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Material politics is about the relationship between fashion and social action. This paper will examine the material politics of the zoot suit and the headscarf.
A zoot suit is a style of men clothing with high-waisted and wide legged trousers and a long coat with wide lapels and padded shoulders. This style of clothing was particularly popular amongst African-American, Hispanic-pachuco, and Italian-American communities during the 1940s. The zoot suit became a part of the politics of warfare due to the World War II efforts in rationing materials to with the war. The zoot suit is a material sign of the emblematic of ethnicity and a way of negotiating identity. A headscarf or hijab is a veil that is particularly worn by Muslim women covering
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Due to World War II, the arrival of Mexican farm laborers and the migration of many Mexican-Americans to United States, increased tensions between Hispanics and Whites. In various southwestern states, many Hispanic teenagers began to form gangs and became know as pachucos or “zoot-suiters” due to a style of dress that originated in the Harlem era of the late 1930s. These pachucos rebelled against traditional middle-class societal norms and became the targets of violence. In June 1943, hostility toward the pachucos produced a four-day riot in Los Angeles. White sailors stationed at a base in Long Beach invaded various Hispanic communities and attacked zoot-suiters. These sailors tore off and burned all pachucos’ clothes, cut off their ducktails, and beat them with no restriction from the police. When the Hispanics tried to fight back, the police arrested them. In the aftermath of several days of street fighting, a city ordinance then prohibited the wearing of zoot suits. In the article, The Zoot-Suit and Style Warfare: Introduction: The Silent Noise of Sinister Clowns, Cosgrove discuss how “to wear a zoot-suit was to risk the repressive intolerance of wartime society and to invite the attention of the police, the parent generation and the uniformed members of the armed forces”
This quote shows that the Zoot Suit was intended to be seen as a hip classy style to ...
In chapter one Stuntz discusses the rise of violence in the early nineteenth and twentieth century, and the arrival of European immigrants, along with African Americans heading north. This also caused a drift between all immigrant groups, young immigrant males began to have rival gangs, also along with no care from the government. In the early
Zoot suits, associated with the Mexican race, consisted of a long jacket that reached almost to the knees, pants with a “tight stuff cuff”, a “wide, flat hat, and Dutch-toe shoes” (Berger 193). These zoot suits were worn by the Mexican youth who were accused of murder on August 2, 1942. People claimed that Jose Diaz was murdered by a gang that had broken up a party at Sleepy Lagoon ranch located close to Los Angeles. However, even though the lower court did convict them of murder, two years later the district court of appeals took that decision back by stating that there was not enough good evidence and that most of that decision was made based on prejudice issues. This incident became known as the “Sleepy Lagoon Affair” and was made an international topic, especially when it was made to look like Americans were making it a point to harm Latin-American citizens. Afterwards, the “Sleepy Lagoon Affair” opened the doorway to much more discrimination against Mexicans and brought many more riots to Los Angeles between Mexicans and Americans (Gorn 183).
The zoot suit symbolized several different things for the Mexican American population in the Los Angeles community. Not only was it a symbol of pride in their Mexican heritage, but also a form of rebellion from the norms emplaced upon the Mexican teenagers by their parents. These suits were also a symbol of unity, these young men wanted to look different and feel as if they’re culture could be something they could display and be proud of. This whole image was seen by the modern culture of Los Angeles to be “gang” related or distasteful. These “Pachuco” or punks often spoke a hybrid of English and Spanish, this was known as “calo.” However, many of the Mexican American teenagers at the time, spoke only English. The outfit often included pants wide at the knee often 40 inches or more, a broad shouldered jacket, hat, chain wallet and shined shoes called “calcos.”
Initially, members of the Mara Salvatrucha were a group of Salvadorans that “banned together for support and protection from other gangs already present in Los Angles...” (Kindt, Post, and Schneider, 248). Common gang initiation for a prospective member is being beaten by several gang members, also called “jumped in” described in Gangs and Law Enforcement. (Schmidt, 39). Immediately, these new gang members have been introd...
...types of the Zoot Suit trend. Without El Pachuco’s presence in these scenes, the clarity of the issues would not have been put in the forefront of the play. Zoot Suit is a political play designed to display the Chicano struggle against oppression and injustice. Although Zoot Suit reaches back to a historical event for Mexican-Americans, the play concerns all ethnic minorities in America. The Zoot Suit is a historical image that embodies a form of agency imbued with political power and rebellion for Chicanos and Chicanas alike. This play is counteractive to the prejudice and misrepresentation of Zoot Suiters of the time and is a tool for historical education. Not only does this play educate those who were unable to bear witness to such discrimination, but it also displays the ways in which counterculture can be powerful and makes changes in society.
Towards the end of the decade the Hippie movement had a huge impact on the way people started to view clothing. This group rebelled against war, encouraged peace and love. Their presence had a major influence on fashion. They opted for clothing that was natural and comfortable. Accessories w...
