Abstract This paper, written in the form of a speech to the school body, examines the advantages and disadvantages of dress codes in schools. It cites a case study of a boy who wore his pyjamas to school and uses this as a catalyst in support of the writers argument to get rid of dress codes.
From the Paper "Good morning/afternoon, teachers and fellow students. I?m sure we all started today very similar to each other: we crawled out of bed after throwing our alarm clock at the wall ? puzzled as to why it still works after about a million confrontations with that wall ? we get dressed, grab a bite for breakfast ? or not ? and try not to miss our bus or the regular car pool. Am I right? Well, one person broke that routine one morning. His name is Daniel Lade and he's in tenth grade at Middleton High School. One morning he fronted up to school in wearing a full set of pyjamas! And they weren?t the flannel variety either which can pass for street wear. No, my friends, Daniel wore a full set of navy blue pyjamas covered in tiny stars. 2 days later, some of his fellow students wore their pyjamas to school. The principal of the school reprimanded Daniel for wearing his pyjamas to school but let the other students go because they were wearing the flannel variety and the principal saw nothing wrong with it. (Landry, 2001, 1) Do you believe that Daniel deserved the "dressing down" as it were or do you think it was unfair of the principal to intervene? I?ll come back to my question a little later in this presentation. Just hold that thought."
Abstract This paper presents an examination of the women's dress movement. It is a history of the changes in women's clothing over the years from the feminists who stopped wearing corsets to those who pioneered the acceptance of women wearing trousers in society. It changed forever the attitude that society had about women's obligation to look good regardless of the cost to comfort and health.
From the Paper "The 1870's brought movement to change the undergarment instead of fighting society on the outer garment(Foster, 1984). "Emancipation Waists" were invented to give relief from the corset while still providing shape for the women who wore them. By the 1890's the crinoline was history and skirts began to drag on the ground. This became impossible to deal with as they picked up all sorts of trash, debris and dirt as they dragged. Instead of returning to the undergarments that had been so intrusive in the past the women of the nation began to shorten the skirts. Because health consciousness was in style the skirt becoming shorter was accepted more readily than it otherwise might have been.
With Amelia Bloomer's suggestion that the Turkish trouser would be more comfortable and the later acceptance of shorter skirts the dress reform movement was well underway and today women wear whatever they want to wear."
Abstract Looking at any public school in the United States will reveal varying kinds of dress-related concerns and student identity issues. Many times these two issues are firmly linked. The paper shows that parents and students alike will offer the complaint, or the explanation, that school uniforms cause as many issues as they prevent, by interfering with identity formation. But other issues also exist in conjunction with clothing and identity formation. This paper briefly examines these concerns.
Abstract Like all people, gay men express themselves by how they dress, and those members of the gay community who 'cross-dress' or dress 'in drag' are no exception. This paper examines how society viewed gay men in earlier days, beginning with the Berdeche of Pre-Columbian Native America, and continuing until the present day. It examines, in particular, cross-dressers and drag queens whose very act of dressing 'differently' is a symbol of pride in their unique sexuality.
From the Paper "Charles? style of cross-dressing is as "typical" of today's queens as is his devotion to the community and to his and other gay men's hard-won rights. The queen is not merely a simple copy of a heterosexual woman; rather she is a character that is at once uniquely gay in the fashions and attitudes she represents, and in the causes she espouses. Increasingly, even heterosexuals have come to see the deeper meanings behind what were once taboo images. Authors, artists, filmmakers, and those paragons of popular culture ? advertisers ? reach out to gay men in ways they never have before."
Abstract A discussion of the human sexuality of cross-dressing as it relates to psychology. The paper investigates the findings published in several books and journals concerning cross-dressing. The research also focuses on the treatments that are available for individuals that cross-dress and their families. The paper begins by defining cross-dressing and the psychological factors that can lead to the behavior.
From the Paper "Defining Cross Dressing can be a rather arduous task because it is a complex subject. One of the main topics that come to mind when addressing the subject is gender identity. (Bullough) A book entitled, Cross Dressing, Sex and Gender, explains that gender identity ?is the total perception of the individual about his or her own gender. It includes a basic personal identity as a boy or girl, man or woman, as well as personal judgments about the individual's level of conformity to the societal norms of masculinity and femininity.? (Bullough). The author goes on to explain that gender roles or the way that men and women are seen in society, can also contribute to cross dressing behavior."
