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Gender Mystique

The Big Binary in the Room: Nature or Nurture?

2/20/2012

 
I am currently caught between two books. "Pink and Blue" is out in the world, and that means interviews and conversations about gender differences in children's clothing. But I am also working on the proposal for my next book, which will be about unisex clothing (roughly 1965-1985). In terms of historical description, it looks like it will be pretty straightforward. Women and girls started wearing pants, even to work and school. Men enjoyed a brief "peacock revolution", when bold colors and pattern returned to their wardrobes. Legal battles were fought over hair (hair!): soldier's hair, students' hair, firefighters' hair. It was hard to tell the boys from the girls, under the age of ten. Designers from Paris to Hollywood imagined a future of equality and androgyny -- within the limits of their own world views, of course.

Explaining it all is where it gets complicated. Unisex clothing was a reaction to most of the gender binaries in fashion: long hair/short hair, skirts/pants and yes, pink/blue. But what alternative was posed, and why? For the most part, unisex meant more masculine clothing for girls and women. Attempts to feminize men's appearance turned out to be short-lived fads, not permanent changes. The underlying argument in favor of rejecting gender binaries turns out to have been another binary: a forced decision between gender identities being a product of nature or nurture. For a while, the "nurture" side was winning. Gender roles were social constructed, learned patterns of behavior and therefore subject to review and revision. Unisex fashions were one front in the culture wars of the late 60s and 70s -- a war between people who believed that biology is destiny and those who believed that human agency can override our DNA.

Thanks for listening/reading to my ponderings. Comments most welcome!
Barbara Wurtzel
2/20/2012 01:34:17 am

Yes but... the 60s' gave rise to the jeans/denim work shirt uniform. Afros were worn by both genders. (So were 'Jewfros'). Kente cloth garments, particularly dashikis, were worn by both genders. In fact, there was a clothing influx displaying ethnic influence.

The Army clothing stores got their start then, I believe.

Colors like purple and orange appeared on men's garments, then. Don't forget paisley - that was everywhere!

Now the gender neutral question may be tattoos - which body part - what design(s)?

Just thinking out loud here...so to speak.

Jane Jackson
2/20/2012 09:52:08 am

I'm thinking of the scientific publishing company that I worked for in 1970. They had a newly-amended dress code (!-- this was for low-level jobs with no public contact) that allowed women to wear pants, but only as part of a "pants suit." I many attempts to talk our male boss into a very broad definition of what a "pants suit" might be. For example, a pair of plaid pants might be said to make up a "suit" when paired with a top that matched any one color present in the plaid. Where was the line between blue jeans (prohibited to all genders) and a denim pants suit? And so on. I imagine that management probably capitulated entirely within another year or so, just as my high school had done within a year after I graduated wearing skirts to the bitter end (1968).

Reeve Vanneman link
2/22/2012 03:26:39 am

"For the most part, unisex meant more masculine clothing for girls and women. Attempts to feminize men's appearance turned out to be short-lived fads, not permanent changes." -- This seems like another great example of Paula England's argument that even for changes towards more structural equality in the workplace, most of the change was for women, not men. Occupational integration was mostly women entering predominantly male occupations, not vice-versa. She also argues this for changes in sexual behavior.

"unisex clothing (*roughly* 1965-1985)". I'll be interested how these dates work out as you get more into your book. We have been looking at more economic indicators of the "stalled revolution" (e.g., married mothers' employment, occupational integration, gender attitudes) and have dated the stall to the mid-1990s (although some evidence suggests an earlier stall). If the clothing styles reverted in the mid-1980s that would point more to first a cultural shift and then a behavioral/ structural shift.

Jo Paoletti
2/23/2012 12:17:46 am

Right now, I can see the leading edges as a bit earlier, with the introduction of long hair (Beatles and others around 1963). As for the other end of the trend, there was a definitely shift to more traditionally feminine clothes for girls and more pink around 1985. And of course, the ERA was defeated a few years before that. I would love to hear more about your work! Maybe lunch or coffee on campus some time?

Pam Kueber link
3/14/2012 01:38:21 pm

"Annie Hall" - don't forget that one.

Pam Kueber link
3/14/2012 01:40:29 pm

Have you read Thomas Hine's The Great Funk? Very good on the 70s. Relevant to your book: Huge number of women entering the workforce for the first time -- extremely important in so many ways.

Jo Paoletti
3/15/2012 01:59:00 am

Pam -- Thanks for the book suggestion. I am planning a chapter on Titles VII and IX of the Civil Right Law, (which affected employment and participation in sports), so you are spot on about the workforce. And yes, yes! Annie Hall!


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    Jo Paoletti

    Professor Emerita
    ​American Studies
    University of Maryland

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