Contextual Studies 2020. by Carrie-Beth Blackburn

Contextual Studies: gender.

Are fashion brands deconstructing gender stereotypes through advertising and becoming more inclusive of gender neutral fashion? Carrie-Beth Blackburn C3541325 Wordcount:2,951.

Contents...

Introduction.................... Page 6 Literature review...............Pages 10-15 Image analysis..................Pages 18-19 Text analysis...................Page 22 Conclusion......................Page 24 Image references................Pages 26-30 Bibliography....................Pages 31-32

e s u Ho of d i n e 8 1 0 2

Introduction... ‘Stereotypes are the common beliefs and values of the group, culture or religions and the gender stereotypes are fixed ideas about men’s and women’s traits and capabilities and how people should behave based on their gender.’(Akdemir, 2018) Gender fluid and androgynous fashion to some, could be stated as an anti-fashion movement. Although the idea of gender fluidity is somewhat becoming more accepted in some cultures, gender stereotypes and labels still strongly exist, especially within the fashion industry. This critical analysis will focus on the subject of gender stereotypes and question whether fashion brands are deconstructing these stereotypes and contributing to the future of gender fluidity. Included in this essay is a literature review that gives key insight and opinions into this subject matter from credited individuals, referencing scholarly articles, books and journals etc. Also featured is an image analysis of Diesel’s ‘Make Love not Walls’ campaign that aims to break stereotypes and promote equality and provide exposure for the LGBTQ+ community. Finally, there will be a text review of a magazine article, the analysis of these findings will later on help to conclude on how brands are responding to this issue of inclusivity and whether gender stereotypes will eventually be a thing of the past.

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i c c Gu t r o res 8 1 0 2

Literature Review... What fashion signifies. Gendered fashion has evolved and is different in each culture. From a young age people are taught to categorize certain colours and items by gender, blue for boys and pink for girls. It’s important to firstly understand why Fashion has been categorized this way and what it’s intended meaning is. ‘The use of clothing reinforces gender roles culturally assigned to men and women by emphasizing individuals’ biological sex and encouraging them to behave according to specific character traits associated with their specific sex.’ (Marcangeli, 2015) Marcangeli discusses in his thesis ‘Undressing the Power of Fashion: The Semiotic Evolution of Gender Identity by Coco Chanel and Alexander McQueen’ that the separation of clothing by gender was formed based on the expected roles for men and women. For a long time, it was solely men that went to work and so they wore trousers as they were easier for them to work in whereas women didn’t need the practicality of free movement that trousers offer as they typically were expected to stay at home. As Marcangeli explains, clothing also serves the purpose of highlighting and individual’s sex. This has evolved to mean different things for each sex. For women in particular, clothing has been used as a mechanism for social control, restricting freedom of choice concerning the roles they can carry out in society.

‘The female dress has historically limited the social roles of women both physically and symbolically.’ (Zoi Arvanitidou, Maria Gasouka 2013) Fashion has since evolved, and while certain limitations still exist, clothing has taken on new meaning and power when it comes to sexuality. Traditionally women were expected to hide their physical self, to repress any hint of sexuality. Modern fashion has noticeably moved away from that and while the current state of social control on sexuality is still debated, many agree that fashion now works to empower women by providing them the choice to highlight their sexual features. It is also worth noting that the traditionally oppressive shame associated with these fashion choices is decreasing, that women aren’t as commonly described as ‘sluts’ or seen as promiscuous simply for the way they dress. Clothing is a means of expression of personality, reflects an individual’s visible choices and is used to interact within social environments. It has been explored by many the idea of clothing used for attracting partners, highlighting an individual’s choice to portray themselves sexually and while this isn’t inextricably linked to the choice in a person’s attire, it is worth noting that ‘young children wearing gendered clothing was seen as inappropriate because of their innocence as children.’ (Arslan, 2016)

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The evolution of androgynous Fashion. Fashion brands are starting to explore gender fluid lines and incorporating androgynous styling within their campaigns. It’s important to understand how androgynous fashion began. ‘It all started with Coco Chanel. The French fashion designer began to make clothing about a hundred years ago, with the first women’s pantsuit part of her more gender neutral aesthetic.’ (Lawrence, 2020) Chanel was the first designer to truly challenge standard gender norms firstly with the little black dress that was loose fitting and androgynous. This dress revolutionized Chanel as she was the first designer to attempt to address boundaries between masculine and feminine fashion. ‘Chanel liberated women from the 1926 rules of gender performativity of curvy bodies in a tight constricted silhouette confining the woman to the domestic sphere by flattening the bust and therefore allowing women to become androgynous in their gender, free in movement’ (Marcangeli, 2015) The development in women’s fashion was first guided by an attempt to give women the same choices men had, to reduce social expectations dictated through clothing. Interestingly, for women to feel empowered they had too dress like men, the ones traditionally in a position of power. Androgynous fashion has manifested itself in many different ways since the early 1900s, as clothing becomes even more liberating, aiming to move away from historically restrictive ideas between fashion and gender. There is a clear movement in men’s fashion recently, as idea of masculinity is in a process of being redefined, changes are happening more drastically than ever seen before. In recent history, unconventional gendered fashion choices for both men and women have been tethered to an individual’s sexuality. It has traditionally been thought that for one sex to dress as the other, it must be a symptom of and a way to showcase their sexual preferences. The idea is misguided and simplistic but still exists today amongst many, even more seemingly progressive societies in the west hold unconscious beliefs that a person’s sexual identity is reflected in what they wear. This idea isn’t inherently damaging to a person’s freedom when it comes to expressing sexual identity, some individuals consciously aim to signify belonging to a specific group or subculture through clothing and find it empowering. However, does a person have to be homosexual to dress as the opposite sex?

