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| Source: Time.com |
Furthermore, Tahmina (2014) reported for XXY magazine that
feminism is about having the same rights, being treated fairly and sharing the
perspectives of mind. Moreover, feminists should be associated with many
fashionable facets too. The most famous feminists were fashionable in respect
of innovativeness, rationality and appearance. As an instance, Coco Chanel
wanted to eliminate Yves Saint Laurent’s version on how a woman’s body
should be shown and hereby she invented fashionable trousers for women and
proved that an hourglass shape figure was not the only look for women. However,
one person was not influential enough, thus the Suffragettes used coloured
clothing as a representation of their belief: “Give (green) women (white) the
vote (violet)!” These freedom feminists, including Chanel, who have not wanted
that women would be always remained as an “appropriate inhibited ladies”, have
pioneered the understanding that women should dress for themselves, for their
moods, experiences and expressions in achieving more (Tahmina 2014). Thereby,
feminism itself simplifies down to equality (https://www.xxymagazine.com/fashion-and-feminism/).
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| Source: Coco Chanel wearing a sailor top and sailor pants, she was one of the first women wearing trousers in public. Style.com |
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| Source: Coco Chanel wearing her suit, Style.com |
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Source: Edwardian period amethyst bracelet.
English suffragette Emmeline Pethick-Lawrence proposed the use of colours to
represent the women’s suffrage movement. She chose three colours to symbolise
the ideals of the cause: green for hope, white for purity, and violet for
dignity. Pinterest.com
|
Accordingly to previous statement, Sarah Erdreich (2014) also identified herself as a feminist much longer before she opened her first copy of Vogue. She noticed that having these tangible examples of what women can accomplish in publishing and journalism helped her to understand how the contemporary media should look like. However, Erdreich (2014) observed that some magazines and articles, for instance “Elle and Marie Claire, which address international, health, and environmental issues with a regularity that puts many general-interest (and male-focused) titles to shame.” Gill (2007) also indicated that one of the most important aspects of post-feminist media culture is that bodily property is associated with femininity. Womanliness should be defined as a psychological, social or structural aspect. However, in contemporary media, the body is usually presented as women‘s powerful source – not mind, innovativeness or abilities. On the other hand, according to Erdreich (2014), “Vogue regularly profiles female artists that deserve wider recognition, and features innovative photography; and Glamour is one of the few mainstream outlets that regularly discuss reproductive rights.” Erdreich (2014), being as a freelanced writer and editor, also admitted that this type of magazines, and the industries they are most closely aligned with, are not without their flaws and still have very controversial details, but they are improving in respect of the right concept about femininity (http://www.xojane.com/entertainment/forever-in-fashion-magazines).
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| Source: Vogue covers from different periods of time embodying femininity, Vogue.com |
Moreover, Gough-Yates (2003) stated that the
media contribute to the reinforcement of gender differences and inequalities in
contemporary societies. From this perspective, Corneliussen (2012) added that even
though women are not described as particularly interested in information
technology, they are described in relationship to the technology, which can be
seen as discursively new compared to the masculine discourse. While men‘s
competence is associated with culture, as a skill that has to be acquired, the
social competence associated with women is constructed as nature – as something
women simply have. Therefore, in this contemporary world women are encouraged
to participate and free their mind in every sphere. For instance, “Girls in
Tech” (GIT) is a global organisation focused on the engagement, education and
empowerment of influential women in technology. The main destination of this
organisation is to sustain the promotion, growth and success of entrepreneurial
and innovative women in the media and technology space (http://girlsintech.org/about/). Hence
it is necessary to mention that the very beginning of feminism movement has
made a huge impact for contemporary understanding about womanliness and how it
should be embodied.
Sources: Scholar.google, Books.google, XXY Magazine, Girls in Tech, Vogue, Style, Time, Xo Jane and Pinterest.
More interesting information related to this post: http://loosegarments.com/feminism-fail/
