The comparative analysis of Gibson girls of 20th century and contemporary females

Abstract

There is a complex relationship between fashion and dress to identity. It's worth noting that given twining, cloths can be a portrayal of one's identity because they tell people something about class, gender, status, and so on. Also, the author asserts that cloths can lead to misinterpretation because they are not able to speak (Entwistle, 2000: 112). It is because of this argument that copious theories have emerged in an attempt to explain the relations. Entwistle, in her book, highlights the centrality of dressing to people's identities, gender, and sexuality (2000, p.40). These sentiments are also held by Stroope, Walker, and Franzen (2017, 85), who posit that the portrayal of identity has led to theories such as feminism. Therefore, feminism has existed in all aspects of life since it came into being in early 1910. These concepts are also used in various ways in the fashion industry making it significant in contemporary times. Feminist theory mainly accentuates the analysis of gender inequality. Therefore, it aims to gain a deeper understanding of the nature of gender.  In her book, Butler believes that gender is used sometimes as a way to secure heterosexuality (2006, 5). Therefore, according to Griffin (2015, p.196), feminism wanted to transform the entire realms of the lives of women: social, political, cultural, personal, and economical. Consequently, Zinn and Dill (2016, 76) assert that feminists meant to remove all psychological and structural obstacles to the financial independence of women. The reason is that most of them believed that gender was produced and considered though sexual hierarchy as outline by (Butler, 2006, 5). Some of the themes explored in these theories entail objectification, contemporary discrimination, and art history. Indeed, feminists combined lots of reasons that became related to a New Woman. Some crusaded for woman voice, others fought for labor and socialism, whereas others still called for birth control and ‘free love.’  As a result, Butler (2006, 7), in her book, she continues to point out that feminist views attempt to eliminate and overthrow gender, because it is a typical signal of women. The feminism resurgence in the recent past has been integral in the evolution of the modern fashion industry. It is a relief that females are no longer anticipated to fit into a particular mold for them to be perceived as beautiful. The stereotypical thinking, as well as the labeling of females as sexual objects, often have negatively impacted how several women dress Entwistle (2000, p.40). As denoted by Fraser (2017, 167), this is something that most women seem to be reluctant to dress because of the fear that they might be perceived as sexually provocative. Seabrook, Ward, and Giaccardi (2019, 556) also echoed this sentiment but went further to posit that fortunately for feminists, especially those in the fashion industry, feminism has led to the promotion of females as sexual beings rather than sexual objects. Many people are happy that the industry is catching up, though centuries later.