Sex and Unisex: Fashion, Feminism, and the Sexual Revolution
Jo B. Paoletti
Language: English
Pages: 216
ISBN: 0253015960
Format: PDF / Kindle (mobi) / ePub
Notorious as much for its fashion as for its music, the 1960s and 1970s produced provocative fashion trends that reflected the rising wave of gender politics and the sexual revolution. In an era when gender stereotypes were questioned and dismantled, and when the feminist and gay rights movements were gaining momentum and a voice, the fashion industry responded in kind. Designers from Paris to Hollywood imagined a future of equality and androgyny. The unisex movement affected all ages, with adult fashions trickling down to school-aged children and clothing for infants. Between 1965 and 1975, girls and women began wearing pants to school; boys enjoyed a brief "peacock revolution," sporting bold colors and patterns; and legal battles were fought over hair style and length. However, with the advent of Diane Von Furstenberg’s wrap dress and the launch of Victoria's Secret, by the mid-1980s, unisex styles were nearly completely abandoned. Jo B. Paoletti traces the trajectory of unisex fashion against the backdrop of the popular issues of the day―from contraception access to girls' participation in sports. Combing mass-market catalogs, newspaper and magazine articles, cartoons, and trade publications for signs of the fashion debates, Paoletti provides a multigenerational study of the "white space" between (or beyond) masculine and feminine.
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super-size, glamorous female singers: Kate Smith, Aretha Franklin, and others. But instead she died at thirty-two, first attributed to choking on a ham sandwich, but then discovered to have been a heart attack, which the headline writers swiftly translated into “obesity.” But in her heyday with the Mamas and Papas, she received the lion’s share of the fan mail and was often surrounded after their concerts by young girls asking for her advice. In an era where “do your own thing” was a mantra for
muster. The changes that took place in the 1960s and ’70s added variety to “office clothing,” limited the most formal elements to fewer settings, and opened the door to more individual expression. Just as Freudian psychology contributed to popular attitudes about women and femininity, it also shaped beliefs about “normal” expressions of masculinity. The main problem with the psychoanalytic approach to gender was the failure of Freud and his followers to realize not only that was there culture at
nostalgia in the fashion press for the elegance of bygone days. The eccentricity of the mod and hippie era was gradually replaced with trends that often broke as many rules, just not all in a single outfit. The leisure suit offered an alternative to jacket and tie for the new, more casual lifestyles of the 1970s. After several years of long, unkempt, and unstyled hair, men turned to hairstylists, who gave them a neater, well-groomed appearance. The prices were higher than in a barbershop, and he
slogans as long as these do not disrupt classes or the peace of the school To receive formal hearings, written charges, and a right to appeal any serious violation conduct or charge To dress or wear one’s hair as one pleases and to attend school while married or pregnant unless these things “in fact” disrupt the educational process To publish and distribute student materials without prohibitions on content unless they “clearly and imminently” disrupt or are libelous The authors of the
December 17, 1964. Schulman, Bruce J. The Seventies: The Great Shift in American Culture, Society, and Politics. Cambridge, MA: Da Capo, 2002. Seavy, Carol A., Phyllis A. Katz, and Sue Rosenberg Zalk. “Baby X: The Effect of Gender Labels on Adult Responses to Infants.” Sex Roles 1 (1975), 103–109. “Setting Your Own Style.” Gentleman’s Quarterly, Winter 1974–1975. Smith, Catherine, and Cynthia Greig. Women in Pants: Manly Maidens, Cowgirls, and Other Renegades. New York: H. N. Abrams, 2003.
