What is feminism?
As per Wikipedia, Feminism gets its definition as a range of social movements, political movements, and ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal and social equality of the sexes.
These feminist movements span over 170 years and throughout that timeline, the growing number of female politicians, a woman’s role in politics has become increasingly significant. While these activism parades and bold statements have always been essential to feminism, fashion also plays an important role in the movement. During the course of this woman’s fashion have changed drastically but the outsmarting question has always been the same: What does it mean to be a woman and how women should dress?
The first major wave of feminism, the dress was a central political topic that looked to release women from structures both physical and sociological, both suffocating and condemning in their own ways as they wore heavy, cumbersome dresses that required a second set of hands to put on and take off. According to the famous author Gilman, the lack of pockets in women’s clothing resonates a connection of women to pointlessness and ephemerality meaning lasting a day; hence the pocket less lady becomes dependent on the pocketed man to carry her around the world for herself. And bluntly, pockets still replicate as a sexist design. Then as we moved closer to the 1900s a loose tunic over baggy trousers and matching suits came out for play as more women began participating in sports and working as secretaries. Colour was also a vital part for the members of the activist women’s organization, the three symbolic shades were: purple for loyalty and dignity, green for hope, and white for purity.
The relationship of the second wave to fashion was quite different especially after the independence women gained during World War II. When the war effort ended in 1945, women were accompanied back into the home and into ultra-feminine fashion with zipper-backed dresses and form-cinching underthings; bodices, corsetry and heavily layered undergarments. These started to being recognized as having destructive health effects, changing women’s spines, compressing and harming their inner organs, compromising woman’s remarkably capacities to move and work with any ease. However, decades’ worth of internal turmoil burst into flames with a loud rejection of traditional feminine-femininity. Thus the red lip and high heels came out to play a bigger part in the second wave of feminism. As we entered into the 80s some wanted to enjoy the feminine things and still wanted to be wielded by power, others felt that wearing skirts betrayed the feminist movement. Then the line between womenswear and menswear, unisex clothes and gender-neutral fashion was added.
The timeline for the third wave is quite blurry. Some argue that we are currently in the fourth wave. However, the most significant thing that defines this wave is that women can wear lipstick and high heels and be a feminist, or they can wear none and still be a feminist and that it's always a choice and that clothing is just a symbol of equality.
Rtr. Senuri Hirusha
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