Duits and Zoonen Flashcards
What is the summary of this article?
Article goes over how women dress in Europe
Uses a Dutch republic debate
Despite different appearances of girls, they will all be judged by dominant discourse that ‘resignify’ them as inappropriate.
How did this issue start?
A dutch university wanted to ban e niqaab or burka in class
Examining public discourse about the headscarf, belly shirts (also known as crop tops), visible G-strings and other controversial garments to argue that while such debates are conducted independently from each other, they are part of a single hegemonic discourse about women’s sexuality that transcends these partitions
Explain the supposed difference between headscarves and bomber jackets?
Headscarves = Seen as religious
Bomber Jackets = seen as political (signifies right wing)
Political Items are granted free speech, which is why the jackets are allowed
– the ministry ignores the possible political meaning of the scarf, especially in the context of increasing societal concern about political Islam
Explain the second-wave feminist slogan ‘the personal is political’
o the cultural confines around women’s
clothing and the freedom of women to transgress these boundaries.
ministry’s categorization and the
public debate on which it is built deny the possibility of such agency and construe women’s clothing styles as a cultural issue, and men’s choices as political ones.
What is ‘Porno-chic’?
representation of porn in non-pornographic art and culture
found its way into mainstream fashion as visible G-strings, belly shirts or FCUK
T-shirts; which are all now part of ordinary women’s and girls’ wardrobes.
When did outrage at porno-chic start?
aimed for the children’s market
offering a G-string for nine-year-olds.
Explain the two debates around children and porno-chic?
decency discourse
a feminist discourse.
decency discourse:
- tied to the context of the school
- Banning revealing clothing in schools
- ‘decency’ is assumed to be an unproblematic, generally agreed notion
-fear that a girl wearing revealing clothes might give off unintended sexual signals
- In France g-string has been blamed for rapes
- Also fear kids are having sex younger
a feminist discourse:
- Divided on Porno - Chic
-One argument: Scantily clad idols (most ppl model their look after them) are examples of strength, independence and open sexuality
-Other argument: Belief condones ‘girls
dressing in prostitution outfits’, which is a sign of feminists’ constantly changing opinions
Explain the term ‘postfeminism’:
popular transformation of feminist body politics to a lifestyle issue of displaying and enjoying your sexuality, as can be seen in glossy magazines, television series like Sex and the City, and ‘chick-lit’ like Bridget Jones’s Diary.
What are the problematic assumptions of both the decency and feminist debate?
- there is a relatively unchallenged articulation of nudity with sexuality
- the distinction between girls’ sexuality and adult women’s sexuality suggests that it is possible to decide when a girl is mature enough to dress explicitly (is it age, bodily features, independence etc)
- discussion among feminists about the difference between the 1960s miniskirt and the 2000s G-string suggests that there is a ‘good’, political way to reveal your body, and a ‘bad’, consumerist way
- both discourses ignore the fact that sexuality is not an essential feature of bodily display and dress, but the effect of the reaction of others
What does ‘Tijl’ actually say that the problem with girls’ sexuality is?
men, rather than with the girls themselves.
Do headscarf debates focus more on women or girls?
Young Girls
– Usually in school
Explain how Gender Inequality tied into the headscarf debate?
headscarf is often framed as a marker of women’s oppression in Islam
Reasoning: Restriction of women’s independence cannot be reconciled with modern western gender equality
opponents tend to generalize it, unjustly, into a single form
Explain how Multicultural Excess tied into the headscarf debate?
A signal of difference (shows ‘otherness’ to western culture and values)
Especially after 9/11
Some think its backward
Strong difference between Christian west values and Islamic cultural practices
Explain how Church and State tied into the headscarf debate?
(Mostly in france) = said to undermine the separation between church and state
Claim that public schools are supposed to be “free of religious influence”
Explain the concept of the ‘nice girl’ in regards to Girls Sexuality?
social standard girls have to live up to
in the G-string/headscarf discussion would be a girl who manages to balance her sexuality on the decency continuum;
neither showing too much of it (G-string) nor denying it (headscarf).
- Not too revealing but not too decent either
nearly impossible for girls to achieve such a ‘nice girl’ ideal