The answer of course is no, yet this belief still underlies fashion choices of men and women today as it has since the beginning of fashion itself. Carody Culver summarises in an article about the link between fashion and sexuality: ‘While generalisations exist for a reason, it’s obvious to most people that not every woman with short hair and masculine attire is a lesbian, and not all well-dressed men are gay. It’s also a mistake to think that anyone whose dress conforms to a sexual stereotype is making a deliberate statement. The reality is far more manifold, and much more interesting, than assumptions resting on tired gender clichés.’ (Culver, 2015) Developments in the fashion industry are often influenced by political and social movements and in turn influence culture unlike anything else. Fashion is clothing and clothing is important to everyone. Everybody makes fashion choices, whether consciously or not, and these choices can be restrictive, empowering or revolutionary because of the fashion industry. There is a clear movement currently towards androgynous fashion in a way that hasn’t been seen before.

The deconstruction of Gender Stereotypes within Fashion Marketing, today.

‘The structure of meaning of the subject is disrupted at the first stage. In the second stage, the subject is rebuilt in a completely different context. Instead of imposing itself as a truth claim, the re-establishing process that emerges in the second stage leaves the endless meanings into new possible chains of meaning as a trail in the chain.’ (Akdemir, 2018) Akdemir explains the idea of deconstruction as not permanently removing meaning but reshaping the meaning something has. This is an apt way to describe the changes seen in fashion, as social norms don’t disappear, they rebuild and metamorphosise into something new. Often, elements of these norms don’t ever change at all, if they aren’t inherently restrictive or damaging to a person’s expressive freedom. It is worth noting that change on a social scale, even with the culture of fashion, progresses slowly, but can often be represented in an individual’s representation of themselves. Influential people can implement huge change, as they act as a representative of new ideas, unconventional idea about sexuality and its link with fashion. This sometimes gives the illusion that change has happened suddenly, that this individual is solely responsible for said change, when in reality they are a key aspect to the overall movement and in fact many of those responsible for huge shifts in attitudes often go unseen and achieve little popularity or exposure. This has been the case for the fashion industry for years and helps to explain the process of deconstructing gender stereotypes within fashion marketing.

Fashion brands are beginning to identify the need for genderless fashion for new generations, designing clothing to cater towards those who identify as non-binary, gender fluid and those who simply enjoy an androgynous style. ‘The days when skirts were just for women and trousers were just for men are gone a long time ago, gender no longer dictates the way people dress. It’s important we understand the significance of clothing choices regardless of gender since clothing is influenced by our identity, attitude, and mood. Whether you are male or female, your fashion choices can affect both body self-image, and the way in which people behave towards you.”(Kodzoman, 2019) Kodzoman explores the idea that clothing signifies many different things socially and argues that gender is no longer one of them. While it is evident that there is a movement towards such an idea, Kodzoman appears optimistically naïve about the current state of the fashion industry. As mentioned previously, fashion is still inextricably linked to sexual and gender identity in the minds of a large majority of people. There is still a long way to go, but the progress made so far is represented by marketing choices of fashion brands. ‘The representations of gender fluidity through fashion help bring a sense of normality to people who are trying to find the self-confidence to express who they want to be.’ (Akdemir, 2018.) The following image analysis provides a further in-depth look at the representational choices brands make specifically when it comes to political and social concerns, sexual identity, the expression of the LGBTQ+ community and how gender stereotypes influence these decisions.

Diesel gender fluid ad 16

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Image analysis... This campaign image is taken from Diesel’s 2017 ‘Make Love not Walls’ campaign. An article from ID magazine explored the political message of the campaign, the article writer stated ‘We have to be true to ourselves and what we believe the whole time. Luckily, a company like Diesel is not just interested in selling product, but putting these positive messages out there as well. You can achieve both.’ (Ososki, 2017) Diesel are a brand that have broken boundaries and caused controversy in the past for their rebellious messages portrayed through campaigns that go against conditioned stereotypes about body image and gender. The semiotic analysis of this campaign relates to a number of political issues and diesel have used this opportunity to represent different sexualities, identities and racial backgrounds in a message of love. In the image we see a group of people holding up an inflatable tank surrounded by pink smoke. There is a male model on his knees holding up a flower towards a wall that surrounds them.

