Abstract
Women in politics have always faced public scrutiny in manners of their dress, and it seems evident that the rise of female politicians in Asia offers special challenges. Currently, political fashions are dominated by the norm of male leaders through a westernized two-piece or three-piece business suit completed with conservative collared, button-down shirt and a long neck tie, popularized in the American ‘dress for success’(Molloy 1974) movement of the mid-1970s and 1980s and adopted around the world. The suit, and especially the suit coat or jacket connotes masculinity, authority, discipline, convention and formality associated with the ideals of democratic political systems (Craik 2008; Hollander [1994] 2016). This standard ‘uniform’has become spread around the world, where donning ‘the suit’conveys an acceptance of western political ideology in countries that straddle the sartorial conventions between East and West.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Title of host publication | Fashion, Women and Power |
| Subtitle of host publication | The Politics of Dress |
| Editors | Denise Rall |
| Place of Publication | Bristol, UK |
| Publisher | Intellect |
| Chapter | 6 |
| Pages | 115-136 |
| Number of pages | 22 |
| Edition | 1 |
| ISBN (Electronic) | 9781789384635, 9781789384628 |
| ISBN (Print) | 9781789384611 |
| Publication status | Published - 10 Dec 2021 |
Keywords
- poliitcal dress
- gendered politics
- female politicians image
- Asian female politicians
- politics and fashion
- political image