Dressed for Work: The Sartorial Representations of Working Women in Early 21st-Century American Primetime Dramas

Emilia Nodżak

Abstract


The present study is theoretically located in the field of critical feminist studies of the representation of women in the mass media. It discusses the ways in which working women characters construct and express their occupational identity in selected American primetime TV dramas of the early 21st century. The observed strategies, which range from highly restricted self-expression to unbridled sartorial liberty, appear to be heavily correlated with the prestige of the presented occupations and their levels of masculinization/feminization. Moreover, the self-limiting sartorial choices of high-achieving professional women, frequently containing their femininity, result from the competitive nature of prestigious yet traditionally male-gendered occupations. However, it is also pointed out that working women are generally depicted as determined to accentuate the physical aspects of their femininity regardless of the established dress code or traditional gendering of their occupations. Thus, the sartorial choices made by the female characters at the workplace serve in the analyzed TV shows as symbolic manifestations of women’s growing confidence as players on the job market in their own right.


Keywords


working women, women's clothing, occupational identity, primetime drama, American popular culture

Full Text:

PDF

References


Atkin, David J., Jay Moorman, and Carolyn A. Lin. 1991. “Ready for Prime Time: Network Series Devoted to Working Women in the 1980s,” Sex Roles 25 (11-12): 677-685.

Barnes, Victoria, and Lucy Newton. 2020. “Women, Uniforms, and Brand Identity in Barclays Bank.” Business History. DOI:10.1080/00076791.2020.1791823.

Bruzzi, Stella, and Pamela Church Gibson. 2004. “Fashion is the Fifth Character’: Fashion, Costume and Character in Sex and the City.” In Reading Sex and the City, eds. Kim Akass and Janet McCabe, 115-129, London: I.B Tauris.

Butler, Judith. 2006. Gender Trouble: Feminism and the Subversion of Identity. New York: Routledge.

Byars, Jackie, and Eileen R. Meehan. 1994. “Once in a Lifetime: Constructing the “Working Woman” through Cable Narrowcasting.” Camera Obscura 11-12 (3-1 33-34): 12-41.

Clavelle, Joanne T., Miki Goodwin, and Laura J. Tivis. 2013. “Nursing Professionals Attire Probing Patient Preferences to Inform Implementation.” Journal of Nursing Administration 43 (3): 172-177.

David, Liliana, and Dan L. Dumitrascu. 2015. “The Bicentennial of the Stethoscope: A Reappraisal.” Clujul Medical 90 (3): 361–363.

Department of the Army. Army Regulation 670-1. Uniforms and Insignia. Wear and Appearance of Army Uniforms and Insignia. 2005. Washington DC. https://fas.org/irp/doddir/army/ar670-1.pdf

Entwistle, Joanne. 1997. “Power Dressing and the Construction of the Career Woman.” In Buy This Book: Studies in Advertising and Consumption, eds. Mica Nava, Andrew Blake, Iain MacRury and Barry Richards. 311-323. New York: Routledge.

Foucault, Michel. 1995. Discipline and Punish: The Birth of the Prison. New York: Vintage Books.

Furnham, Adrian, Pui Shuen Chan, and Emma Wilson. 2014. “What to Wear? The Influence of Attire on the Perceived Professionalism of Dentists and Lawyers.” Journal of Applied Social Psychology 43: 1838-1850.

Gherardi, Guy, James Cameron, Andrew West, and Meg Crossley. 2009. “Are we Dressed to Impress? A Descriptive Survey Assessing Patients’ Preference of Doctors’ Attire in the Hospital Setting.” Clinical Medicine (London) 9 (6): 519-524.

Goodman, Jill, Greg Knotts, and Jeanne Jackson. 2007. “Doing Dress and the Construction of Women’s Identity.” Journal of Occupational Science 14 (2): 100-107.

Green, Eileen. 2001. “Suiting Ourselves: Women Professors Using Clothes to Signal Authority, Belonging and Personal Style”. In Through the Wardrobe: Women's Relationships With Their Clothes, eds. Ali Guy, Eileen Green and Maura Banim, 97-116. Oxford: Berg.

Guy, Allison, and Maura Banim. 2000. “Personal Collections: Women's Clothing Use and Identity.” Journal of Gender Studies 9(3): 313-327.

Hatfield, Linda A., Margaret Pearce, Mary Del Guidice, Courtney Cassidy, Jean Samoyan, and Rosemary C. Polomano. 2013. “The Professional Apperance of Registered Nurses: An Integrative Review of Peer-Refereed Studies.” The Journal of Nursing Administration 43 (2): 108–112.

Hochberg, Mark S. 2007. “The Doctor's White Coat--an Historical Perspective.” Virtual Mentor 9 (4): 310-314.

Jenkins, Tania M. 2014. “Clothing Norms as Markers of Status in a Hospital Setting: A Bourdieusian Analysis.” Health 18(5): 526-541.

Joseph, Nathan and Nicholas Alex. 1972. “The Uniform: A Sociological Perspective.” American Journal of Sociology 77 (4): 719-730.

Kaiser, Susan, Joan Chandler, and Tania Hammidi. 2001. “Minding Appearances in Female Academic Culture.” In Through the Wardrobe: Women's Relationships with their Clothes, eds. Ali Guy, Eileen Green and Maura Banim. Oxford: Berg.

