Bronwyn Lay; 2/12/08
When Germaine Greer savaged Michelle Obama’s dress in The Guardian I sighed. Again with the clothes! I got to thinking about feminism and fashion. I live in France and one of the main cultural barriers is my Australian sense of dress — slobby and untamed. I often catch glimpses of sympathy from villagers as I lob up the street in ‘male’ clothes, i.e. Blundstones and jeans. Admittedly, I find French fashion oppressive. The Sunday markets in the posh village near us are riddled with women in tight white pant suits, fake tan, gold bling and violently spiked heels. The uniform is completed by a ciggie hanging off one hand and a small dog tucked under the other. Plastic surgery is rife — faces like melted masks, with no laugh or grief lines and lips bursting out like helium balloons. The predatory ‘beauty’ market is a challenge to feminism, and I resent the capitalist industry that drains money and energy from women by promising to transform them into mannequins. In summer two extremes of fashion ideology — burqas and mannequins — line up at the market to buy bread. Many Saudi Arabian families come to this region for holidays. burqas, some diamond encrusted with Chanel markings, can be seen flying around as women pick out peaches from the stalls. The fabric drapes over the cobblestones as if claiming possession, and wings of fabric are nothing but graceful.
See: http://www.eurekastreet.com.au/article.aspx?aeid=10396
Tags: Europe, Muslim, Womens Rights