13.8 Kente as an Indigenous Ghanaian Textile

The article talks mainly about the Kente cloth. It talks about the production process and sources that are needed in order to make it, the equipment used to actually create it and the weaving process which explains how it is weaved together. Kente cloth is a colorful silk and cotton fabric that is made of interwoven cloth strips and originates from Ghana. Originally it was made using Raffia, a straw type material but was later replaced by cotton yams that were locally hands pun and dyed. The cloths started off as just plain white but then they were introduced to a Dutch silk material which they began using and it regarded as prestigious, in other words, it was a higher quality. Nowadays the Kente cloth is made from a variety of materials from cotton, rayon to polyester.

To make the Kente cloth, they use something called a wooden loom. It is said to be a masculine thing and you will really only find men who are using it, unless it’s a specialist or professional who does it for a living. There are many accessories that go with the loom and without those you will not be able to create a proper Kente cloth. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=szmRkDdR4eY

The Weaving Process

Many professional weavers study in Bonwire, which is a village that is strictly all about learning how to make the Kente cloth. Trainees are given miniature looms to study and slowly move up to using the big wooden loom. They start off by coming with a design, and then they must show a sample of their color combination, meaning the exact number and order of the threads in each color. 

It is a very complex job and you have patient and detail oriented. There are different types of looms, they can either be broad or narrow or high or low depending on the weaver’s technique. It also depends on whether you are making a male or female Kente cloth, because they differ in strip size. As many cultures can agree that technology is not always embraced with open arms. Preserving traditions is valuable to the culture. In the chapter, technology and Kente are meet half way. The loom requires human intervention only when there is a problem as in a thread breaks. The computerized loom is programmed to maintain by a human, but the actual work of production of the cloth is done by a machine. We related the article to today by everything becoming about mass production. Double the amount of products, in the less amount of time. 

An item like the Kenteis losing the uniqueness/value of the cloth by being produce by a machine.

4.4 Skin Bleaching: The Complexion of Identity, Beauty, and Fashion

The article starts off by discussing the incident that occurred when basketball star Charles Barkley was making degrading comments about baseball star Sammy Sosa for bleaching his skin. On the TNT cable show, Barkley mocked Sosa by putting white makeup on one side of his face and referring to Sosa said “I know you want to get in the Hall of Fame, but going white ain’t the way to go … Stop it!”

Skin bleaching also called skin lightening is an old practice that is now used all around the world. It is an expensive and formal skin bleaching procedure that this offered by dermatologist, however, the article explains the non-medical bleaching of the skin by discussing it within different aspects of that relate to the body. The article talks about colorism which is defined as light-skinned people of color having better opportunities and higher statuses over their darker-skinned people. In the European colonization of Africa, Asia-Pacific and the Middle East they have darker skin, and there it is said that the Caucasian race is superior to other races and that is where colorism stems from. Racism ties in with colorism, but it is different because racism is based on race whereas colorism is based more on complexion. Back to skin bleaching, the non-medical definition is the lightening of skin through the use of homemade, cosmetic and dermatological products. Some people bleach only their faces, while others bleach both their faces and bodies.

The obsession with skin color is not new. The ancient Egyptians used white lead on their skins as well as those in Ancient Greece. In more recent history, the Japanese Geishas also did, by covering their face in nightingale feces. Nowadays, it is called a Geisha Facial and it is said to whiten and balance the skin tone and it can also treat skin with hyper pigmentation, acne, and sun damage. Skin bleaching when used unsafely can cause neurological problems, memory loss, glaucoma, and chronic skin problems. Despite the major health problems it can cause, people still choose to do it, like plastic surgery. There are many reasons people choose to bleach their skin, and we will now get into how it ties into identity, beauty and fashion.

Identity: colorism influences the sense of self for some non-whites. There are four types of modes; buffering, bonding, bridging, and code switching. Buffering is the discrimination with their identity to protect the self. The bonding occurs with people one knows and for whom one has an affinity. The identity of people’s bride with strangers by using their interpersonal skills in new social interactions to find common ground. During the stage of code switching, a person downplays on identity and shines the light on another identity because the situation requires it. 

Beauty: during this part, beauty is described as acombination of qualities, such as shape, color, or form that pleases the aesthetic sense, especially the sight. Women do not just bleach their skins to become whiter, but also to acquire some sort of beauty. 

Fashion: this is where all the ideas of an ideal image come from. Ads grab the visual attention of young women because their eyes are fixated on the model. With the use of ads, consumers engage with the ads to transport to identity, to immerse, to feel the ads, and to act the ads. 

Skin bleaching is not just in the American culture. It is something being seen all around the word. For an example, in Japan, the Geisha’s paint their face white to be more attractive. The reality is that its caused by an economic status. People with darker skin color is consider someone who works or worked in the fields. Which lowers their economic status.

