Sunday, July 26, 2009

A Well-Traveled Panty and Some Zine Info


Strolling through the packaged undies section of Target has left me wondering about the politics of underwear: fabric, dye, stitching, labour, packaging, marketing, import/export, processes of globalization and garment industries... What are the histories and contexts for western undies? How does the underwear market play out gender, class, sex, age, race, body politics, colonial power dynamics, and conventions for "propriety?" I know MT and Cupcake talked a bit about this in their Feminist Critical Theory class last year... I wish I had been there.

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I just read some info about a "Radical Fatshion Zine." They write:

"Would you be interested in helping create a potentially low participation/totally pleasurable (like, you would only do the tasks that you are super interested in. no more, no less.) zine about radical and accessible and fierce fatshion?"

They say to contact: afrotitty@gmail.com. They are also on Facebook.

1 comment:

blonde Ambition said...

Well, you could write a whole blog on the making and evolution of undwear but ofr now I will just say this. THe bra as we know it was seen as early as the Minnoans, that is two cups over the breast attached by a string aorud the back and one to attach the cups. The women of Napoleans Europe used stays that looked more like puch up or plunge type bras and they only went down till the top of the ribcage. The stays went up and down from there until about teh 1920's when women started using strips of fabric to flatten tehir chests, much like the Elizbethan women did. Then the modern bras was invented by an engeneer. See Vertigo or Mad Men for an early bra protoypes.
Undwear, howeve is more intresting. Pantoloon are an early invention for the western world. Women have always wanted a protection for theri skirst. Some were long and some were short, but almost always open in the crotch. Think, like board shorts that are just attached at the waist and no where in the crotch or butt. They attached in the BACK!!!! But many had drawstrings. I made some for a costume and of all the cool things I made, everyone asked asked about my crotchless panties. Only when the skirst got smaller and closer to the bodies did the pantaloons closed up. Technically, the panty is a garment with a legs that got to the knees, and may or may not be closed at the crotch, underwear is the stuff you bought at Target. However, we now use the same word to describe both items. I find it intresting that pantaloons have returned, only now they are made for slimming purposes. Anywya, have a ton of fun reasearching undewear!!