Culture of Jeans

Term Paper # 2387

Anthropology
Sociology

Culture of Jeans

A look at the ideology and symbolic meaning behind jeans and how this has changed over time.

1,900 words () | 6 sources | 2000 United States

Paper Summary:

The ideology of Jeans in the United States has been changing for decades due to the shift in pop culture. Because of the diversity of American culture, the idea behind the jeans has evolved from hard-working to self identification. The author examines the changing symbolic significance of jeans for American society over time and the symbol they serve for popular culture.

From the Paper:

"Jeans, or to be exact, blue jeans, have been carrying its very symbolic significance for America over the last 150 years. For the past century and a half, the culture of jeans has changed the ideological symbolism from initial proletarian wardrobes (toughness, independence, and hardworking) in the mid-nineteenth century to modern twenty-first century representation of selfness (uniqueness, individuality, and personal styles). Not only has the ideology changed over time, but the jeans per se, its design, style, embellishment, or even marketing strategy also change from "western-era" plain style emphasizing durability, through "rebellious-period" creative style stressing anti-tradition, to "post-war epoch" advocating casualness, following neck-and-neck along the societal pulsation. Jeans therefore can serve as an accurate barometer of trends in contemporary, now and then, popular cultures."