CHAPTER FIVE: DISCUSSION
Fashion has always been a source of intricate changes in overall environment when it comes to dressing aspects. It works on the style statements, which are rather exceptional and distinct. The present research focused on clarifying the difference between queer style and transvestism, to analyse if fashion designers still emphasize transvestism in the 21st Century and the reason behind the emphasis and exploring the impact of Transvestism on Fashion Designing Industry of UK.
Queer can be defined as the term that is used for different aspects and purposes. In past, it was used in place of words that represented strangeness or abnormality. However, in fashion studies queer was defined to demonstrate lesbians and gay individual.
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Transvestism is defined as wearing opposite gender clothes. Other differences are also present, which assists to identify the distinction that is present as well when discussing queer style and transvestism. The use of colours in dresses and the materials of the dress with the way it is carried have important meaning for identifying the differences. The use of bright colours with silky, shiny, and tight material represents features and aspects of queer style. However, on the other hand, cross-dressing is not restricted to colours and materials (Purdy, 2004). Transvestites wear all type and all sorts of dresses that start with skirts and end at complete opposite gender dresses. Transvestism occurs not because the person endures some psychological issue or wants to show themselves as different, but it is a sense of …show more content…
21st century is an era of shifts. With shits from environmental to economy, changes in fashion industry are also observed. Transvestism is still used in Fashion Designing Industry. A number of reasons were observed in the use of transvestism within the industry. It is commonly known that Fashion is the name of deviance. Every novel idea, thought or design is welcome in this field. It is the case observed for transvestism as well. Transvestism and cross-dressing offers shift in dressing by challenging the tradition gender stereotypes clothing. This allures consumers’ perspective, markets the product well, and allows deviances to be a part of what is practically normal. This allows fashion designers to bring something new and attract the people with diversity (Cole,
From the conventional Victorian dresses of the 1800’s to the rock-and-roll tee shirts of the 1980’s, American culture has experienced incredibly diverse trends in clothing. This ever changing timeline of fashion provokes the question: what is the cause of such differing styles? By considering the state of society throughout the eras, it can be seen that clothing directly correlates with the current way of life. Specifically, American women’s fashion of the 1920’s and 1930’s proves to not simply be a meaningless trend – rather an accurate reflection of the specific era.
There is no one static definition on what it means for any organism, especially humans in all our complexities to be queer because we often categorize queer people as “other” when they probably should be integrated into our normative viewpoints. Queer is a product of various theories influenced by cultural pressures into the structures we create and it is an alternative.
... However, it stands to reason that while the existence of such weighty components has reduced greatly, their concepts have set an indisputable model that remains relevant and continues to influence today’s fashion. In conclusion, it is significant to recognize the revolution of the female silhouette throughout history along with women’s roles in today’s society and also, the physical restrictions imposed on them. The silhouette of women’s fashion has changed as the idea of the perfect female figure has reformed. Nevertheless, in the early twentieth century the concept of women leading more active and lively life meant that fashion also needed to become more cooperative to physical action and less limiting.
The way we chose to dress can express our identities and according to Frith and Gleeson (2004), “men’s clothing practices [in particular] are an important and pervasive form of appearance management that reflects the continued monitoring of their visual selves” (p. 40). Christopher Berneck is a Caucasian gay male born and raised in Germany. At just twenty-three he has accomplished feats most people only dream of. He is a world-renowned figure skater and competed for Germany at the Sochi Olympics. In addition, he is a model who has worked for Ford models and has done ads for fashion retailers including ZARA. Now he studies fashion communication at Ryerson and will be on Canada’s Next Top Model in the fall. Fashion has always played a large role in Chris’s life from a very young age. Being a gay male he often felt the need to fit in and not standing out as being too feminine despite his love for women’s fashion. He loves to mix and match women’s and men’s
“When trannies were growing up and coming of age-there was no place for us. We were kinda put on the fringes of society...the real safe space for us was out there on the streets” (Trans Views). OR “Gender is a universe and we are all stars” (Lacey Roop). Transgenderism can be best described as moving away from the gender assigned at birth. This can mean wearing the clothes, taking on the roles, and assuming the pronouns of a gender designated at birth, or rejecting gender entirely . Gender variance and transgenderism, although seen commonly throughout human history, are seen as unnatural and an insult to the sex that God “gave”. Many believe that sex and gender is the same thing, and therefore assume that one that is biologically female is a woman, and one that is biologically male is a man. There is a common misunderstanding that transgenderism is an expression of homosexuality, assuming that the trans person is straight. Sometimes, transgender is seen as a gender of its own, excluding transmen and transwomen from their own gender.
Current fashion often provides its audience with surprises, when it comes to attracting consumers and making news in the fashion world. However, most believe that fashion should never cross the line of good taste. We have watched singers like Madonna and Lady Gaga “re-invent’ themselves each year by creating new outfits with outrageous fashion in art and advertising to sell their music. Now there are cases when the expression of these creations in retail promotions step over the line and offend some viewers, or cause controversy among the American people. The fine line between freedom of speech and the need for censorship depends on the ability of the fashion and art industries to meet the needs of both the consumer with interesting products, and suiting the local community with good taste.
