FASH419 exam 1 - Lecture notes 1-14 PDF

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9/16/15 12:27 PM

Clothing- broadly   defined   as any body   covering;   any tangible   or material  object connected   to   the   human body  ● “All items   of apparel   and adornment   used   to   cover   or decorate   the  body” (Horn, 1981) Dress- anything   man does   to   his body   to   ornate   or cover   it (includes  clothing, ornaments,   cosmetics,   body   modifications)  3 Forms of Dress● Body Modification  Any temporary   or permanent   changing   of the  body itself   (the   color,   texture,   or shape   of the   body)  o Ex: dying hair, tattoos,   piercings, makeup  o Modification of Body   texture ▪ Ex: straightening the hair, softening skin   with   lotion,  wrinkle reduction o Modification of body   shape ▪ Ex: Toning the body, Spanx (body modifying garments), plastic   surgery  ● Body Enclosures  Covering the   entire   body   or some   parts   of the  body, the   item   may be   wrapped   around of pre-shaped  o Ex: Bracelets, rings, turbans ● Attachments to   the   body   or to   body   enclosures o Insertions ▪ Ex: Piercings, cufflinks o Clips ▪ Ex: Clip on earrings,   bow ties o Adherents ▪ Ex: False eyelashes,   artificial   fingernails o Items hung from the   shoulder   or hand-held  ▪ Ex: Purse, wallet  Appearance: The total,   composite   image   created   by   both   clothing   and the  human body ● Ex: Includes any body modifications   that   are  visually perceived Appearance Management:   the   process   of thinking   about   and actually  carrying out activities   pertaining   to   the   way one look ● Ex: washing your hair,  choosing clothing, makeup  Appearance Perception:   The process   of observing   and making evaluations   or drawing inferences   based   on how people   look (the   opposite   of appearance  management) ● “Appearance perception   encompasses   clothing   perceptions”  Why did people first wear clothing? ● Modesty theory  people   first   wore clothing   to   cover   or conceal   the  “private” parts   of the   human body  o Criticism: a   lack   of agreement   as to   what constitutes   modesty  (varies by culture and historical era, modesty is socially learned)

● Immodesty or sexual   attraction  people   display   their   bodies   to  attract others  o Criticism: a   lack   of evidence,   how can   cross-cultural  differences be   explained?  ● Protection Theory- protection   from the   weather,   insects,   animals,   or even supernatural forces o Criticism: clothing   is thought   to   have originated   in tropical  regions of the   world where there   was the   least   need for protection against   the   climate  ● Adornment Theory- purposes   od display   or aesthetic   expression,  people evolved from merely decorating their   bodies   to   the   wearing of clothing

3 Perspectives in Dress and Human Behavior ● Cognitive- focuses   on individual   thought   processes   based   on appearance cues  o Focuses on individuals’   appearance   perception,   not only about  one another but   themselves as well  o Classifying people   on the   basis   of appearance  ▪ EX: punk->rebellious, youth culture o People strive   for some   consistency   in their   appearance  perceptions ▪ Perceivers might   find it troubling   if a   person’s  appearance seems   to   contradict   his/her   role in a  situation ● Symbolic Interactionist- meanings   of clothes   in social   interactions  o Deals with both appearance   management   and  appearance perception (two-way   interaction)  o Focuses of the   process   of “negotiation”   between   an observer  (perceiver) and the   self   (how we act   toward   other   people   on the basis   of the   meanings   of their   appearances   for us)  o Clothing and appearance   symbols   are used   to   evoke meaningful responses  ▪ Meanings created   are dynamic   and changeable   rather  than static   and firm (individuals   create   their   own realities by   managing   their   appearances)  ▫ EX: Images on social   media ● Cultural- cultural   influences   on social   meanings  o Deals with meanings embedded in  the   cultural   context  (individuals sharing  a   common   culture)  o Some meanings of  clothing and appearance   symbols   are  provide and transmitted   by   culture,   and we interact   with   one another within   this   context   of cultural   meaning ▪ EX: what it means  to be socially   responsible ▪ EX: what it means  to be beautiful   in  American culture 

