Androgyny is making a big splash in fashion circles this spring. Why is it cool to go tomboy? A socioeconomic undercurrent could be the reason. The White House has released a report titled "Women In America: Indicators of Social and Economic Well-Being" (http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/rss_viewer/Women_in_America.pdf) in which the status of females in the United States is analyzed from various viewpoints. While American women are pursuing graduate level studies and attaining doctoral/professional degrees at higher rates than ever before (with no sign of slowing down), women make, on average, 75% what their male counterparts do while disproportionately being represented in low-paying administrative positions and lagging behind in corporate/executive leadership positions.
The Fashionomist thinks fashion is taking a backlash against the glass ceiling by feminizing the male. The 1980s is an inspiration for this trend (Harvard economist Claudia Goldin tracked the switcharoo from male domination in higher education to females in this decade): power, authority, and toughness while expressing pride in being a woman.
Granted, much of the injection of manliness is very fall-oriented. But maybe, The Fashionomist ponders, Hillary Clinton's rainbow assortment of powersuits wasn't such a fashion faux-pas after all?
*The Fashionomist*
Is it possible, too, that we are masculinizing the female? I wonder if for women to be taken seriously in male dominated professions that women present themselves masculine--a sort of 'I'm one of you. I can do the same work as you.' Are women toning down feminine style for the sake of a level professional playing field or are women taking the masculine board room style and throwing it back with a feminist 'in-your-face.' What happens when masculinizing fails, as in pregnancy or breast feeding, and the workforce must contend with the undeniable facts of womanness?
ReplyDeleteI'm curious to see the focus groups concerning Madam Secretary's wardrobe. How would she have been perceived if she wore a skirt?