Abstract The paper gives the background of the controversy surrounding dress codes in schools, from students who claim the restrictiveness to sources that cite the declining level of violence where dress codes are enforced. The paper specifically argues the case in order to decrease the occurrence of gang-related attire. The paper includes a detailed example of a dress code and recommendations to school districts for implementation.
From the Paper "The dress code provides a balance between an individual's First Amendment right to free expression and the school's responsibility to provide a safe and secure educational environment. Schools have a responsibility to customize their individual dress codes to address the needs and standards of their communities through use of a process that ensures input from students, parents, faculty and staff, as well as other interested community members. On the other hand, students and their parents or guardians have a responsibility to be aware of the school dress code and to conform to its requirements. Finally, the principal of each school has a responsibility to interpret and enforce the policy stated herein."
Abstract This paper examines how cross-dressing is an important element that renders serious repercussions in Shakespeare's plays. Two plays that emphasize cross-dressing and its repercussions are "Twelfth Night" and "As You Like It". The writer points out that, while the characters of Viola and Rosalind have very different reasons to explain their cross-dressing, each circumstance, while causing complications, also works in their behalf. It explains how their ability to fool those around them generates interest and adds an element of complexity to each play, namely, that each woman is able to accomplish something she would not have been able to do as a woman. Rosalind teaches Orlando the ways of love, and Viola makes her way into Orsino's house and heart.
From the Paper "In As You Like It, Rosalind is forced to assume to role of a man as a result of fleeing the Duke's Court and seeking refuge in the forest of Arden. Her logic stems from the fact that "beauty provoketh thieves sooner than gold" (I.iii.107). She also believes that because she is "more common than tall" (I.iii.113), she could easily pass for a man. Rosalind also realizes that she must do more than dress for the occasion--she must also act the past. She declares that she will leave her fear in her heart and "have a swashing and a martial outside,/As many other mannish cowards have" (I.iii.117-8). Rosalind is forced to dress as a man but she also assumes the role with confidence and excitement."
Abstract The paper discusses how very few professionals have the right to express themselves while they are on the job, that even actors and actresses sport the 'uniform' of their trade. The writer argues that basketball is a highly competitive team sport, and is, moreover, uniquely American and so for players to, almost universally, adopt an image that conveys the lowest common denominator of American life, the ghetto, which supposedly honors its unfortunate racial history, is therefore ridiculous. The writer further argues that the NBA players are highly paid professionals, charged de facto with presenting an image that the world will find attractive and uplifting and so asking the players to present a clean-cut image, particularly in these troubling times, seems little enough to ask of people getting paid multiple millions because they are exceedingly tall and can play a child's game.
Table of Contents:
Why a Dress Code, Why Now?
Dress Codes in Professional Settings and Sports
Conclusion
From the Paper "Not everyone is as much in favor of the rule as the Chicago student. Terry Boyd, a "hip-hop professor' at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, accuses the NBA of wanting to have it both ways. They want, he says, to hire players who come from a hip-hop environment, but then they want to demonstrate, by choosing attire that might be worn by Commissioner David Stern and not street-wise players, that Stern, and not the players, is in charge of the league (Cholo, 2005). The brother of the student in favor of the code opposes it, contending that it is insulting to hip-hop; more cogently, he points out that the "NBA makes money off hip-hop" (Cholo, 2005). Indeed, rappers Nelly and Jay Z "are part owners of basketball teams" (Cholo, 2005)."
Abstract This paper compares of the film version and the literary version of Walter Mosley's novel "Devil in a Blue Dress" to show the differences and similarities between the story elements in "Devil in a Blue Dress", the book and the movie.
From the Paper "Walter Mosley's book Devil in a Blue Dress and the movie by the same name share some similar literary elements, but there are several vital situations and parts of the book's story that are not present in the film. Yet the movie downplays some of the more brutal parts of the book. "
Abstract This paper reviews two articles, 'Fashion, Adornment and Sexuality, and 'Love, Desire and the Pursuit of the Whole: Dress and the Lesbian Couple' as well as the popular 1980s film 'Pretty In Pink' to explore the connection between love and dress. According to the paper, each of these represents a different observation about adornment and how it expresses and signifies the development of the whole person through desire and coupling.
