Fashioning the Self: Performance, Identity and Difference

<p>This thesis project will examine cultural and rhetorical communication studies to determine how these modes of analysis can be compared with interdisciplinary literature to better understand the role fashion plays within everyday performances and the shaping of identity. Criticisms by second-wave feminist scholars have focused on the fashion industry's overarching male influence; in more recent scholarship, feminist academics have often considered an affinity for fashion to be un-feminist and oppressive. I argue that fashion can instead be viewed as a tool for female agency and expressing individuality, rather than just a mode for reinforcing gendered norms. Using feminist rhetorical analysis and visual content analysis, this project examines imagery found on three popular fashion blogs to a determine how fashion is viewed by scholars, especially as a communicative tool in relation to identity, as well as how an interdisciplinary approach enriches the study of fashion and communication.</p>

Name thesis:degree_name

M.A.

Level thesis:degree_level

Masters Thesis

Year dc:date.available

2011

Author dc:creator

• Neumann, Jessica L.

Contributors dc:contributor

• Kate Willink, Ph.D.
• Ann Dobyns, Ph.D.
• Richie Niel Hao

• Fashion
• Identity
• Culture
• Rhetorical communication
• Feminism
• Communication
• Communication Technology and New Media
• Critical and Cultural Studies
• Gender, Race, Sexuality, and Ethnicity in Communication

Statement dc:rights

• <p>Copyright is held by the author. User is responsible for all copyright compliance.</p>

Language dc:language

en

Repository record dc:identifier

https://digitalcommons.du.edu/etd/475

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:digitalcommons.du.edu:etd-1474