12.3 "What Disney Says": Young Girls, Dress, and The Disney Princesses 

This article written by Jeanne Marie Iorio starts off with her experience visiting to a preschool and in the process meeting two four-year-old girls that began a conversation with her. It started with them first asking who she was, then quickly went to would she like to play princesses with them. She then asked them what princesses was and their response was “What Disney says”. A few days later after the conversation, she reflected on the conversation and realized she was actually disturbed by how the little girls were creating what it means to be a girl in terms of a large corporation meaning Disney. She decided to explore the presence of princess and its marketing impact on retail. She found that “princess” clothing and marketing impose on children what it means to be a young girl in our current society. Iorio states that corporations like Disney, paints an image of what a young girl should look like or be, which is not necessarily fair to children that either don’t want to wear the clothing or just can’t afford it. Disney markets their products to their consumers, children, and instead empowering the children, they choose first to make a profit. She then goes on to give many other examples of how disney markets and so on. 

We related it to retail and marketing within public fantasy because, the author talked about Disney and how they market their clothing and how they display in their windows specific colors or certain princesses. For example, she mentioned how

Disney’s mannequins in their window displays are headless because they want children to picture themselves as that princess or whatever character it may be. It relates to public fantasy because the chapter talked about how consumers walk into a store and imagine themselves in all sorts of dress styles for many different roles. The chapter also uses an example of how you can display royal blue in a store window to attract customers, and once they are in, they are free to creatively imagine themselves in different looks.

We also related it to fantastic socialization, which is described as dressing in roles that could not be realistically played in the future. By having the influence of a princess as a young girl, they grow up believing that they can to become a princess and live like one. Although dressing like a princess could be good for the imagination, it also affects young girls’ identity. l wants to become a princess because it is what they really want to become, or if they are being influenced by society and following what is popular. Disney princesses do not just target the lives of young girls, but also the adults. Becoming a princess is something girls always dream of, no matter the age. Disney princesses have also influenced women’s perception of getting married by having wedding dresses influenced by different Disney princesses. Every girl just wants to feel like a princess, even if it’s just for one day.

Female Tradition in a New Context: The Case of the Khanga

This article examines the Khanga which originated from East Africa. It is a rectangle piece of pure cotton cloth with a border that is usually printed in bold designs and bright colors. It is as long as your outstretched arm and wide enough to cover you from either neck to knee or breast to toe. The khangas are a symbol of proper African womanhood and are used for many different things. 

For example, after a girl reaches puberty she receives the khangas as gifts from her family. They are used in weddings, in which the mother of the bride receives them from friends and family to thank her for raising her daughter and as reassurance that when he daughter leaves with her husband she will have loved ones to help her cope with her loss. The khangas are also used after marriage where the bride gets a set of khangas from her husband that represent a sign of belonging and intimacy and every time the husband receives a salary he is expected to buy his wife a new khanga. However many khangas a women has indicated her husband wealth and his appreciation at the same time. We related the khanga wedding aspect to American culture and how Americans traditionally wear either white or off white dresses, throw the bouquet, or catch the garter. Whereas in Tanzania they use the khangas and the colors they wear are bright and bold. 

We related it to the chapter by relating it to status and dress because in some parts of the world female status begins when a girl reaches puberty and in Tanzania, the girls are given the khanga which represents womanhood and is also an example of the power of dress to express status. In addition we related it to socialism because before socialism the khanga included community sayings and proverbs and wearing them showed the different status of women. However after socialism the khangas began to include political messages and expressed their status in political issues. 

Saudi Women with “Sexy Eyes” Will Have to Cover Them Up in Public

As most people may know, Saudi Arabia is one of the most if not the most conservative country in the world. It is the only country in the world that doesn’t allow women to do a lot of things that they should be allowed to do. In the article written by John Didymus, he explains the new law that has come about. In 2011, the government of Saudi Arabia decided that they wanted to ban all women from showing their, as they referred to as, “sexy eyes” or tempting eyes. This new proposal was brought up when a committee member of the promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice was caught looking into a woman’s eyes because he thought they were pretty. The husband of the woman saw him looking and quickly got offended, which then led to the man who was looking to get stabbed twice. This is what led to them considering women cover up their “sexy eyes”. Saudi women are already required by law to wear a long black robe called an “abaya”, which partially covers their body from head to toe and sometimes even over the nose. It is part of their conservative culture to cover up their bodies, however it is going a little overboard by making women cover up their eyes, making their entire face not visible. This, to some extent, brings us to the Women’s Suffrage Movement, which made it possible for women to have their voice heard and their ideas projected through voting. However, Saudi Arabia is one of the countries that still does not give women the right to vote and takes away a lot of their rights. It is said that King Abdullah declared that women will be able to vote in the 2015 local elections.