From the Paper "The thematic representation of dress in these three works is an obvious representation of adornment as a necessary aspect of attraction. In Entwistle's Fashion, Adornment and Sexuality the author details the representation of adornment as a possible essential element of attraction. In one example she discusses the idea that nudism is not thought of as erotic by most people, even nudists and that many nudists even choose adornment to signify their openness to a sexual experience. "That clothes 'add' sexuality to the body is further evidenced by the fact that nudists will often wear some form of adornment for evening social events as a prelude to a sexual encounter." (2006, p. 182) Adornment is therefore essential to signify the level of development which we have attained, e.g. what we are ready for. For most people in the modern word dress signifies both who we are as individuals and where we are as developed beings. "
Abstract This paper discusses the research proposal to determine whether or not a customer's level of dress affects the level of customer service he or she receives. In this paper, it is anticipated that a well-dressed customer is more likely to receive superior customer service than one who is not.
Contents:
Abstract
Introduction
Subjects for the Study
Ethical Considerations
Measurement
Data Collection Methods
Analysis
From the Paper "More data needs to be collected with actual shoppers, and not simply confederates of researchers posing as shoppers. This research hopes to correct that. For the one study found that did study actual shoppers and the level of customer service they received, results may have been skewed as it was the researchers' opinions on whether or not the subject was receiving a specific, subjective level of customer service, as opposed to the subject's personal experience. In addition, this particular study, conducted by Kim and Lennon, focused solely on female customers in a plus-sized clothing store. Although this was done in an effort "to ensure that the body size of the customers was not a factor in how they were treated" ("Well-dressed women", 2006), the results of this research are so specific to plus-sized women and specifically plus-sized clothing retailers that more research needs to be conducted with a broader subject base and product base. Only in this way can a study truly contribute to the basic understanding of human nature, and specifically human interaction and the treatment of others based on visual appearances. "
Abstract This paper describes Jonathan Swift's poem, "The Lady's Dressing Room", which is about a couple named Celia and Strephon. Celia is away and Strephon is curious as to what is inside Celia's dressing room. The paper explains that this poem portrays a popular belief amongst most men that a woman is supposed to be refined in every way and that when this idea of her is tainted it somehow makes her less of a woman. After analyzing the poem, the paper concludes that, just as women in the 18th century were supposed to display qualities that were goddess-like, women of today have similar expectations to live up to. The expectation is perfection but the attempt to reach perfection causes many of the self esteem problems that women face today.
From the Paper "While there seems to be a goddess-like expectation of women in the 18th century, the same expectations hang over women's head today. There is this push to be beautiful always because first impressions mean everything. In order to feel confident about themselves, women put on makeup, style their hair, and wear flattering clothes. There are entire stores dedicated to beauty. You can find a multitude of different types and brands of the same product. There are beauty salons everywhere, and there are too many clothing stores to count."
Abstract This poem examines the book "Devil in a Blue Dress," by Walter Mosley which is classed as a Black crime novel and is the first in an entire series of books about its protagonist, Easy Rawlins, a detective facing racism in his work and in local politics in 1940s LA. It examines the characters and the plot twists and turns with things the reader does not expect. It shows how Mosley has a talent for writing compelling descriptions of his people and their surroundings and how he brings Southern California in the 1940s vividly to life, from the fruit groves to the sunshine, to the prejudices and the bleak racial relations that marked the country before the Civil Rights movement.
From the Paper "California may have been a "heaven" but the southern Negro still faced persecution there, and that is part of the "bottom" they face every day. Easy faces it too as he tries to solve the mystery of Daphne Monet's disappearance. The California of these Negroes is Watts, the ghetto where Blacks were confined in the 40s and even today. They struggled for their existence, and Easy moves among them, sometimes streetwise and alternately erudite, it depends on where he is, and what he is doing."
Tags: racism, blacks, la, jazz, politics, civil, rights
Abstract This paper is an analysis of the short story "Girls in Their Summer Dresses" by Irwin Shaw in terms of the views of love and commitment of the two main characters.
Abstract This paper discusses the Muslim garb of the people of the Islamic culture. By analyzing when, where, who, what and why in this spectrum, one can see the lifestyle that is projected from this ancient culture. This paper seeks to understand the Muslim dress and how it is relevant to these very religious peoples.
