Date of Award
1-1-2011
Document Type
Masters Thesis
Degree Name
M.A.
Organizational Unit
College of Arts Humanities and Social Sciences
First Advisor
Kate Willink, Ph.D.
Second Advisor
Ann Dobyns, Ph.D.
Third Advisor
Richie Niel Hao
Keywords
Fashion, Identity, Culture, Rhetorical communication, Feminism
Abstract
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.
Publication Statement
Copyright is held by the author. User is responsible for all copyright compliance.
Rights Holder
Jessica Neumann
Provenance
Received from ProQuest
File Format
application/pdf
Language
en
File Size
138 p.
Recommended Citation
Neumann, Jessica L., "Fashioning the Self: Performance, Identity and Difference" (2011). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 475.
https://digitalcommons.du.edu/etd/475
Copyright date
2011
Discipline
Communication
Included in
Communication Technology and New Media Commons, Critical and Cultural Studies Commons, Gender, Race, Sexuality, and Ethnicity in Communication Commons