity: The societal and/or subjective states in which one is regarded as a woman or man; a boy or girl. Gender identity is a combination of biological anatomy and socialisation (; Giddens, (1991); Macionis and Plumber, 2003).…

    • 365 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Women possess high knowledge in the field of fashion, be it clothes or interiors. They have a…

    • 649 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    lifestyle & fashio trends

    • 2431 Words
    • 10 Pages

    Fashion plays an increasingly important role in an indivi­dual’s life because it is considered as a means of self-expression. The garments and accessories that man or women wear, help them to identify with a group of others-whether it is a lifestyle, profession, a religion, or an attitude. Thus, the term ‘fashion’ has become synonymous with the overall growth of the country as well.…

    • 2431 Words
    • 10 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Eco Fashion Paper

    • 2326 Words
    • 10 Pages

    Crane, Diana. Fashion and Its Social Agendas: Class, Gender, and Identity in Clothing. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 2000.…

    • 2326 Words
    • 10 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Fashion is how you present yourself, once said a famous actress. As long as fashion has been in existence, what you wear is literally what you are. High society women wear thousand dollar fashions and one of a kind jewelry designs, while the average Jane wears jeans and a tee shirt. Fashion is a non-verbal communication with the rest of the world, through which you can express your personality, your social status, and your ideas. To choose clothes is to define and describe ourselves. [Lurie , The Language of Clothes, 1981] In all societies clothing is part of the culture. In current western society, pop culture reigns in fashion. All the way from couturiers like the Dior or de la Renta house in expensive boutiques, to designers like Calvin Klein and Tommy Hilfiger, names we see in department stores like Nordstrom and Meier and Frank. Clothing has evolved through the ages, and has made most of its artistic leaps in the last century. Women’s fashion has gone from the corset and button up boots to Jennifer Lopez’s infamous and revealing, low-cut Gucci dress. But why has this happened? What brought fashion from where it was in the nineteenth century to where it is now in the twenty-first? Did social changes produce these changes in fashion, or did fashion designers and couturiers change our society’s way of thinking about fashion? This question is almost as unanswerable as, Was it the chicken or the egg? To make a better-educated hypothesis on this question one must understand the history of fashion for the past century and a half. Through that time one must look at the social events and changes occurring and link them to all fashion advances, or retreats.…

    • 2135 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Powerful Essays