Introduction

What pieces of clothing do you associate most with men? What pieces of clothing do you associate most with women? What are some of the societal influences that you believe lead you to view clothing in this way?

Using the standards for feminine and masculine clothing that you identified in the first question, look at the images in this juxtaposition and quickly categorize the dress shown in them as feminine or masculine. Do this based on “gut” reactions, not on careful looking. Once you have categorized the clothes in each image, review the images slowly and carefully. Look at the full images, at the faces, the bodies, the hands, the skin. What do you see? Has your viewpoint changed at all?

How do you think these images would have been seen when they were first created?