Fashion Industry - Female Enslavement

[monster_gardener]

This discussion reminds me of a great article: High Fascism.

During the Occupation, the Nazis and their French allies recognized the power and national prestige of the French fashion industry and sought to harness it. When the collaborationist Vichy government took over direction of the French lifestyle magazine Paris Soir, it announced in its pages a “summer of couture ... and shopping.” The Nazis were so enamored with fashion’s place in French culture that in their plans for postwar Europe, they stipulated that, unlike other industries, the fashion sector would remain in France.

Many in fashion were eager to play along. Lucien Lelong, a designer who supported Vichy and whose house stayed open during the war, saw couture as a political force: “Our role is to give France the face of serenity. The more elegant Frenchwomen are, the more our country will show the world that we are not afraid.”

French fashion publications advocated a deep connection between the cultural splendor of couture and Frenchwomen’s national, even genetic identity.

“Every woman in Paris is a living propaganda poster, the universal function of the Frenchwoman is to remain chic,” wrote one fashion journalist in the early 1940s. “Frenchwomen are the repositories of chic, because this inheritance is inscribed in their race,” wrote another. And as Vichy continued to toe the Nazi line about Aryan physical fitness, more French fashion magazines began focusing on exercise and diet for women.

Although not everyone in the world of French fashion fell in line with fascist ideas, it’s no coincidence that many did. After all, there are deep and unsettling parallels between the industry, particularly in Europe, and fascism’s antidemocratic aesthetic.

...

At the root of the whole system is the most elusive myth of all: the impossible promise that fashion can vanquish physical inadequacy and aging, conferring the beauty and youth we see on the runways and on every page of Vogue — a cult of physical perfection very much at home in the history of fascism.

The article discusses the infamous Galliano incident and concludes:

The link is clear: like a fascist demagogue of yore, he was declaring that she did not belong to the gilded group who wear the right boots, and from this Mr. Galliano slid effortlessly to a condemnation of her very flesh, and a wish for her death.

This reminds me of the section in Satre's great novel Troubled Sleep of the Parisian queer enthralled by the uniforms of occupying Nazis and their physiques. To him, nothing else mattered.

Perhaps these were Satre's observations, in fictional form, on "High Fascism".

Thank you Very Much for your post, Typhoon.

IIRC someone here or before said "There is a fetish for everything" ............

IIRC Post It notes , aprons, Anne Miller uniforms, balloons, Nekomimi, plush toys .......... may be some of the milder ones....

[Enki]

Fashion has always been a control mechanism. If you look at the court of Louis XIV fashion was an elaborate way for courtiers to suck up and display wealth.

[Miss_Faucie_Fishtits]

Fashion isn't what you think it is...... it's theatre..........

[NapLajoieonSteroids]

Fashion isn't what you think it is...... it's theatre..........

This above, and if you don't play along, they slit your throat and leave you for dead in a foreign country.

Sd_43mm9RaU

[Carbizene]

all this fashion garbage just to fool woman out of their money .. does not make them sexy a bit

yes, gays sabotaging, taking revenge

Am really puzzled how a woman could think a homosexual can say what a hetero man finds sexy and erotic


.

perhaps there is a little of women taking revenge as well.

[Carbizene]

I have a great book called 'Hitler and the Power of Aesthetics' in that vein.

The preferred car of Australia's successful fascist about town.

[From admin: no hot linking - please use a free image upload site instead]

[Enki]

I have a great book called 'Hitler and the Power of Aesthetics' in that vein.

The preferred car of Australia's successful fascist about town.

File not found.

[Carbizene]

[noddy]

[YMix]

The Jordan effect: Third of young women would swap IQ for larger breasts

They say it’s what’s inside that counts – but most young women in this country would beg to differ, it seems.

Shocking new research shows almost half of young women aged 18 to 25 would prefer to have large breasts than high intelligence - with a third even saying they would gladly swap.

Experts have blamed the growing obsession with celebrity culture among youngsters together with the burgeoning market for plastic surgery.

The study, which has alarmed women’s groups, also found a quarter of those surveyed felt bigger breasts would make them feel ‘happier’.

And almost 60 per cent of the respondents believed that men would be ‘more interested’ in them romantically if they had bigger breasts.

It comes amid widespread concern about the pressures put on modern-day women through advertising and magazines.

Kat Banyard from women’s group UK Feminista said: ‘Women face now unprecedented pressures to focus on their body.

‘Industries that focus on the way women look are flourishing – and that means that from a very early age, women are taught that the way they look matters more than what they do.

‘The consequences of this can manifest in eating disorders or extreme measures such as plastic surgery.

‘These figures show that women still loathe their bodies on an industrial scale.’

The survey of 1,142 women by the discount website by http://www.MyVoucher Codes.co.uk aimed to discover more about the attitudes young women hold towards brains and beauty.

In contrast with bigger breasts would attract more men, just 43 per cent felt that men would be ‘more interested’ in them if they had a higher IQ.

Researchers also found around 40 per cent of respondents would rather have a ‘slim figure’ than high intelligence, with many stating that it would make them feel ‘more confident’.

Almost the same percentage of people said they would swap their IQ in order to be their ‘ideal dress size’.