We related the article to the chapter 3; group association. The level describes how organizations and groups have to do with culture. With culture within the group or organization, the role of dress varies. For Saudi women, culture plays a whole role in their world, which determines how a woman is supposed to dress. Due to the restrictions Saudi women must obey, therefore they must wear abaya, and possibly cover their eyes. If Saudi women do have to cover their eyes in the future it would be because of the role culture plays in their dress. It also relates to the meaning of dress messages, because the way you dress can be misinterpreted. For example, many man that are accused of rape, give the excuse that the way the victim was dressed was a sign of content. In Saudi, things such as rape aren’t as frequent as in other places such as United States, simply because they are covered up. But will “sexy eyes” be the next reason?

2.2 The Role of Fashion Change in the Fashion System
Competition in the Fashion System
The fashion industry is one of the most competitive industries. Everyone is competing with one another, from apparel designers, manufacturers, and distributors to importers, licensors, and retailers. Even though there is a broad range of apparel goods that are available, everything is categorized by either fashion or non-fashion. The competition is not solely based on prices, but on designs and the societal interpretation as well. Competition influences fashion change because designers or whomever it may be try to create their own unique designs hoping that consumers will catch on and if consumers do catch on, that is competition for another designer to do better that, which is where fashion changes. For example how Mary Quant wore the first miniskirt and Andre Courreges competed with that and revamped it.
Technology in the Fashion System

Technology plays a big role in the fashion system and influences fashion in a big way as well. It both supplies data and generates usable information in the form of simulations and models, which makes it easier for companies as far as their production and distribution cycles and accessing goods and services worldwide. Nowadays, many apparel companies clothing designs are made and edited with technology such as computers. There have been many advancements with technology and fashion in our society today. According to the article companies that do use technology have a competitive advantage over companies that don't.Today, one of the major advancements is 3D printing, which has had a big impact on the fashion world. Continuum is a clothing company that creates wearable 3D printed pieces. Customers can go to their website and design their own pieces and specify their body shapes and measurements. The company then uses nylon to print out each unique order. Here is a video of how they created their first shoe.

Having advancements as 3D printing allows companies to differentiate themselves from their competition because they bring something new and different to the table. Technology also plays a big role in consumer fashion as well, because consumers are attracted to technology in our society today. For example, browsing or shopping online makes it convenient for consumers. Even technology without fashion plays a big part in every individual's life.

Gronmo Typology of Strategic Positioning in an Information Society

Gronmo states that there are four strategic positions. The first is potentially influential, in which retailers have potential influence when their interests are congruent. An example would be if you created your own private label. You would want to select a store that has more influential in the market. By selecting a greater influential store as in Forever 21 and or Target would bring more profit to the private label than selecting a small independent store as in a boutique. Potentially powerful is when a manufacturing and or a retail store have more power than another. Potentially powerful is referred to when a retailer/ manufacture tends to be more powerful than their competitor. Certain laws and Acts are put to control restrictions goods, such as importing and exporting goods. Protection or as in the Robinson-Patman Act 1936 is consider when manufactures need to provide the same assistants to smaller retailers as they do with larger retailers. For example, a manufacture that wants to advertise with a retailer. Under the Robinson-Patman Act the manufacture needs to provide the same amount of advertising funds to the smaller retailer as they give the larger retailer. Finally the last strategic positioning is powerless. Powerless is when a small independent retailer has now power in the market, and is subject to decisions already made by more power retailers and manufacturing. It occurs when different retailers, independent and dependent are selling the same goods and when different manufactures are producing products that are similar to one another is when they people powerless. 

 

BODY RITUAL AMONG THE NACIREMA

The Body Ritual Among the Nacirema is a shocking article by Horace Miner about the Nacirema culture and their fundamental beliefs and rituals. This group of people can be found in North America living in the territory between the Canadian Cree, the Taqui and Taraqhumare of Mexico. Their fundamental belief is that the human body is ugly and unhealthy, so they use powerful rituals, daily ceremonies, and household shrines to make their bodies look a certain way. For example, they have rituals to increase and decrease the size of a women's breast, as well as rituals to make them thin or fat. In our society today, the mindset of some people have not changed. Women are still under going breast surgeries and both men and women get bypass surgeries to lose weight. Rituals are somewhat equivalent to surgeries, both are being performed to help someone maintain an ideological image. 

At first glance the Nacirema seems to be a very uncivilized culture because of the type of things that it involves, but by the end of the article you begin to realize that the Nacirema is very similar to American culture. Things such as their shrine can be interpreted as a bathroom. The potions and charms they use can be interpreted as medicine. The shrine box as a medicine cabinet. The latipso which is where they do the surgeries, as a hospital. The holy mouth man who does gouges their teeth out, can be interpreted as a dentist. The maidens who help them, as nurses, and the cutting of body pieces as surgery. All of these rituals are simply their everyday life and each ritual can be portrayed as a different perspective of American culture. After all, Nacirema is American spelled backwards!