An interesting read…
**BARBIE IN HIJAB?
Explorations in Mediated Gender, Fashion, Consumption, and the Body **
*By Greta Scharnweber
Annotated Bibliography done for Popular Culture in the Middle East (SOCI 470)
Spring 2000
Source: http://www.georgetown.edu/faculty/armbrusw/Fashion.htm *
The field of fashion theory is a young one; academic studies of fashion have really only gained momentum since the 1980s. Much of the material I have combined here covers a plethora of subjects that relate to my personal interests concerning the "field" of fashion (both in the U.S. and in the Middle East). Because fashion theory is so scattered in its neophyte state, it is difficult to point out clear trends and paradigms in the field, but the sources I have compiled here give a rough generalization of the material available in the spectrum of what I would consider fashion theory.
"Fashion" is a term that rustles up many different definitions, the great majority of which are personal and generalizing. Some of the sources I include here do not even use the term; non-Western case studies often opt instead for "dress" or "costume," and modify their terms with adjectives such as "ethnic," "national," or "traditional." Western studies of fashion often only involve "Haute Couture," or "high fashion," and omit ordinary people's involvements with clothing; this has begun to shift of late. Over the past decade, many feminist theorists have started looking at women's everyday relationships with fashion and bodily adornment. I align my own investigations with this most recent trend; I define fashion as a consumer activity engaged in by any person who shops for, purchases, and wears clothing. Of course, there is diversity in expressions and understandings of fashion activity; and people of varying ethnic, class, national, and religious backgrounds undoubtedly draw different experiences from their own fashion systems. The sources I have compiled here deal with fashion consumption in a variety of contexts, although the field is certainly dominated by Western case studies. It is also important to note that most of my own research interests are centered around gender roles as they are constructed through clothing, style, and fashion; therefore, much of the material approaches fashion from a gendered (usually feminine) and feminist perspective.
I became interested in this field through my studies of hijab in Muslim cultures; I felt, and still feel, that the available scholarly work on women and clothing in the Muslim world has been primarily centered around the veil, and has paid little or no attention to material cultures of clothing and beauty beyond Islamic dress. My personal experiences in Muslim cultures (Morocco, Kenya, Tanzania, Lebanon, and the United States), have indicated that many Muslim women are not always wearing what traditionally might be considered Islamic styles of clothing; they negotiate and maneuver within a commercial realm of style and clothing that seems to contradict the stereotype of the religiously minded unliberated woman. While I would argue that fashion systems in the Muslim world vary greatly from those in the West, I feel that it is dangerous to say that commercial fashion does not exist for Muslim women. While many scholars in area studies of the Muslim world have also noted this point, very few have specifically researched Muslim fashion beyond a superficial acknowledgment. It is this gap in cultural studies that I wish to address here, and consider this annotated bibliography a working database for possible subjects of my further research in Muslim women's fashion expressions.
In organizing this bibliography, I have attempted to follow every tangent I came across, and have included those sources which seemed even peripherally relevant and interesting to the topic at hand. As such, what follows is a somewhat sporadic account of my intellectual twists and wanderings at the library. Having said that however, there is some rhyme and reason to this compilation. In the following sections, I will attempt to make clear the inspirations and transitions that have brought me to the following collection of sources.
Fashion: Western and Muslim Women’s Expressions of Material Culture
I have included a section on general fashion theory; this segment deals directly with studies of fashion in relation to culture, and does so generally through the eyes of women (and almost always in terms of gender). This section reflects a plethora of subjects that range from Western fashion histories and museum collections to feminist theories of liberation through the consumption and bodily display of clothing. As a part of this section of the bibliography, I have included some specialized sections that deal with hair and hairstyles, shoes and feet, facial beauty and makeup, breasts, and beauty pageants.
I have also compiled sources concerning fashion and clothing in the Middle East; while some of those sources do not necessarily deal with Muslim "fashion," they do deal with conceptual "hijab," "veiling," and modest religious dress, which has always dominated the study of Muslim women's clothing.
Media and Popular Culture: Women, Fashion, and Display
In the modern age of technology, fashion has increasingly exploited many forms of communication in order to advertise, sell, design, create, and display fashion. This type of mass mediation is certainly not reserved to Western involvements with fashion. The internet, mailing catalogs, international retail companies, television, movies, and magazines all play a role in the global discourse of fashion. Of course, there are varying levels and types of media usage according to region, class, ethnicity, etc., but consumer fashion industries undoubtedly align themselves with at least some forms of mediated discourse in order to facilitate the sale of their products.
