The fashion test:
Do you...
- have the means to acquire clothing?
- have the means to keep up with fashion trends?
- have the obscure social knowledge as to what is considered fashionable?
- have the means to acquire cosmetic supplies?
- have the access to skills for the correct application of cosmetic supplies?
- have the desired body type and mass?
- have the means to tailor clothing to your body type?
- have a favorable hair color?
- have a favorable hair length?
- have a favorable hair style?
- have the access to a barber that has experience with your type of hair?
- have the right amount of body hair?
- have body hair in the right places?
- have a desirable and full set of teeth?
- have good health?
- have a desirable genetic code?
While I believe that Fashion provides some cultural benefit in establishing a visual identity of a culture, it places unreasonable burdens on marginalized groups that do not outweigh this benefit. In my perspective, fashion is a method of social sorting which often boils down to poor people dress this way and people who have money dress this other way. Style sends a message about individuals that is reflective of the intersections of their gender, class, race, and origin. Our appearance sends a message and only the correct message gains social power.
The issue of access is especially important in professional settings where a specific style is demanded for access to high paying work. This causes a quandary for individuals who seek high paying work, but do not have the means to acquire the fashion necessary. If they do not have a high paying job, they cannot afford well fitting, stylish wear. If they do not have stylish wear, they will not be able to get a high paying job. Fashion is not likely the only force keeping a person from access to desirable lifestyles, but it is another wire in the birdcage.
Discussion questions: Are there benefits to Fashion? Is the test representative of how Fashion works? Does Fashion impact how we distribute social, political, and economic power in our culture? How do pressures to be fashionable impact individual choices? How do you use fashion to gain acceptance? Is this a feminist issue? What does your style say about you?
The question of ability regarding fashion is really interesting to me, especially the question "have the access to skills for the correct application of cosmetic supplies?". Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteAs fashion is highly individual and run entirely on opinion, I find it difficult to lump everything under "trendy" or "not trendy." Does this list include socioeconomic, racial and class influence, because it seems across the board, which can never be mapped perfectly onto human society. Also, anyone care to share what the "right amount" of body hair is? I've never heard of that, and frankly it strikes me as a little creepy.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree that fashion is expressed in changing ways based on the demographic of the community. My point is generally that there is a fashion for every society that must be conformed to in order for an individual to be seen as a respectable person.
ReplyDeleteI tried to cover a lot of bases in the list I made, but body hair definitely has a fashion component. An overly hairy man can be seen as a "bear", a hairless man can be seen as less than masculine. Women are often pressured to have little-to-no hair anywhere from the eyebrows down; non-conformity threatens their femininity. People are pressured to sculpt themselves in many different ways and it is absolutely creepy.