My Work

I am free, your declaration sings from a pedestal of liberty above bent-over bodies in the fields. I am free. The ache of labor sores another soul. I am free. The twist of iron locks on a body not your own. But can you not feel the savage chains that drag you down from your pedestal, that bind you to oppression? Though you may be free from toil, we both are anything but free. James Baldwin’s speech in “Take this Hammer” reveals to me that the n-word is an identity projected onto Black people by White people. Before hearing Baldwin's speech on PBS, I did not realize how the n-word was more than a contemptuous and derogatory insult. Baldwin enabled me to understand the complexity of the intention behind why the n-word was created. Baldwin illustrates that the concept of the n-word was invented by White people because “[...] what you were afraid of was not me. It has to be something else, Something YOU were afraid of -- you invested me with” (James Baldwin, “Take this Hammer,” 1963). White people required a justification for their fear and hate of Black people, and as a consequence invented the identity of the n-word. Baldwin expands that the identity of the n-word reflects the white creators, but he rejects the projection. Therefore, the white people become the identity of the n-word that they created themselves. Angela Davis’s “Lectures on Liberation” illuminates to me that the enslavement system included the masters, not only the slaves. I previously believed that within the larger system of enslavement, the only people who were enslaved were Africans. I learned from Angela Davis that “[...] the master is a slave of his own misconceptions, his own misdeeds, his own brutality, his own effort to oppress” (Angela Davis’ “First Lecture on Liberation,” 1970, 49). The master, while typically not portrayed as a part of slavery because he was not physically chained or bound to labor, is a slave. Similarly to how White people thought they had power by forcing the n-word onto Black people, the master institutionally had power over his slaves. He projected his slaves into an identity of being both subordinate and under his control. However, the master himself was enslaved to a life dependent on the slaves by using oppressiveness and violence. I now realize that the perpetrators of savagery, like masters within American enslavement, delude themselves with the illusion of power, but in reality, their acts reflect their lack of power. The learning from class leads me to want to learn more about projections of identity and power that I can employ in analyzing literature. To accomplish my goal, I want to read more literature from figures such as James Baldwin, whose PBS speech allowed me to both learn about the intention of the n-word and apply the intent to US enslavement. Further, I anticipate how I can use Baldwin’s framework of the n-word and Davis’ framework on slavery power dynamics as I read Octavia Butler’s Kindred. As I read more literature, I will broaden my perspective on systems of oppression by applying my newly discovered knowledge on power and identity. The connection between fashion and body image manifested in Western fashion media intersects with colonization, which leaves a larger global impact and is vital for understanding culture. Before we begin, it’s necessary to view these topics with an intersectional lens. According to Kimberlé Crenshaw, “Intersectionality is a lens through which you can see where power comes and collides, where it interlocks and intersects. It’s not simply that there’s a race problem here, a gender problem here, and a class or LBGTQ problem there. Many times that framework erases what happens to people who are subject to all of these things.” Slide: Colonization, Body Image, & Fashion Images only Let’s now delve into the ties between colonization, body image, and fashion. Fashion media, which is centered directly around the body, promotes “acceptable” bodies. A fat model wearing the same outfit as a skinny model would receive more backlash just because of their body. To understand more about the root of body image and fashion, let’s engage with colonization. Slide: Patriarchal Colonialism Images, key points Colonization reveals “patriarchal colonialism.” The system is the root of marginalization and oppression, almost nonexistent in Indigenous society previously, enabling “[...]superiority [for] the Anglicized, Euroamerican male[...]” who consequently can control women, their bodies, and appearance. The influence of settler colonialism in the US and other colonies constructed the European standards that created an oppression-based global society. Slide: Body Image History Images, key points Early connections to body image came in 19th-century colonist countries, who were intrigued by fat people in Asia and Africa, developing into a demonization by European and American writers, who wrote that these countries revered fatness. The British even “associated heaviness […] with weakness, laziness, and cowardice.” All of these negative associations set the foundation for fatphobia. Slide: US Body Image Images, key points Moving on to the background in the United States, in the 1900s, a toned body was a marker of privilege and high status. In Chicago in 1914, a “reducing salon” was introduced, as thinness was desired with small hips, broad shoulders, and a slim torso. Slide: US Body Image (cont.) Images, key points, data from source (on slide) Looking at the modern-day US, the most attractive female body is between “very slender” and “slender,” and the least attractive being “very slender” or “very heavy.” Slide: Case Study: Fashion Media Text only Let’s now dive into a case study on fashion media. Slide: Fashion Media & Magazine Examples Images, key points Fashion magazines promote colonist standards of body and fashion, having an impact on body image and dissatisfaction. Promotion can be through images and targeted headlines in fashion-related magazines like Us Weekly and Vogue, which also had methods for body changes in the 1900s. Slide: Fashion Media & Colonization Images, key points Fashion campaigns portray clothing on “[...] slim, white, picture perfect[...]” models. Colonization praises these types of white models, with no representation of women of color and women with different body types. Slide: Fashion Media Influence Images, key points These fashion magazines have a strong effect on readers, especially those who aren’t in the colonialist spotlight. Many women of color can find it “[...] disorienting to find that they’re essentially excluded in the pop culture and media images marketed to the global public.” Additionally, “[…] men who reported more exposure to Western media were more likely to indicate that slender women possessed the most attractive body type.” Also, “[...]younger women, thinner women, and women who reported more exposure to Western media were more likely to indicate that men were most attracted to slender women.” And, “[…]older women, heavier women, and women who reported more exposure to Western media reported greater levels of body dissatisfaction[…]”. Slide: Larger Global Impact of Colonization Images, key points Let’s explore the larger impacts of colonialism. Colonization erases the history and culture of Indigenous people, replacing “origin stories” with “colonization stories,” and pride in culture with shame. To “deconstruct” colonization and see the body and fashion through a decolonized lens we must understand that colonialism “[...] brought over Eurocentric notions of the inferiority of other non-white or non Western ‘races,’ and of all women in general[...]” We should acknowledge too that modern practices mirror colonization. Finally, we must see that “beauty is not monolithic,” or that beauty, or fashion, or the perfect body, is not one specific thing. Slide: Conclusion Quote, image of Kincaid I’ll conclude with a quote by Jamaica Kincaid on colonization. “There must have been some good people among you, but they stayed home. And that is the point. That is why they are good. They stayed home.” Colonization has caused too much harm to Indigenous people, people of color, and women, in the past and also in the present. Its intricate relationship to fashion media and body image is present in our everyday lives, so it’s vital to recognize this to make tangible change for our futures. Thank you. Bibliography “Body Image – Advertising and Magazines.” 2014. Mediasmarts-9. 2014. https://mediasmarts.ca/digital-media-literacy/media-issues/body-image/body-image-%E2%80%93-advertising-magazines#:~:text=They%20also%20have%20a%20large. Cohen, Deborah. 2014. “None.” The Atlantic. The Atlantic. April 17, 2014. https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2014/05/the-way-we-look-now/359803/. Columbia Law School. 2017. “Kimberlé Crenshaw on Intersectionality, More than Two Decades Later.” Www.law.columbia.edu. Columbia Law School. 2017. https://www.law.columbia.edu/news/archive/kimberle-crenshaw-intersectionality-more-two-decades-later. Eviota, Lara. 2023. “Does Fashion Contribute to Colonialism? — Remake.” Remake. March 15, 2023. https://remake.world/stories/colonialism-and-fashion/. 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