Looking at the Functionalist perspective it is perceived that the transgender community goes against society’s traditional concept of sex and gender. Transgender gender-nonconforming individuals face many obstacles in a society that is unforgiving of any individual who does not fit into the “appropriate” expectations or behaviors of gender identity or a gender binary system. The rules of behavior in our society that are considered “appropriate” for women or men inhibit us all. This is the social construction of gender roles, patterns of socially defined behaviors and expectations that are associated with the female and male; men have to dress, act, and speak in a hard, masculine way, while women are to be feminine and soft. There’s not much room for individuality there and for some of us, this is a little more challenging. There seem to be some misconceptions about gender and sex, I believe it is much more complex than we came to
Owning a women’s designer clothing business in a large metropolitan area can be extremely competitive especially for a small business owner due to the number of options that are available in a metropolitan area that consumers have when deciding to shop. In order to stand out from competitors and attract new customers it is important for management and business owners to understand the demographics and psychographics of consumers in the area in order to operate a successful business. Demographics is defined as, “the statistical data of a population, especially those showing average age, income, education, etc.” ("Demographics | Define Demographics at Dictionary.com", 2014, p.1) Psychographics is defined as, “the study and grouping of people according to their attitudes and tastes, especially for market research.” ("Psychographics ' | Define Psychographics ' at Dictionary.com", 2014, p. 1)
Fashion is a form people use as a way for self expression. For me, fashion dictates how a person sense of style is; some may be bold and loud or simple and calm in which it also gives others an outlook on how their character may be. Although fashion is a way to express ones’ sense of style it does not tells us who the person is personally. Fashion in the society of the 1900s has changed female gender roles then and now by the way their roles changed during the time.
This essay aims to analyse the key role that the surrealist movement has played on fashion and the fashion industry. Both from a historical point of view, as well as its continued impact on fashion today, as a source of inspiration for contemporary fashion designers.
Fashion in the 21st century is a big business, as its production employs millions of people and generates billions of dollars in revenue. Fashion has for the past century been, and is still today, used as an indicator of social change and progress, as it changes with the social norms of the society and the political changes of the world (Finkelstein 3). Works Cited Finkelstein, Joanne. A.S.A. & Co. Fashion: An Introduction to Fashion. New York: New York University Press, 1998.
The world of fashion is an exciting one and people have become a part of it (Jennifer and Kim, 2010). Fashion is a word that can mean different things, to some people it means what celebrities or models wear on a public event. To others, fashion means the dressing style that people can wear it for their daily basis. Understand the definition of fashion is a basis of discussing the luxury consumption (Jennifer and Kim, 2010). Tortora and Eubank defined fashion as a way of behaving or some things and must be accepted by many members of group (Tortora and Eubank, 2005). For instance, the way of behaving include a wide variety of activities, such as the words people speak, the clothes people wear and the lifestyle people have. The majority of a
There are very few studies based on what is now coined “streetwear” or the culture that surrounds it. This is mostly due to it being a combination of a number of different sub cultures and tribes. In order to further understand street wear, it is helpful to understand how consumers portray their identities through what they wear as, “fashion is never innocent and is more than mere appearance” (Barnard, Fashion as communication, 2002)”. Paul Khali Saucier investigated the ways that Cape Verdean youth from the Boston area created individual and social identities through fashion (Cape Verdean Youth Fashion: Identity in clothing). Saucier provided great insight into the sociological perspective of how fashion relates to consumers and society on a larger scale. According to Saucier, “Fashion is a form of non-verbal communication. The dressed body communicates our personal and social identities (Barnard 2002; Barthes 1967; Calefato 2004; Lurie 2000). It expresses our thoughts, feelings, and desires, as well as group membership (Hebdige 1981).” The way people dress is used as an unspoken method of showing the world where they stand in society or how they would like to be perceived. Saucier also referenced Hildi Hendrickson’s book “Clothing and Difference: Embodied Identities in Colonial and post-Colonial Africa” raising the point that, “the body surface is an especially compelling indexical sign. Bodily signifiers present an ever-present semiotic possibility for expressing identity and intention, for asserting the legitimacy of the status-quo or subverting it” (Hendrickson 1996:14–15). This applies to the streetwear market, which is founded upon a rebellious attitude towards the mainstream fashion and culture. In order to explain how ...
To begin with, I shall look at what fashion is; it is a currently popular style or practice involving clothing, footwear or accessories. It mostly refers to the current trends in looks and dressing style of a person (Cumming 234). In most cases, fashion is confusedly related to costumes; when a person talks of fashion they are seen to mean fashion in terms of textile. Fashion is seen to originate from the Western world and it is copied by other places. In this paper, we shall look at how fashion affects lifestyles and the group of people who are affected most. The paper further investigates how media is used to transmit fashion from one region to the other. Although it has been seen to affect people’s lives many people have different perspectives on fashion and dressing.
Fashion is a currently valued style of appearance and behavior. It is a way to shape one’s external custom. The history of fashion dates back to hundred years ago and it has seen a remarkable progress in the 21st century. Man has endeavored a lot to bring new changes according to style and elegance that suits his needs and desires. Apparently, our culture is inclined towards fashion and change in the former brings change in the latter.When we talk about Pakistan, from the independence day of August 14, 1947 up-to-date, it has been a society in transition and being dynamic in nature, it isconsequently ever-changing and its patterns are transforming from time to time.