Sex and Unisex: Fashion, Feminism, and the Sexual Revolution

by Jo B. Paoletti

Overview

Notorious as much for its fashion as for its music, the 1960s and 1970s produced provocative fashion trends that reflected the rising wave of gender politics and the sexual revolution. In an era when gender stereotypes were questioned and dismantled, and when the feminist and gay rights movements were gaining momentum and a voice, the fashion industry responded in kind. Designers from Paris to Hollywood imagined a future of equality and androgyny. The unisex movement affected all ages, with adult fashions trickling down to school-aged children and clothing for infants. Between 1965 and 1975, girls and women began wearing pants to school; boys enjoyed a brief "peacock revolution," sporting bold colors and patterns; and legal battles were fought over hair style and length. However, with the advent of Diane Von Furstenberg's wrap dress and the launch of Victoria's Secret, by the mid-1980s, unisex styles were nearly completely abandoned. Jo B. Paoletti traces the trajectory of unisex fashion against the backdrop of the popular issues of the day—from contraception access to girls' participation in sports. Combing mass-market catalogs, newspaper and magazine articles, cartoons, and trade publications for signs of the fashion debates, Paoletti provides a multigenerational study of the "white space" between (or beyond) masculine and feminine.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780253015969
Publisher:	Indiana University Press (Ips)
Publication date:	02/27/2015
Pages:	216
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.90(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Jo B. Paoletti is Associate Professor of American Studies at the University of Maryland. She is author of Pink and Blue: Telling the Boys from the Girls in America (IUP, 2012).

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements
Introduction
1. Movers, Shakers, and Boomers
2. Feminism and Femininity
3. The Peacock Revolution
4. Nature and/or Nurture?
5. Litigating the Revolution
6. The Culture Wars, Then and Now
Notes
Bibliography
Index

What People are Saying About This

Michael Kimmel]]>

Jo Paoletti's groundbreaking work reveals not how clothing styles reflect gender norms, but how they actually come to constitute those norms themselves. Whether the history of color coded baby clothes, as in her earlier work, or the rise and fall of androgynous unisex clothing, Paoletti is one of our keenest and most perceptive cultural historians. In her skilled hands, the word "material" in "material culture" is not simply an adjective, but also an active verb.

Michael Kimmel

"Jo Paoletti's groundbreaking work reveals not how clothing styles reflect gender norms, but how they actually come to constitute those norms themselves. Whether the history of color coded baby clothes, as in her earlier work, or the rise and fall of androgynous unisex clothing, Paoletti is one of our keenest and most perceptive cultural historians. In her skilled hands, the word "material" in "material culture" is not simply an adjective, but also an active verb."

Susan B. Kaiser]]>

a very provocative and timely book!

Susan B. Kaiser

"a very provocative and timely book!"

Editorial Reviews

01/05/2015
With interest, energy, and a tinge of nostalgia, Paoletti (Pink and Blue) explores the unsettling of gender roles and identity in the late 1960s and ’70s caused by the sexual revolution and the fight for equal rights through the popular but short-lived trend in unisex clothing for men, women, and kids. Reading changing fashions as evidence of a “real creative cultural pressure for new directions,” Paoletti’s wide-ranging historical research discovers a paradox in the fad for unisex, the style of which was “intentionally designed to blur or cross gender lines” but resulted in “uniformity with a masculine tilt,” and its brief flirtation with androgyny led to a “stylistic whiplash” of more obviously gendered clothing for women and children. Paoletti argues that trends like his ’n’ hers styles, the peacock revolution for men, and gender-neutral infant and toddler wear explored but failed to resolve questions about gender, sex, and sexuality, leaving “unfinished business” that continues to play out in our present-day culture wars. Paoletti ultimately has more fun analyzing gender stereotypes than dealing with the complicated currents of fashion. She keeps an engaging voice throughout by throwing in personal references but she fails to come to a satisfying conclusion about why the unisex trend gave way to other styles. (Mar.)

Publishers Weekly

"This skillful, interdisciplinary work is important reading for scholars in many disciplines and continues a conversation Paoletti began in 2012 with Pink and Blue: Telling the Boys from the Girls in America."—The Journal of American Culture

"With interest, energy, and a tinge of nostalgia, Paoletti explores the unsettling of gender roles and identity in the late 1960s and '70s caused by the sexual revolution and the fight for equal rights through the popular but short-lived trend in unisex clothing for men, women, and kids."—Publishers Weekly

"This book is truly refreshing: an incisive, challenging look at gender, sex, and sexuality from a feminist scholar, but without a trace of academic jargon or theoretical posturing."—Boston Review

"There's a lot to agree with, and a lot to disagree with in Paoletti's book, but it's an ambitious, creative, and thought-provoking study that offers much to consider."—Pop Matters

"The philosophical significance of physical appearance, as shown in this book, seems undeniable. Paoletti didn't invent the sociological study of fashion, but she has made an impressive contribution to it."—The Gay & Lesbian Review

"Arguing through carefully selected case studies, this accessible monograph explores shifting masculinities and femininities amid a series of culture wars that emerged alongside an increasingly consumer-oriented and image-based society invested in self-examination."—Journal of American History

"The fact and the way she has raised these questions can keep gender and sexuality researchers busy for a long time to come. For serious scholars, this book scratches the surface, in a good way. Each chapter poses abundant questions that merit full-length book considerations."—Journal of Popular Culture

"a very provocative and timely book!"—Susan B. Kaiser, Author of The Social Psychology of Children

"Jo Paoletti's groundbreaking work reveals not how clothing styles reflect gender norms, but how they actually come to constitute those norms themselves. Whether the history of color coded baby clothes, as in her earlier work, or the rise and fall of androgynous unisex clothing, Paoletti is one of our keenest and most perceptive cultural historians. In her skilled hands, the word "material" in "material culture" is not simply an adjective, but also an active verb."—Michael Kimmel, author of Manhood in America

From the Publisher

The fact and the way she has raised these questions can keep gender and sexuality researchers busy for a long time to come. For serious scholars, this book scratches the surface, in a good way. Each chapter poses abundant questions that merit full-length book considerations.

Journal of Popular Culture

There's a lot to agree with, and a lot to disagree with in Paoletti's book, but it's an ambitious, creative, and thought-provoking study that offers much to consider.

Pop Matters

This book is truly refreshing: an incisive, challenging look at gender, sex, and sexuality from a feminist scholar, but without a trace of academic jargon or theoretical posturing.

Boston Review

This skillful, interdisciplinary work is important reading for scholars in many disciplines and continues a conversation Paoletti began in 2012 with Pink and Blue: Telling the Boys from the Girls in America.

The Journal of American Culture

The philosophical significance of physical appearance, as shown in this book, seems undeniable. Paoletti didn't invent the sociological study of fashion, but she has made an impressive contribution to it.

The Gay & Lesbian Review

Arguing through carefully selected case studies, this accessible monograph explores shifting masculinities and femininities amid a series of culture wars that emerged alongside an increasingly consumer-oriented and image-based society invested in self-examination.

Journal of American History

03/15/2015
From 1965–75, unisex fashion became the order of the day with androgyny in dress coming to the forefront. This style trend is examined against the popular issues of the time, such as female contraception and increased female participation in organized sports.

Library Journal