While the choice of clothing in the modern contexts is perceived as a form of self-expression, fashion also reinforces gender stereotypes via conventional associations of colors or styles with socially conditioned attributes. Written by the Nobel Prize-winning British writer Doris Lessing (1919 - 2013), the short story “Our Friend Judith” (1963) is often read as a feminist discourse. It was published in the postwar generation when the general public started to become aware of the relationships between gender and societal limitations. With the aid of this story’s depiction of the unmarried protagonist Judith, her different choices of clothes, and people’s dissimilar perceptions towards her, my presentation aims to dissect the alignment of women’s roles with fashion and dress, and how the idea evolves when the cultural context has changed.
My presentation will be divided into three parts. It begins with how fashion plays the role as signifiers to commodify individuals and affect gendered ideology. Then, how Judith as a liberated independent woman struggles between maintaining her individuality and being indulged in people’s praises through her autonomy over clothes and styles would be analyzed. Finally, through revisiting this story written more than half a century ago, it is the ultimate goal of this presentation to reflect upon fashion trends in relation to societal progress and sovereignty over our bodies. Examples of contemporary campaigns would be used to showcase and evaluate the progress.

Authors:
Chi Sum Garfield Lau, Hong Kong Metropolitan University, Hong Kong

About the Presenter(s)
Dr Chi Sum Garfield Lau is a University Assistant Professor/Lecturer at Hong Kong Metropolitan University in Hong Kong

See this presentation on the full schedule – Sunday Schedule

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