Jane Hegland

Cross-Dressers in Cyber-Space: Exploring the Internet as a Tool for Expressing Gendered Identity

The authors explore the ways in which the Internet functions to communicate about cross-dressing as part of a larger cultural discourse surrounding gender. As a widely used tool to dialogue on the topic of appearance, the Internet also helps to establish and even alter gendered identities. The seamless realm of the Internet allows such identities to cross cultural boundaries instantly and without regard for real physical space. Based on 30 Websites of cross-dressers collected and analyzed, this essay examines the ways that individuals use this virtual world for purposes of cross-dressing. As a study of human behavior and dress, this research has important implications for furthering our understanding of how cyberspace operates as a newly established socio-cultural realm and participates in the current scholarly discourse on the topic of the Internet as a new vehicle for the study of dress and identity.

Constructing Knowledge for the Future: Exploring Alternative Modes of Inquiry from a Philosophical Perspective

Clothing and textiles research is examined within a futuring framework to discuss potential avenues for development of thought within the field. A philosophical perspective linking ontology, epistemology, and methodology is posited as important to exploring assumptions that guide the research process. The material culture studies perspective, the feminist social science perspective, and the critical science perspective are discussed as three potential ways of approaching the subject matter in need of mainstreaming as we look to the future of knowledge production within clothing and textiles. Based on this discussion, ideas and implications for scenario-building in the traditional futures sense are presented.

Women and apparel entrepreneurship: An exploration of small business challenges and strategies in three countries

Purpose – The purpose of this study was to explore strategies used by successful female entrepreneurs to manage the challenges of running a small apparel business. Design/methodology/approach – A qualitative research design was used. Primary and secondary data were collected on small business in three countries: Russia, South Africa and Thailand. In-depth interviews were conducted with a total of 11 female small apparel business owners. Businesses ranged from tailoring and custom clothing shops, to small-scale design and production, as well as small apparel retail stores. Findings – Three emergent themes highlight the similarities and differences that surfaced across the participants’ narratives. Key issues within the thematic areas point to the need for these women to be creative in finding resources to start and grow their small apparel businesses, and to manage the competition that they face within this industry. Research limitations/implications – It is difficult to generalize the findings of this stu...

Cross-cultural and Intra-societal. Application of DeLong's Framework for Visual Analysis

This paper analyzes the application of DeLongs framework of visual analysis in research on dress outside of the mainstream. Drawing from three bodies of separately conducted research, this paper explores the potential of using a system for visual analysis originally developed for study of cosmopolitan2 dress to understand visual information in other cultural contexts. As a component of our research design each researcher used DeLongs system of visual analysis to explore dress as a reflection of cultural construction of gender. This collaborative effort, which summarizes our individual works, demonstrates that visual analysis is a useful means for examining gender through symbolic dimensions of dress.

An exploration of success factors from the perspective of global apparel entrepreneurs and small business owners: implications for apparel programmes in higher education

ABSTRACT Given the high number of small-sized apparel-related businesses operating within the global economy, it is likely that graduates of apparel programmes in higher education will go on to work for a small business or to partner with such firms in the global manufacturing process. This study reports on findings derived from interviews conducted with 30 entrepreneurs and small business owners in four countries: India, South Africa, Russia, and Thailand. Companies were positioned at key points along the supply chain, including design, manufacturing, as well as small retailers. Five factors were identified as critical for successful apparel-related entrepreneurs and small businesses: relationship-building, niche identification, resourcefulness, community engagement, and global awareness. Findings suggest that entrepreneurship and small-business-related education within apparel programmes should focus on developing students’ entrepreneurial competency relative to these factors. Moreover, findings suggest that students would likely benefit from entrepreneurship education designed specifically to address the global apparel industry context.

Book Review: Wearing Ideology: State, Schooling and Self-Presentation in Japan

In Wearing Ideology, McVeigh investigates two specifically Japanese cultural phenomena. He begins with a fascinating examination of how uniforms function simultaneously as a means for socialization and control, and as a site for differentiation and resistance. This is followed by an exploration of the provocative ‘cult of cuteness’, an aesthetic McVeigh maintains is fundamentally Japanese in origin and practice. McVeigh begins with a complex discussion of the methodological and theoretical underpinnings of his ethnographic study. His overarching research question asks why uniforms and uniformity in dress play such a prominent role among the Japanese. From this, he informs the reader of additional pertinent questions and assumptions, and the means through which he intends to respond. McVeigh has organized his study within the theoretical framework of dramaturgical analysis, a structure whereby both discursive (language and speech) and nondiscursive (appearance attributes such as clothing, hairstyle, gestures and body language) are considered to be equally salient. Although not a conventional ethnography, McVeigh’s work is based on a decade’s worth of interviews and daily observations systematically gathered while he has lived and worked as a graduate student, researcher and professor in Japan. McVeigh recognizes that uniforms are not exclusive to Japan; it is rather Journal of Consumer Culture 2(3)