The title of the campaign ‘Make Love not Walls’ is a play on words of the phrase ‘make love not war’, this makes the campaign title memorable and is using language to directly compare the idea of building a wall to the act of war. Donald Trump’s announcement to build a wall across the Mexico boarder has caused extreme controversy not only in America but globally and has raised awareness of racial issues. This campaign is aiming to turn something hateful into something empowering. The group of models featured in the campaign are diverse, there are women and men of different ethnicities and none of them are showcased to be inferior to one another. Each model in the campaign is represented as being strong, they are all holding up a tank which symbolically signifies they are uprooting discrimination. The campaign represents gender fluidity through the choice of clothing, all models are clothed in denim jeans, jackets and waistcoats. One model featured throughout the campaign imagery is ‘Laith Ashley’ who identifies as transgender male. This proves that Diesel are starting to deconstruct the stereotypical ideals that are usually portrayed within fashion advertising.

The male model holding up a rose is potentially a reference to Shakespeareâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Romeo and Julietâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;. The play is about two star crossed lovers that are forbidden to be together due to their families being at war. There is a direct reference to the balcony scene where Romeo is holding up a rose to the barrier between him and Juliet. The colours featured in this image represent pride hich is a movement that aims to empower people who have been discriminated against. The campaign explores same-sex marriage which is something that those in the LGBTQ+ have had to fight years to have the right to be able to do.

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ci â&#x20AC;&#x153;For a boy to dress like a woman is degrading because you secretly believe to be a woman is degrading.â&#x20AC;? (Smart Casual, 2018)

Text analysis... This text review will be exploring an article from ‘Dazed’ a magazine that explores fashion, film and art. The article is titled ‘What fashion needs to understand about being gender neutral’. This article was specifically chosen as it explores gender fluid fashion and stereotypes from the point of view of a gender fluid consumer themselves; This gives a reliable and honest opinion on the changes that fashion brands are making to adapt to a more inclusive future. The article specifically addresses genderless fashion within highstreet brands and the limited available options. These stores stock neutral coloured items such as beige and typically more masculine items like simple t-shirts. Widley available clothing options on the high-street, including gender neutral options seem restricted to one side of the gender spectrum. ‘Gender neutral does not mean ‘without any traditional female signifiers’, as most retailers seem to believe. Girls clothes appear exclusively for girls, but boy’s clothes are for everyone: the silent but apparent contradiction that undermines fashion fluidity becomes obvious under minor scrutiny. Why can’t dresses and skirts be gender neutral too?’ (Wylie, 2018) Wylie exposes the double standard within the industry, that women’s clothing is still overwhelmingly viewed as inherently feminine whereas men’s clothing cannot be defined as just masculine but is characterised by a lack of femininity. According to Wylie, gender neutral clothing appears to be an attempt by the industry to become more inclusive but may in fact have unintentionally emphasised the separation of gender. The solution is debated amongst many, but it is believed that the movement should aim to reach a place where all clothing is gender neutral and doesn’t define a person’s gender based on stereotypes. As Wylie goes on to elaborate: ‘H&M and Zara, for example, have both presented ‘gender neutral’ offerings of hoodies, sweatshirts and t-shirts designed for both men and women. But while their intentions may have been positive, each collection was merchandised either within the menswear or womenswear section of both stores, meaning gender neutral customers still had to make a decision as to which to head for.’ (Wylie, 2018)

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CONCLUSION... Overall, gender stereotypes within fashion to some degree do still exist. However, many fashion brands are deconstructing these typical stereotypes that have been embedded into cultures for years, typically as it’s been shown it is high-end brands that are challenging these categorized beliefs. Alongside Diesel, Gucci are a brand making headlines for their rebellious androgynous style that does include more feminine signifiers than masculine. Gucci’s creative director has mentioned in the past about redefining fashion and wanting to lead the brand to a genderless aesthetic. Historically men’s fashion hasn’t changed much as women’s as their socially defined roles haven’t been as oppressive as women’s and so haven’t had to change as much and this is reflected in the developments in the fashion industry. It’s interesting to see how modern movements in androgynous fashion involve men being able to wear more feminine as it’s more socially challenging. In a way not only is it empowering for men but also women as those who have traditionally the ones who are in power are wearing the clothing of those who haven’t. “For a boy to dress like a woman is degrading because you secretly believe to be a woman is degrading.” (Smart Casual, 2018)

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Isaac Moss (2020). This playful fashion editorial transports us to a gender-fluid English countryside. [image] Available at: https://www.sleek-mag.com/article/damien-fry/ [Accessed 15 Jan. 2020].

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