AMT417 Multicultural Perspectives on Dre

8/2/2019 AMT417 Multicultural Perspectives on Dre

1/10

AMT 417

Multicultural Perspectives

onDress and the Body

1

Essential concepts: culture, self,identity, social role, meaning,individuality, diversity, fashion,

stereotype, pluralism, and.

Establishes centrality of diversity,

pluralism, relativism, holism, and

avoidance of ethnocentrismtounderstanding dress. 2

Concepts of culture and society

relative to the meaning of dress

Dress is what people do to their

bodies to maintain, manage, andalter appearance; it is a behavior;intentional modification of appearance

3


2/10

Cultural perspective

This perspective is derived fromanthropology, womens studies,consumer behavior, ethnic studies,soc o ogy, an sem ot cs.

The focus is on the symbolic realm ofsocial life, linked to arts and literature,media, and ideologies (values systems).

4

Culture is the beliefs,behaviors, attitudes andproductsof human activity of aparticular population. It is

shared, learned, integrated,symbolic, dynamic, andadaptive.

5

This perspective helps us understanddress using a holistic view in which allaspects of a culture are considered asshaping the meanings of dress and thechoices people make when choosing

forms of dress.

Dress may reflect many aspects ofcultures, including the way people think,organize themselves, behave towardothers, andways of making.

6


3/10

A stereotype is a network of meaning

assigned on the basis of appearance.Appearance stereotypes can be sharedby members of a cultural group.

Hegemony is when a group dominatesand leads minorities and less powerfulgroups in a society.

7

8

Prejudice when one holds a stereotype sostrongly against a group and discriminatesagainst the group regardless of informationthat the stereotype is untrue.

Fashion a dynamic social processby whichnew styles are created, introduced to aconsuming public and accepted by thatpublic. As object it is the style accepted bya large group of people at a particular time.

9


4/10

10

The Self

Defined through interaction with others

Dress defines self-identity to others byreflecting interests, personalities, roles,

group membership, age, gender,socioeconomic status, and more.

11

Roles define an integral part of theself. This is a position we occupy in agroup or society. The roles can bemultiple(age, gender, ethnic, family,social, service)

Performance of a role is guided bysocial expectations for the role playersbehavior including dress, knowledge,and attitudes. Adults have multipleroles that define parts of the self.

12


5/10

The United States is a prime example

of a society that incorporates peoplefrom many cultures within its borders.The United States is a multicultural

Diversity

society.

Dress that is commonly accepted inones own country may be consideredimmodest or inappropriate in another.

13

14

Ethnocentrism is judging people

from other cultures andbackgrounds by ones own culturalstandards and beliefs.

Pluralism relates to personsaccepting of differences in otherswhile not wanting to adopt thosedifferences for the self.

15


6/10

Understanding Dress

Interdisciplinary study

Contextualization

Critical thinking

16

Interdisciplinary fields

Psychology, sociology, anthropology,

material culture, history,communication, aesthetics, consumerbehavior, marketing, businessmanagement, economics, popular

culture, gender studies, feministscholarship, and minority studies.

17

Focus on meaning

This involves the study of the processesinfluencing how individuals come to makesymbolic associations with appearance cues,

as well as the consequences of suchassociations for social interactions.

Meanings of dress and appearance arecreated, maintained, and modified dailyasindividuals collectively deal with dress andthe people wearing that form of dress.

18


7/10

Contextualization

Context includes social, psychological,

and cultural dimensions; theinterconnection among these dimensionsis of primary concern.

A social context includes the identitiesof, and relationships among theparticipants as well as any physical orsituational parameters that set the stagefor social interaction.

19

Critical thinking

Critical thinking about the meaning of dressinvolves THREE phases:

First, an ability to examine different meanings orideas with the intent of discovering an underlyingcommon meaning, so that conceptual categoriesmay be identified;

Second, the discovery of distinctionsamongapparently similar ideas and meanings; and

Third, seeing appearance symbolsin relation to

the wholeness of social context.20

21


8/10

22

Origins and Functions of Dress

There is general agreement on FIVE majortheoriesto explain why clothes were firstworn.

A theory serves to organize ideas into anintegrated plan to explain something unusual.

23

1. Modesty Theory

Is concerned with the concealment of parts ofthe body. It stems from the biblical version ofwhy people wear clothes (Genesis 3:7).

Shameis associated with an uncovered bodypart, particularly the genital areas for men andwomen, and upper body for women.

This theory is not universal, what is concealedand what is not concealed varies amongsocieties.

24


9/10

2. Immodesty Theory

States that clothing is used not to coverthe body, but attract attention to it.

This theory stated that the body wasfirst covered as a sexual lure andclothes were used to call attention to the

body parts that were covered.

25

3. Protection (or utility) Theory

Relates to the physical and psychologicalreasonsclothing was worn.

ysca ncu es pro ec on o ebody/body parts against the weather andharsh environment.

Psychological includes protectionof thebody/body parts against evil, and/or for luck.

26

First garment: Rear apron

String apron worn inPaleolithic times

(20,000 BC)

From Elizabeth Barbersbook Womens Work:First 20,000 Years

27


10/10

4. Adornment Theory

Widely accepted to explain original purpose of

clothing.

To adorn means to make attractive or tolend beauty.

In the case of clothing, the object of adornmentbecomes the self.

Adornment comes in many forms and ispracticed universally. 28

5. Group Identification Theory

Our dress (in industrialized societies)primarily shows group identification: itidentifies: ge an en er

Roles

Lifestyle groups

Occupational groups

Ethnicity

Religion29

Identification to identify and distinguishpeople clothing is used. The symbolizationof clothingcan indicate the wearers status,occupation, religion, and group membershipboth formal and informal.

Extension of self is determined primarilywithin the individual by giving them a sense ofsize, power, movement, rigidity dependent onthe characteristic of the clothing item.

30

Documents

AMT417 Multicultural Perspectives on Dre