Journal 3: Gender and Fashion by Tien Dang

Fashion seems to be very political in the sense that there are always certain topics that arises within the realms of fashion- one being gender. Gender always causes a big controversy in advertisements because there are several depictions that causes an uproar. The reoccurring controversy is the dehumanization and belittlement of women. There has been recent issues where ambiguous advertisements, body parts are missing such as a leg or a hip. As the article by Frith, Cheng, and Shaw stated, women are constantly depicted into domestic roles. On the other hand, this is not just an issue of wardrobe, but accessories among little girls.

If we go down the children's toy aisles, we see a drastic depiction of gender roles. Toys have been fashioned into gender roles where little girls have the domestic dress-up clothing as well as toy lawn mowers, kitchen and cleaning appliances. It's a re-socialized impact on gendered roles.

Image: http://www.thomasthetrainset.com/ProductImages/2425_1.jpg

Article: Katherine Toland Frith, Hong Cheng, and Ping Shaw. "Race and Beaty: A Comparison of Asian and Western Models in Women's Magazine Advertisements." Sex Roles. Vol 50, Nos 1/2, January 2004.

I have been doing well on our consumerism challenge. Perhaps it's because I have yet to step foot in a mall, but I know I will be buying my brother a present that is not used and from an actual store. I wonder if anyone is really struggling with this challenge.