Cognitive social psychologists tend to study the effects of clothing and appearance cues   (stimuli)   on people’s   perceptions   by   manipulating   them   in experiments (either   in a   lab or in a   field setting)  ● EX: types of clothing – job interview o Lab experiments  o Field experiments ● Whether a   change   in clothing   and appearance   cues   change  a  perceiver’s judgments   (reactions)  ● Quantitative analysis   (statistical   techniques)  Major research strategies ● Fieldwork o Researchers study   action,   behavior,   relationships,   and situations of people   in their   everyday   lives o It allows researchers to study the meanings associated with  dress in the   situations   of daily   life o Sometimes fieldwork   is a   short   term   involving little   contact   or involvement with those being studied ▪ Ex: a study focused on intergenerational gap   of interpretation of young girls’   clothes  o Data collection   procedures  observation   and interviews  ▪ Participant observation:  a   participant   observer   (i.e. researcher) takes   part   in the   activities   of the   group  during data   collection  ▪ Non participant   observation:   no direct   contact   between  a researcher   and those   being   studied   during   data  collection o Qualitative data   analysis  o Researchers must   be   extremely   cautious   to   avoid injecting  their own perceptions   as to   what is important   as they   have close contacts   with   people   being   studied  o Q: What’s the difference between a field experiment and  fieldwork? ▪ Answer: one has manipulation   (field experiment)   and the other   doesn’t  ● Non reactive   research  ● Experimentation o Involves producing a   manipulation   of  the independent variables and observing   its   effects   on the   dependent   variables  (people’s responses   or reactions)  ▪ IV= variable being manipulated or controlled (independent) ▪ DV= response to   the   manipulation variable that is researched (dependent)  ● Survey research  Research methods based on Cultural perspective

● Dress and appearance   can   be   studied   using  a   non reactive   strategy  ● Non reactive:   umbrella   term   for research   that   does   not intrude   on the people   being   studied  o Many types of historic   research,   content   analyses,   and  secondary analyses   of survey   or other   data  ● It allows researchers to study past behaviors related to dress as depicted in pictures   and paintings  Content Analysis ● Cultural forms may be   content   analyzed;  a   technique   for systematically describing   the   form and context   of written,   spoken   or visual material  o Ex: Women’s role portrayals in magazines or movies Interviews: a method of person-to-person verbal communication in  which one person,   the   interviewer, asks   another person,   the   respondent, questions designed to   elicit   information   or opinions  ● One-on-one interview,   focus   group interview ● Individual interpretations   of cultural   forms may be   assessed   as people are interviewed  o Ex: how adolescents respond to appearance characteristics portrayed in music   videos  ● It is important   not to impose a researcher’s own cultural   frame  of reference in the   interpretation   of cultural   forms ●

Sex- the biological dimension of being male or female Gender- the sociocultural dimension of being male or female ● Socially constructed   concept  ● Socially constructed   aspects   of behavior,   beliefs,   and personality  expectations ● Gender is a   matter   of culture:   the   social   classification   into  “masculine” and “feminine”  o What does   it mean to   be masculine or feminine?  ▪ Differs from culture to culture A gender role- a   set   of perceived behavioral   norms associated particularly  with males or females in a   given   society  ● Socially and culturally   defined  ● Transmitted by   social   groups,   media,   parents…  ● Kids start   to   learn about   it at age  3  ● Segregated behavioral   patterns   for each   sex,   including   appearance  management behaviors  Society still   places  a   greater   emphasis   on the   appearance   of women than   on that of men in establishing   their   identities  According to research findings: ● Women are more  socialized   to please others by their physical appearances than   men ● Women receive more messages for beauty products   and  diets than  men ● Women are more  evaluated   by their attractiveness than men  Differences in clothing   have reinforced   physical   and social   differenced  between men and women ● Ex: trousers- symbol of masculinity        Skirts, undergarments- symbols of femininity ● Dress for success   suits   for work for women as a   sign   of women’s growing social   equality   with   men ● “Let’s think   about   materials   of clothing   or clothing   items   that   signify  masculinity vs femininity”  New Definition of Gender Roles ● Androgynous means having characteristics   of both   masculinity   and femininity

What is   sexism?  ● ● ● ●

Bias or discrimination against people on  the   basis of their   “sex”  Media have sexist   attitudes  Sexist attitudes   found in occupational   discrimination  Sexism, sex   bias   can   be   perpetuated   by   language 

Gender-Typing ● A. ● B. ● C. School o Teachers pay   more attention   to   boys   than   girls   for their  academic performance  o Girls are praised more  by   their   conduct   rather than   academic  achievements o Books and stories (beauty   and the beast; sleeping beauty) ● D. TV and Media  o In Tv, more  male  characters than female characters o Kids who watch   more TV than   less   TV tend   to   have more stereotypical beliefs 

According to studies   related   to   children   and   gender-typing 

● Articles of clothing   can   be   identified   as gender-typed   by   their   color  and style ● When the sex of a child is ambiguous, gender-typed   clothing provides a   cue   for identifying   sex  ● Children who wear gender-typed   clothing   are expected   to   act   and are treated   in stereotypic manner Dress and Gender  ● Research consistently   finds   that   the   general   public   assumes   that  women who wear   sexually   provocative dress incite, and are   in   part  responsible for, sexual   harassment   from coworkers  ● Culturally prescribed   gender   norms,   manifested   by   dress   and appearance, can   be   challenged  ● A cross   dresser   is a   person   whose   gender   identification   is with   one sex, but   who wears the   clothing   of the   opposite   sex  o Dressing is not for comfort   or convenience,   but   about   gender  role