In chapter five of Suitably Modern, Mark Liechty discusses the action of “doing fashion” and how it affects the middle class and consumption in Kathmandu. Chapter five poses the question; what is new and what is not? This concerns the class distinctions and if modernization is actually occurring. The middle class in Kathmandu is claiming its own domain through clothing and ostracizing themselves. The author deems this action as adornment he defines it by stating, “It is used to set individuals and groups apart from some and to signal sameness”. Adornment can be a class distinction but also a gender role distinction. Women practice adornment to be indifferent in their relationships with men. For example women can chose to use flashier make-up which can distinguish a married woman from an unmarried woman. Liechty associates fashion with freedom. Film coming to Kathmandu quickly generated the modernization of fashion and consumption. Films exposed the residents to different types of fashion. Ultimately, the middle class wants its own cultural zone; through fashion and consumption it hopes to completely fit in with one another and still be distinct from other classes.
The Trickle-down theory, a well-known theory in fashion industry, has significant meaning in 19th to 20th century Europe. The American economist and sociologist, Veblen, published The theory of the Leisure Class by 1899, in which he discussed the split between the leisure class and the industrial class in the US critically. He concluded that leisure class treats dress as a sign of their status and possessions, furthermore, ‘Dress must not only be conspicuously expensive and inconvenient; it must at the same time be up to date’(Veblen 1994), by saying that, he refers to upper class was tend to create new fashion trend which was the top of the trickle-down theory. In the 20th century, Simmel, the German sociologist and philosopher, developed this theory further from a more sympathetic perspective. He drew much attention to sameness and difference amongst both classes in his book Fashion (Simmel 1973). The upper class gets self-satisfied and the proof of its priority by distinguishing itself from others, and working class follows the fashion trend which led by upper class in order to feel like he or she is ‘belonging to’ higher class. These opinions which were discussed by Veblen and Simmel were coined by a journalist in the mid-20th century, as ‘Trickle- down Theory’. During mid-18th to early 20th century, the trickle-down theory described the process of how fashion flows, and explains that fashion is a cultural and sociological phenomenon which includes the discourse of identity and uniformity, agency and structuralism. This phenomenon was not limited by geography, at the same period, in the other side of the world, similar situation happened in China which is a typical East Asian country....
It has been nearly 75 years since the zoot suit riots first occurred in los angeles, and the emotional and physical toll that it had on hundreds of mexican-american citizens makes the event unforgettable. The brutality and discrimination we faced by thousands of white americans, and the lack of intervention by police officers made me truly understand how prevalent racism was during the twentieth century. The lack of interest that thousands of white americans had in helping the chicano immigrants was apparent, they wanted to put an end to the zoot-suiters who were potential criminals in their eyes merely because of the fashion choices we made. Ultimately, I believe that, although life has changed greatly since the early 1940’s, there are still
*Many of the juvenile gangs that have formed in the United States in recent years are reminiscent of the post -war pachucos (Paz, 14).
“Just as Journalists, novelist, and propagandists appealed on behalf of servicemen went to emotions of empathy compassion and brotherhood the injunctions against zoot suiters solicited fantasies of revenge, retribution and annihilation” (Mazon). The press had from the start instigated and fueled hostility against zoot suit wearers and pachuco culture. One example, city newspapers began running stories about the “ juvenile war” being waged on the country streets by latino kids. During this disorder their daily and false accusations sparked up the flames. “The media constantly referred to the latino youth as delinquents, goons, and hoodlums” (Acuna). The media portrayed the chicano youth as a nuisance and applauded the servicemen for their “heroic” acts making the pride and joy of the public. Headline after headline, stories of how the servicemen were being mistreated making them the victims by only telling one side of the story, made civilians want to help the servicemen. Now not only were the servicemen beating and humiliating Zoot Suiters but civilians as well, because of what they read in newspapers, reasoning their violence by saying they were doing their part for the war
Fashion in the 21st century is a big business, as its production employs millions of people and generates billions of dollars in revenue. Fashion has for the past century been, and is still today, used as an indicator of social change and progress, as it changes with the social norms of the society and the political changes of the world (Finkelstein 3). Works Cited Finkelstein, Joanne. A.S.A. & Co. Fashion: An Introduction to Fashion. New York: New York University Press, 1998.
...ng to fashion, morality, and the prevailing definition of what constitutes illegal and immoral activities. There is even a recognizable gangster “look”, regardless of the era, that depends on an insatiable appetite for flamboyant clothes that marks him as a strutting peacock and a social misfit (Yaquinto xii). The faces of the gangsters have also changed over the years, not just because movie stars shine and fade away, but because the images of real-life criminals have changed. Gangsters have nearly always come from the bottom of society and get their start in the gangs that thrive on America’s meanest streets (Lexis-Nexus). The personnel of gangs has changed over the years to reflect the newest wave of underdogs who stir together anger and unrealized ambition to cook
To begin with, I shall look at what fashion is; it is a currently popular style or practice involving clothing, footwear or accessories. It mostly refers to the current trends in looks and dressing style of a person (Cumming 234). In most cases, fashion is confusedly related to costumes; when a person talks of fashion they are seen to mean fashion in terms of textile. Fashion is seen to originate from the Western world and it is copied by other places. In this paper, we shall look at how fashion affects lifestyles and the group of people who are affected most. The paper further investigates how media is used to transmit fashion from one region to the other. Although it has been seen to affect people’s lives many people have different perspectives on fashion and dressing.