Louise Barker
MA work
MA work
Dissertation: ‘The Suffragette and the Dress Problem’: A Reassessment of the Relationship between the Suffragettes, Fashion and Femininity before the First World War
Fashion and dress became highly politicised issues within the militant suffragette campaign, and the feminist struggle over the representation of women became ‘written’ on the bodies of suffragettes. Understood as the outward expression of feminine identity, the clothing worn by suffragettes participating in the militant suffrage campaign became an area of intense contest for both pro- and anti-suffrage advocates. Current historical understandings of the relationship between fashion and the suffragettes emphasise conventional femininity within dress as a form of political agency. However, these interpretations do not engage with evidence of actual practices of dress among the suffragettes and subsequently do not reflect the diversity of dressed and embodied practice within the movement.
This dissertation argues that a significant number of suffragettes created a hybridised gendered appearance, by appropriating items of clothing traditionally linked to male dress and closely associated with masculinity. Tailoring, bowler-hats, cravats, collars and ties within suffragette dress directly conflict with the WSPU’s directives stressing the political importance of a traditionally feminine appearance. It is argued that these modes of dress were adopted by suffragettes, not only because they were more practical and conformed to a new aesthetic, but also because they embodied qualities of rationality and professionalism that challenged conventional understandings of feminine identity. Analysis of the fashionable context and biographies of these suffragettes allows a nuanced understanding of the connection between dress and female emancipation. These suffragettes represented a demand not just for political enfranchisement, but for a renegotiation of ideas about femininity.
Info
Info
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MA Degree
School
School of Humanities
Programme
MA History of Design, 2010
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Contact
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07905 433355
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Dissertation: ‘The Suffragette and the Dress Problem’: A Reassessment of the Relationship between the Suffragettes, Fashion and Femininity before the First World War
Fashion and dress became highly politicised issues within the militant suffragette campaign, and the feminist struggle over the representation of women became ‘written’ on the bodies of suffragettes. Understood as the outward expression of feminine identity, the clothing worn by suffragettes participating in the militant suffrage campaign became an area of intense contest for both pro- and anti-suffrage advocates. Current historical understandings of the relationship between fashion and the suffragettes emphasise conventional femininity within dress as a form of political agency. However, these interpretations do not engage with evidence of actual practices of dress among the suffragettes and subsequently do not reflect the diversity of dressed and embodied practice within the movement.
This dissertation argues that a significant number of suffragettes created a hybridised gendered appearance, by appropriating items of clothing traditionally linked to male dress and closely associated with masculinity. Tailoring, bowler-hats, cravats, collars and ties within suffragette dress directly conflict with the WSPU’s directives stressing the political importance of a traditionally feminine appearance. It is argued that these modes of dress were adopted by suffragettes, not only because they were more practical and conformed to a new aesthetic, but also because they embodied qualities of rationality and professionalism that challenged conventional understandings of feminine identity. Analysis of the fashionable context and biographies of these suffragettes allows a nuanced understanding of the connection between dress and female emancipation. These suffragettes represented a demand not just for political enfranchisement, but for a renegotiation of ideas about femininity.
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Degrees
- BA (Hons), History, Homerton College, University of Cambridge, 2008
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Experience
- Theatrical costume designer, University of Cambridge Amateur Dramatic Club, Cambridge, 2005-2008