When it came to relationships, most women felt men ‘valued’ intelligence in women, although two thirds said they felt appearance was more important when attracting a partner.

The same was true in the workplace, with almost half believing that being ‘attractive’ would also further a woman in her career.

Almost 80 per cent also felt they were judged more so on their appearance than their intelligence.

Mamta Saha, psychologist, said: ‘Celebrity culture is much more accessible than it ever was before. We are bombarded with images of beautiful women with enhanced features such as full lips and large chests.

‘It’s easy to look at these women and make the connection between the way they look and success – but this can turn into an unhealthy fixation.

‘Beauty will always fade, so it’s important to work on having high self-esteem internally.’

WARNING: The source is The Daily Mail. Readers beware.

[monster_gardener]

The Jordan effect: Third of young women would swap IQ for larger breasts

They say it’s what’s inside that counts – but most young women in this country would beg to differ, it seems.

Shocking new research shows almost half of young women aged 18 to 25 would prefer to have large breasts than high intelligence - with a third even saying they would gladly swap.

Experts have blamed the growing obsession with celebrity culture among youngsters together with the burgeoning market for plastic surgery.

The study, which has alarmed women’s groups, also found a quarter of those surveyed felt bigger breasts would make them feel ‘happier’.

And almost 60 per cent of the respondents believed that men would be ‘more interested’ in them romantically if they had bigger breasts.

It comes amid widespread concern about the pressures put on modern-day women through advertising and magazines.

Kat Banyard from women’s group UK Feminista said: ‘Women face now unprecedented pressures to focus on their body.

‘Industries that focus on the way women look are flourishing – and that means that from a very early age, women are taught that the way they look matters more than what they do.

‘The consequences of this can manifest in eating disorders or extreme measures such as plastic surgery.

‘These figures show that women still loathe their bodies on an industrial scale.’

The survey of 1,142 women by the discount website by http://www.MyVoucher Codes.co.uk aimed to discover more about the attitudes young women hold towards brains and beauty.

In contrast with bigger breasts would attract more men, just 43 per cent felt that men would be ‘more interested’ in them if they had a higher IQ.

Researchers also found around 40 per cent of respondents would rather have a ‘slim figure’ than high intelligence, with many stating that it would make them feel ‘more confident’.

Almost the same percentage of people said they would swap their IQ in order to be their ‘ideal dress size’.

When it came to relationships, most women felt men ‘valued’ intelligence in women, although two thirds said they felt appearance was more important when attracting a partner.

The same was true in the workplace, with almost half believing that being ‘attractive’ would also further a woman in her career.

Almost 80 per cent also felt they were judged more so on their appearance than their intelligence.

Mamta Saha, psychologist, said: ‘Celebrity culture is much more accessible than it ever was before. We are bombarded with images of beautiful women with enhanced features such as full lips and large chests.

‘It’s easy to look at these women and make the connection between the way they look and success – but this can turn into an unhealthy fixation.

‘Beauty will always fade, so it’s important to work on having high self-esteem internally.’

WARNING: The source is The Daily Mail. Readers beware.

Thank you Very Much for your post, YMIX.

If we concede that IQ really measures intelligence rather than the ability to take Stanford Binet tests.........

Have read that there are lots of high IQ members of MENSA ................ in prisons.

Odin is said to have sacrificed an eye for wisdom* but the Vikings had a saying.......

It is well to be wise........
But not over wise.........


Recalling IIRC the Voltaire tale of the wise man who was less happy than his stupid neighbor.......worried about things like the true nature of G_D/Brahman........ Still chose to be wise but how wise was that..........**

Collective intelligence....... are ten IQ 130s better than one IQ 180..... My guess is that it depends...... If you have a Feynmann, no. Otherwise.........


*Maybe he got tunnel vision about holding off Rag-anorak..........

**IMVHO Depends... for example whether he helped develop mathematics that enable the next Dinosaur Killer rock headed our way to be stopped...
Tunnel Vision

[Azrael]

Well...the 'model' is supposed to be a walking mannequin. It is a twisting of the original purpose that they became some sort of centerpiece of sexual lust.

I see. You have a good point there. There is definitely a difference between a "fashion model", whose job is to draw attention to the clothes and make the clothes look their best and a "glamour model", where the focus is on the model's sexuality rather than high fashion. A lot of people don't understand that distinction.

the point was to de-emphasize the woman in favor of emphasizing the clothes.

I would put it a different way: de-emphasize the individual wearing the clothes in favor of emphasizing the clothes.

[Azrael]

I've simply assumed that many fashion designers are misogynists who really really hate women.

Many (male) fashion designers are gay. They simply don't understand what makes a woman beautiful.

Neither do straight men, but we can feel it, while gay designers probably can't. It's probably too bad for the fashion industry that there aren't many true bisexuals.

That's probably why models with androgynous features are so highly prized.

Indeed.

There's a popular reality show here in the US about aspiring fashion designers, Project Runway, and I recall seeing an episode where the challenge was to design clothes for the wives of ordinary men rather than the usual models they work with on the show. One male designer was panicked that his woman had breasts. Breasts are awkward, he said, and he couldn't think of any way to design around them.

My rule of thumb is: if a nice rack "ruins" it, then it isn't fit for wearing.

I agree with Carbizene -- good rule.