Representation of   Women   in   advertising

● Three Criticisms of Advertising o Stereotyping of women into   passive   and less   powerful   players  in society  o Portrayal of women as sexual   objects   in ads  o Cumulative effect   of these   portrayals   on women’s self-esteem  ● Women as passive   and submissive  o Centered primarily   on the   limited   roles in which   advertisers  show women ▪ EX: mothers and housewives  o Women are posed   in submissive ways;   female models are  the objects of the   male gaze 

Gender Advertisements 

● Goffman’s research on visual communication   with the   topic   of  gender representation   in advertising  ● Underlying messages   about   the   sex   roles projected   by   masculine  and feminine   images   in advertising, as well as   symbolism in advertising

Masculinity in   Advertising  ● ● ● ● ●

Standing upright  Eyes open   and looking around Serious Bodies are controlled  Physically active 

Femininity in   Advertising  ● Laying on the ground ● More nudity ● Makeup

Objectification Theory 

● _____ refers  to a woman’s body being treated as a scrutinizable object by   being   separated   by   her persona  o The female  body   is  seen   as  a decorative object that is  used   as  part of the   scene   for the   advertised   products/services 

Sexual Images   of   Men   and   Women  ● A large   portion   of advertising   is sexually   explicit  ● Sexual objectification often occurs when the focus is on isolated body parts,   such   as bare   stomach,   cleavage,   or buttocks  ● A notable   increase   in the   use   of the   male body   as a   sexual   object  While women have   been represented   in   more diverse social roles,   although   it may be subtle, women are still   shown   primarily in   submissive roles  and as  sex objects 

Semiotic Analysis   of   an   Advertisement  ● What is  the message the image conveys? 

● By analyzing the image and message through the study of signs individuals are able   to   see   an image,   process   its   cultural   code   or meaning, and ultimately   understand   the   overall message   the   image  conveys

Six Questions to   Consider 

What are  the signifiers in the ad? What do   they signify? What meaning  does that   assign   to   the   product?  What social   values/norms does this ad promote? Are there particular social groups that the ad speaks   to? Not speak to? ● What are  the possible alternate interpretations?

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Beauty a   cultural   construct  ● What is  beauty is  defined by a culture (cultural norms, values, ideology) Cultural standards  ● Are often narrowly  defined (how?) ● Are reinforced through media images ● Are powerful in terms of  how attractiveness affects other people Body Image ● The mental image we  hold of our bodies, which is perceptual and  affective o Perceptual: what we think   we see  o Affective: how we feel about   our perceived   body   attributes  ● Body image   is closely   related   to   cultural   standards   of the   idea  beauty since   people   try   to   measure   up to   those   standards  Gender differences   in body   image  ● Women, in general, have  more negative body image than men  ● A strong   gender   difference   has been   found for desired   body   weight  and size: o Men generally   want  to gain weight   and  become more  muscular, whereas women want to   lose   weight   and become  thinner ● Male children   and  adolescents   are  more satisfied with their  appearances and body   weight   than   are female children   and adolescents (replicating   the   results   from adult   populations)  Factors affecting body image ● Developmental factors:   maturational   status  o The more  advanced   pubertal levels the more negative body  images in females than   in males (bc   social   pressure   for thinness seems   to   increase   w/ age   as their   bodies   begin   to  change) o Negative verbal   commentary   and teasing   regarding   physical  app ● Sociocultural factors  o The cultural   ideal of beauty o Media influences  o Gender role stereotypes 

Body Image   Disorder  ● Body image   disturbance  intense   preoccupation   w/ changing   the  body so   it meets   the   mental   conception   of how it should   look ● Compulsive and obsessive   behaviors,   such   as:  o Eating disorders  ▪ Anorexia: intense pursuit   of thinness, refusal to  maintain body   weight   over a   minimal normal weight   for age and height,   extreme   fear of gaining   weight   or becoming fat,   although   underweight  ▪ Bulimia: recurrent   episodes of  binge eating, feeling a lack of control   over eating   behavior,   purging   food by  vomiting or laxatives,   rarely overweight  ▪ Binge eating:   periodic   or chronic   eating   of large  amounts of food,   often   overweight  ▪ Sub-clinical: counting   every calorie,   eating   only “fat  free” products,   chronic use of liquid   diets or   diet pills,  diet shopping   (trying   new diets)  o Extreme exercise  o Use of anabolic   steroids   to   “bulk   up”  o Compulsive body   sculpting   via weight   training   (muscle  dysmorphia) ● Predisposing conditions   related   to   body   image   disorder  o Cultural norms that   stress   attractiveness  o Gender role ideology  o Mother’s own dieting   ...