Lawson, Daniel. 2017. Costume Designer Daniel Lawson: An Interview. Manhattan Wardrobe Supply. https://blog.wardrobesupplies.com/costume-designer-daniel-lawson/

Lehna, Carlee, Susan Pfoutz, T. Grace Peterson, Kristi Degner, Kaye Grubaugh, Lindy Lorenz, Sherry Mastropietro, Laura S. Rogers, Bonnie Schoettle, Linda L. Seck. 1999. “Nursing Attire: Indicators of Professionalism?” Journal of Professional Nursing 15 (3): 192-1999.

McNamara, Bethanne W. 1994 “All Dressed Up with No Place to Go: Gender Bias in Oklahoma Federal Court Dress Codes.” Tulsa Law Review 30 (2): 395-423.

Petrilli, Christopher Michael, Megan Mack, Jennifer Janowitz Petrilli, Andy Hickner, Sanjay Saint, Vineet Chopra. 2014. “Understanding the Role of Physician Attire on Patient Perceptions: A Systematic Review of the Literature — Targeting Attire to Improve Likelihood of Rapport (TAILOR) Investigators.” BMJ Open, 2015, 5:e006578.

Pinchera, Barbara. 2016. “Donning an Identiy.” American Nurse. www.myamericannurse.com/donning-an-identity/. Access 1 February 2021.

Rubinstein, Ruth P. 2001. Dress Codes: Meanings and Messages in American Culture. Westview Press.

Rutherford, Vanessa, Paul F. Conway, and Rosaleen Murphy. 2015. “Looking Like a Teacher: Fashioning an Embodied Identity Through Dressage.” Teaching Education 26 (3): 325-339.

Sternberg, Ruth E. 2003, “Attending to Teacher Attire.” School Administrator 60 (2): 38-42,44,46.

Sohn, Amy. 2002. Sex and the City: Kiss and Tell. New York: Pocket Books.

Vande Berg, Leah R., and Diane Streckfuss. 1992. “Profile: Prime Time Television's Portrayal of Women and the World of Work: A Demographic Profile.” Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media 36 (2): 195- 208.

Volti, Rudi. 2011. An Introduction to the Sociology of Work and Occupations, SAGE Publications.

Weber, Sandra, and Claudia Mitchell. 2002. That’s Funny, You Don’t Look Like a Teacher: Interrogating Images, Identity, and Popular Culture. London: Routledge.

“What Are Nontraditional Occupations? Occupations with less than 25% of either gender” www3.sunybroome.edu/cte/wp-content/uploads/sites/40/2017/09/Nontraditional-Occupations-female-2014b.pdf. Access 05 February 2021.

“A Hopeless Wound.” ER. Directed by Laura Innes, NBC, 31 Oct 2002.

“An Honest Mistake.” Grey’s Anatomy. Directed by Randy Zisk, ABC, 19 Feb 2009.

Bones. Different directors, FOX, 2005-2017.

Boston Legal. Different directors, ABC, 2004-2008.

Boston Public. Different directors, FOX, 2000-2004.

“Brave New World.” Grey’s Anatomy, season 5, episode 4. Directed by Eric Stoltz, ABC, 16 Oct 2008.

“Cleaning House.” The Good Wife, season 2, episode 4. Directed by Rosemary Rodriguez, CBS, 19 Oct 2010.

Criminal Minds. Different directors, CBS, 2005-2020.

CSI: Crime Scene Investigation. Different directors, CBS, 2000-2015.

CSI: NY. Different directors, CBS, 2004-2013.

CSI: Miami. Different directors, CBS, 2002-2012.

Damages. Different directors, FX, 2007-2012.

Desperate Housewives. Different directors, ABC, 2004-2012.

Dirt. Different directors, FX, 2007-2008.

ER. Different directors, NBC, 1994-2009.

Gilmore Girls. Different directors, The WB (2000-2006), The CW (2007), 2000-2007.

HawthoRNe. Different directors, TNT, 2009-2011.

JAG. Different directors, NBC (1995), USA Network (1995), CBS (1996-2005), 1995-2005.

Grey’s Anatomy. Different directors, ABC, 2005-.

Law & Order. Different directors, NBC, 1990-2020.

Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. Different directors, NBC, 1999-.

NCIS: Naval Criminal Investigative Service. Different directors, CBS, 2003-.

Numb3rs. Different directors, CBS, 2005-2010.

Nurse Jackie. Different directors, Showtime, 2009-2015.

Sex and the City. Different directors, HBO,1998-2004.

The Good Wife. Different directors, CBS, 2009-2016.

The Shield. Different directors, FX, 2002-2008.

The West Wing. Different directors, NBC, 1999-2006.

The Wire. Different directors, HBO, 2002-2008.

Third Watch. Different directors, NBC, 1999-2005.

Without a Trace. Different directors, CBS, 2002-2009.




DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.17951/nh.2021.6.130-145
Date of publication: 2021-10-10 16:24:50
Date of submission: 2020-12-31 12:09:42


Statistics


Total abstract view - 1201
Downloads (from 2020-06-17) - PDF - 0

Indicators



Refbacks

  • There are currently no refbacks.


Copyright (c) 2021 Emilia Nodżak

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.