Fashion Fights Back
Feminism and fashion have been in dialogue for a century, since well-dressed Suffragettes took hammers to department store windows, and Women’s Action Coalition gained entry to the Republican National Convention in Texas by wearing pumps and headbands. We believe the nexus of feminism and fashion raises a welter of issues that are worthy of examination: weight, the fitness craze, plastic surgery, attitudes toward disability, domestic violence and rape, labor practices and racial profiling among them. Now there is the added issue of what might be called “cultural profiling,” the increased surveillance, violence toward and incarceration of people of Arab heritage. In these times, we’ve been thinking about expanding the discussion of feminism and fashion geographically and politically by exploring the connections between fashion and the peacetime and wartime topic of self-defense.
Feb 19th 2003 Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge advised Americans how to secure their homes in the event of a biological terrorist attack. He suggested using plastic sheeting and duct tape to “seal off” rooms. Check out the photos from our Homeland Security-themed, duct tape and plastic fashion shoot: (WARNING: some nudity, all gorilla!)
