After my conversation with Linda after the initial workshop I withdrew some books from the library which I intend to work my way through to aid my studies and exploration of gender within teaching.
In ‘The Fashioned Body: Fashion, Dress and Modern Social Theory’ Entwistle, J. 2000, Entwistle refers to”Butler’s work on performativity (1990, 1993), influenced by Foucault, looks at the way in which gender is the product of styles and techniques such as dress rather than any essential qualities of the body.” pg 33. When teaching garment construction, we still implement rules of the direction of fastening buttons to determine the gender of a garment. The female garment fastens right over left, whereas the male garment fastens left over right. Explanations for this include ease of breastfeeding for women or drawing a sword for men.
We also refer to mannequins as male and female due to their differing builds. Entwistle also refers to Gaines (1990:1) analysis of Foucault and how his theory ‘argues that dress delivers ‘gender as self evident or natural’ when… gender is a cultural construction that dress helps to reproduce.” pg 21 I would like to explore new ways of defining the mannequins which meet our less binary ideas of gender, to help create more inclusivity and equality within the studios. As teachers to the creators of garments and fashions or trends, I believe we have a responsibility to disrupt western ideas of gender norms and conformity.
It was also interesting to read about Edward Munby and his documentation (and fetishisation) of working class women in Victorian England, particularly the Wigan pit brow women. Due to their physical, laborious jobs, in a time when it was frowned upon for ‘respectable’ women to work, the pit brow women wore practical and traditionally ‘male’ garments such as trousers, shirts and waistcoats. After reading Munby’s less than flattering description of the women he photographed, it is interesting to consider the power imbalance and purpose of these images and the subjects’ consented, along with the effect social class has upon gendering people. “…A quite respectable woman… her dress was not noticed in the streets: in Wigan, a woman in trousers is not half as odd as a woman in a crinoline. Barbarous locality.” (Hudson 1974: 76)