One interesting point that Silverman brings up is men’s fascination with women’s apparel. This reminded me of high school, when boys would get dressed up as girls any chance they had. On Halloween, there were constantly boys dressing up as Disney Princesses or Wonder Woman, and for some reason they would always win one of the few awards for best costume. This makes me wonder why there is such an obsession with boys dressing as girls and why this is so amusing to people. It is also similar to the idea in the “you construct intricate rituals” Barbara Kruger image we looked at in class one week, because there has been such a complex process put in place around when it is acceptable for men to dress this way.
The second point that struck me in Silverman’s argument was that our clothing makes us “culturally visible”, as some have already mentioned. The example of Charlotte in Now, Voyage was a very interesting one, because it is a theme that is constantly showing up in the mainstream media, particularly in films. Many movies ( Princess Diaries, She’s All That, Devil Wears Prada) show an awkward, but pretty girl, who then goes through a transformation to change her hair, makeup, and clothes, so that she is beautiful and appealing to the opposite sex in the end. This perpetuates the idea that Silverman is referring to, that one’s clothing contributes to whether or not a woman is deemed attractive by males. While this article was written over 20 years ago, it is interesting to see how many of the themes have stayed the same throughout the years.
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