Event details
Oct
17
Fashion, Feminism, and Fear: A Symposium on Clothing and Power
In conjunction with an exhibition contextualizing William H. Walker’s cartoons satirizing women’s fashion in the late 19th- and early 20th centuries on display at Seeley G. Mudd Manuscript Library, we invite you to join us for an interdisciplinary symposium focused on related themes.
When the “New Woman” of the 1890s donned pants, and other feminist clothing trends emerged, such as tailored jackets and sportswear, women’s fashions symbolized changes taking place in society. Women entered traditionally masculine spheres like higher education and the workplace, with hopes to make further progress. But just as there were those who welcomed the change, others, like Walker’s cartoons illustrated, felt profound anxieties. As in our own time, there were those in the 1890s and 1900s who saw grave dangers to society itself in atypical gender presentations. As the New Woman undermined the gender binary with her clothing choices, she threatened to overthrow the social order. Indeed, gender confusion is a major theme of the cartoons Walker drew. Feminism, fashion, and fear came together to shape public perceptions and policy. Mockery neutralized the threat.
This gathering will provide space for interdisciplinary scholarly conversation about the ways this past has ongoing significance. With escalating discussions of the significance of gender, pressures for conformity within externally-defined expectations for one’s appearance, and debates over whether individual decisions endanger society as a whole, this material is deeply relevant for the 2020s.
This symposium is free and open to all Princeton University faculty, students, staff, as well as members of the public. There is no cost to attend, but registration is required.
Learn more about the agenda and register for the symposium. https://library.princeton.edu/fashion-feminism-fear-symposium
Sponsored by: Princeton University Library, Princeton University Program in Gender and Sexuality Studies, Princeton University Gender Sexuality Resource Center, and Princeton University Humanities Council
When the “New Woman” of the 1890s donned pants, and other feminist clothing trends emerged, such as tailored jackets and sportswear, women’s fashions symbolized changes taking place in society. Women entered traditionally masculine spheres like higher education and the workplace, with hopes to make further progress. But just as there were those who welcomed the change, others, like Walker’s cartoons illustrated, felt profound anxieties. As in our own time, there were those in the 1890s and 1900s who saw grave dangers to society itself in atypical gender presentations. As the New Woman undermined the gender binary with her clothing choices, she threatened to overthrow the social order. Indeed, gender confusion is a major theme of the cartoons Walker drew. Feminism, fashion, and fear came together to shape public perceptions and policy. Mockery neutralized the threat.
This gathering will provide space for interdisciplinary scholarly conversation about the ways this past has ongoing significance. With escalating discussions of the significance of gender, pressures for conformity within externally-defined expectations for one’s appearance, and debates over whether individual decisions endanger society as a whole, this material is deeply relevant for the 2020s.
This symposium is free and open to all Princeton University faculty, students, staff, as well as members of the public. There is no cost to attend, but registration is required.
Learn more about the agenda and register for the symposium. https://library.princeton.edu/fashion-feminism-fear-symposium
Sponsored by: Princeton University Library, Princeton University Program in Gender and Sexuality Studies, Princeton University Gender Sexuality Resource Center, and Princeton University Humanities Council
University programs and activities are open to all eligible participants without regard to identity or other protected characteristics. Sponsorship of an event does not constitute institutional endorsement of external speakers or views presented.
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