Due to the significance of media exploitation in realms of consumer fashion, I have included a section of sources which deal theoretically with cultural media usage (text, hypertext, television, film, radio). Few deal directly with the Middle East or the Muslim world, but many take a general theoretical approach that might be useful in thinking about media in non-Western cultures. I have also included specific sections which deal with women's and young people's involvement in mass media communications and popular culture.
Consumption: Shopping for Women’s Identities
As stated earlier, I consider fashion to be a commercial form of social engagement. Articles of clothing, fashion magazines, and body accessories are commodities, and must be shopped for and purchased. I have included two sections here on consumer theory; the first deals with general discussions of consumer society and material culture, and the second deals with gendered experiences in consumption (both historical and modern).
A little more specifically, I feel that engagement with consumption, i.e. shopping, is a highly cultured and social activity. The concepts of choice, value, and taste are all extremely important issues in thinking about fashion in cross-cultural perspectives, as the definitions of these terms vary from culture to culture. Most of the sources here approach these concepts from a Western point of view; I feel that it is important to develop theory that might apply to informal and non-corporate marketplaces, to shopping places where choice is limited, or where prices are not fixed.
Most interesting to me, perhaps, are the feminist sources which discuss women's participation in shopping culture; these sources argue that female shoppers are not merely consumers, but rather are in search of a playful world of fantasy and friendship, beauty and creativity.
Bodily Discourse and Crises: Eating Disorders and Body Image
Fashion is largely a discourse of the body; it is the display case of one's beauty, purchases, hand-me-downs and heirlooms, and it is increasingly (and unfortunately) the scale with which many women measure their aesthetic worth (no pun intended). This section deals with many social and psychological sources dealing with body image concepts, eating disorders, obesity, and unrealistic body ideals. I feel that these issues are key for thinking about mediated fashion, since often times the reasons for these problems stem from the unattainable standards for the female body published in magazines or broadcasted on TV or in the movies.
My Arabic tutor in Morocco once told me that only "fat girls wear hijab." Perhaps the motivations behind Islamic veiling have rationales beyond religion; certainly, my tutor's statements indicates at least one issue that Muslim women might have in some environments. With modern fashion and mediated picturing of the female body ideal come issues with body image; the Arab world certainly has no shortage of mediated fashion discourse. As such, it would seem very likely that body image might be an issue for young Arab women. Even so, very little work has been done on the subject of body image/eating disorders in the Middle East; in order to develop a framework for application in Muslim communities, I have much to learn from the Western theory that is available. I have included a limited selection of that theory here.
**Child’s Play: The Importance of Dolls and Toys in the Construction of Gender **
What better example of unattainable female body standards in America than the Barbie doll? A toy of impossible feminine proportions, she has nonetheless shaped innumerable girlhood conceptions of fashion, beauty, ethnicity, love, marriage, and play. Not surprisingly, a surplus of sources deal with the history and development of the Barbie doll; however, more interesting than Barbie history is the insight Barbie provides into the experiences of young girls who dress her up and play with her with their friends.
Recently, Mattel has come out with a Moroccan Barbie doll that wears a floral head scarf. Interestingly, some Islamic organizations have attempted to counteract what they feel is a negative and anti-religious toy have created and marketed Barbie knockoffs. These Muslim dolls wear jilbabs and head scarves, and clearly make a statement about the potential eroticism of the doll. Despite the lack of textual sources on the subject, this discourse is an interesting one, and worthy of more study.
Perhaps the most interesting theme that presents itself in this section deals with the construction of gender through play. The concept of the doll, a most interesting toy, shapes and creates several ideals for the females that play with them; they are practice for motherhood, dressing up, having relationships and playing house. Their impact and popularity is undeniable, and I feel we have much to learn from their history, commerce, and contemporary role in the lives of young girls.
Conclusions:
I have few concrete conclusions to draw from such an eclectic collection of material. However, I do feel that much can be gained from the application of this radical theory to Muslim cultures. Rarely do scholars consider the Muslim world as one that is used to dealing with technology, commerce, and commodity consumption, let alone fashion. And yet my experiences and readings tell me that Muslims engage with varied media often and with great expertise. This compilation asks questions and pushes the limits of what we normally think of when we discuss Muslim women; I would like us to shift our questions into new and more creative arenas.