Uplift Magazine

Should We Care What Women Wear?

By: Sarah Barnes, 01.09.2010 | Comments (0)

One thing I love about Feminism today is that it feels so inclusive; The modern feminism umbrella is so wide that all kinds of feminists are provided shelter. The problem for me, however, comes when I realise that I foster several little feminists within my own brain – all huddling out of the downpour – and I wonder how I can justify harbouring such seemingly conflicting interests. Most of the time I am happy to have the advantage of accessing various viewpoints… but sometimes, sitting on the fence can be a mighty pain in the ass.

So here I am, listening to Beyonce’s Freakum Dress and feeling appalled as I read Grazia’s latest online report on which trends men equate with promiscuity. Who are these men to pass judgement? And, I wonder, is this really required reading for the modern fashionista? Should women care whether 57% of men think that those who sport body-con might *gasp* be a little on the loose side?

Apparently so, because Grazia advise their readers to ‘Just be careful your dress sense doesn’t give out false messages.  We don’t mind men thinking we’re unfashionable (what do they know) but ‘easy’? That’s another matter.’

Thankfully, the writer of this piece, Amy Molloy, pointed out that the poll (conducted by Mycelebrityfashion.co.uk) can be taken with a huuuge pinch of salt since these men clearly had no clue about AW10’s big trends (I’m being serious here! If a man thinks I’m wearing a pencil skirt for his benefit, rather than for the fact I am channelling this season’s Mad Men vibe, then he really should brush up on his pop-culture homework) and, worst of all, almost a quarter of the males questioned said they ‘wouldn’t allow’ their partner to go out in an outfit that didn’t meet their approval. Epic. Fail.

Still, the fact that this poll was deemed of importance for Grazia’s savvy, fashionable and independently minded audience (and I should know, because I count myself as one of them!) is kind of distressing. I’m reminded of a very similar poll flagged up on Sociological Images; Young Christian men were surveyed on what items of clothing/ways of dressing/behaviour (intentional or not) they deemed ‘immodest’. It made for distressing reading, as the results began to weave a tangled web of impossible expectations from women – boiling down to the infuriating notion that women are expected to be the guardians of straight male sexuality. As Lisa Wade wrote of the results;

The lust is men’s; the bodies are women’s.  It’s an asymmetry built right into the survey design. Modesty is something pertains to only girls and immodesty is something that guys get to define.  This may be even more pernicious than women’s constant self-monitoring.  It erases women’s own desires and the sex appeal of men’s bodies, leading women to spend all of their time thinking about what men want.

So what to do? Don one of those ‘promiscuous’ trends, regardless of the male gaze, and team it with an empowered attitude? That’s certainly my first reaction. But perhaps not the best course of action – since, as one Grazia commenter points out; ‘I find it decidedly ironic, yet perfectly 21st century that women would go on a feminist march in bodycon and fishnets. Germaine Greer must be weeping.’

Yikes. Have I strayed severely off the feminist path here? I mean, I’ve read Female Chauvinist Pigs and (although I found it a bit reactionary) I agreed with pretty much every word. I was pleased when style maven Paula Reed spoke of how fashion editors had come under fire for certain ‘pornified’ trends. Hell, I laughed my ass off at The Onion’s brilliant Women Now Empowered By Everything A Woman Does article. So, what am I? A feminist… or a hypocrite?

For now all I know is that, on a personal level, I make a conscious effort not to judge women on what they wear. My umbrella is open to all; stilletto heeled or sturdilly booted, seamed stockinged or hairy legged, bare faced or fully made-up, body-conned or baggy. I’ve sported all these looks and will most likely continue to flit between them whenever it takes my fancy… and I know that, whatever I’m wearing, I’m still the same person with the same (admittedly *ahem* diverse) belief system. Whilst I delight in fashion, what I wear has little bearing on my persona, and so I am content in the knowledge that what other women wear tells me little about their personalities and values.

The fact that this question still niggles, though, is testament to my personal fear that, one day soon, the goddesses of feminism will strike me down for wearing heels. Or lipstick. Or stockings and suspenders. But I’m aware that the guilt of hypocrisy is tiring and sometimes living is hard enough. There are other important things that require attention, so I will just put this blog out there, hope it lets other flip-flopping feminists see that they’re not alone, and perhaps we can move on for a bit… until the guilt niggles again.

Fashion and The Female Personality

By: Sarah Barnes, 24.02.2010 | Comments (0)

I read with interest (and not just because she’s a friend, honest!) Esme Benjamin’s take on the new French Connection adverts. Writing over at the Fashion Editor At Large blog, where she and Grazia’s Melanie Rickey pour out their fashionable thoughts, Esme loved the brand’s post modern approach to winning over the public.

What I love about this ad campaign is that it cheekily mocks (and yet, still obviously loves) the pretension of editorials and the fashion image whilst simultaneously making us as viewers aware of the way the fashion ‘dream’ is delivered to us. And the most interesting thing, I think, is how that ‘dream’ is all tied up in defining a particular gender in a romanticised and precise manner. So, from the video campaign (that deliciously sends up French art-house cinema), we understand the Man is ’strong, virile, a brute’ and the Woman is highly desirable, yet independent.

What I find especially exciting about this campaign is that it gives a personality to the ‘dream’ woman in the campaign, and acknowledges that French Connection customers also possess personality… and a sense of humour! With this in mind, I was interested to read BitchBuzz’s latest fashion report that, when presenting their AW10 collection this London Fashion Week, Antoni & Alison chose to go over-the-top in their openness about the kind of woman they designed the pieces for.

As the lovely editor of BitchBuzz Cate Sevilla writes, the presentation (which had clothes for the writer, the country girl, and those ‘very good at maths’)was essentially about how Antoni & Alison have created a collection that tells women that they can do anything that they might deign to turn their hand to… or dress appropriately for. It’s an interesting idea. Is this fashion coming round to the idea that women actually have lives and do stuff when they are wearing clothes, rather than being passive clothes horses? Or is this yet more pressure for women to ‘look the part’ and play at dress-up (if she dresses like a martial artist, does it follow that she can perform the perfect judo-chop? Did she earn her black belt, or simply buy it?) I think the aim was for the former, and it was great to see Antoni & Alison picking up on the interests of women, and not simply labelling them ‘the sex-kitten’ or some other tired cliche.

Whilst the marketing idea of having a ‘Woman’ that a brand designs for has been around for donkey’s years, I think this new mini-trend for turning the notion on its head is a rather fascinating one… and I wonder whether we’ll be seeing more examples of it in the future.

Misfits – Super Powers are a Turn On

By: Sarah Barnes, 13.11.2009 | Comments (16)

Last night I watched E4’s new teen drama Misfits (I have no idea why… I guess I thought the idea of Skins with super-powers might be good. Trust me, it’s not)

There is often critique about the way fantasy writers treat their female characters, much of it regarding the way the super-powers given to them fit their stereotypical role as a woman. Whilst male superheroes are going around smashing and killing and KAPOWing, female superheroes are more likely to be deflecting bullets, reading minds and becoming invisible. All whilst looking damn hawt.

So last night, 4 of the 5 Misfits got their super-powers… and they were all pretty lame, to be honest; invisibility, mind reading, turning back time. What, no setting-things-on-fire-just-by-looking-at-them power? Oh well, that’s an E4 style budget for you…

The power attributed to the character of Alisha really took the biscuit though. Her power was… wait for it… (more…)