Reading female masculinities in the 1920s can not be looked at without discussing Radclyffe Hall. Hall was a lesbian and famous for her relationships and writings. The Well of Loneliness was her best known novel that features the life of Stephen Gordon a masculine lesbian who resembles Hall in many ways. In regards to the article, Hall’s appearance was a constant source of comment throughout her whole life. Her “sexual cross dressing” evoked a lot of controversy as far as dress and the implied meanings of that dress.Is it possible to dress completely masculine, and keep short hair, short nails etc. without being labelled a lesbian? In the 1920s the article states, boyishness as fashion meant passing neither as a boy nor as a lesbian and that we have to be careful in reading “masculine” as lesbian. There was a constant need to label one another during that time. Women who smoked and drank ‘like men’ called each other bi-sexual or sexless names such as, Bobbie, Jackie, Jo. Hall was exciting and brave to women and the Modern Girl was tempted to experiment herself.Hall created a style in affect by making her lesbianism more visible. Sexual ambiguity was broken down and the link between clothing and sexual identity was firmly established. A point of interest to me is the visual similarity found in Hall and Coco Chanel. Below is Radclyffe Hall, an established lesbian. Beside her, Coco Chanel, a straight woman. Both these women are fashion icons, one for masculine style the other for masculine design, yet very hard to differentiate which one is the lesbian.Sources: Doan, Laura. “Passing Fashions: Reading Female Masculinities in the 1920s.” Feminist Studies. (1998): 663-700.Wilson, Elizabeth. “A Note on Glamour.” Fashion Theory. 11.1. (2007): 95-108.11.
Showing posts with label coco chanel. Show all posts
Showing posts with label coco chanel. Show all posts
Saturday, February 28, 2009
femininity and dress.
Reading female masculinities in the 1920s can not be looked at without discussing Radclyffe Hall. Hall was a lesbian and famous for her relationships and writings. The Well of Loneliness was her best known novel that features the life of Stephen Gordon a masculine lesbian who resembles Hall in many ways. In regards to the article, Hall’s appearance was a constant source of comment throughout her whole life. Her “sexual cross dressing” evoked a lot of controversy as far as dress and the implied meanings of that dress.Is it possible to dress completely masculine, and keep short hair, short nails etc. without being labelled a lesbian? In the 1920s the article states, boyishness as fashion meant passing neither as a boy nor as a lesbian and that we have to be careful in reading “masculine” as lesbian. There was a constant need to label one another during that time. Women who smoked and drank ‘like men’ called each other bi-sexual or sexless names such as, Bobbie, Jackie, Jo. Hall was exciting and brave to women and the Modern Girl was tempted to experiment herself.Hall created a style in affect by making her lesbianism more visible. Sexual ambiguity was broken down and the link between clothing and sexual identity was firmly established. A point of interest to me is the visual similarity found in Hall and Coco Chanel. Below is Radclyffe Hall, an established lesbian. Beside her, Coco Chanel, a straight woman. Both these women are fashion icons, one for masculine style the other for masculine design, yet very hard to differentiate which one is the lesbian.Sources: Doan, Laura. “Passing Fashions: Reading Female Masculinities in the 1920s.” Feminist Studies. (1998): 663-700.Wilson, Elizabeth. “A Note on Glamour.” Fashion Theory. 11.1. (2007): 95-108.11.
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