I'm a title. Click here to edit me
Uniforms hold something of an allure for many, and certain meanings have been culturally attached to them. This video clip from 1976 , shows me wearing an American GI inspired outfit that my friend Antony Price designed for me.
A sign or meaning is generated from clothes, the signifier and Saussure states that the relation between the signifier and the signified is arbitrary and is the product of socially accepted and established codes to which we are all subject to. He talks about paradigmatic sets ie types of collar cuff button etc that cba be substituted for each other which form part of a syntagmic whole.
As a performer I acknowledge that am presenting myself as an object of spectatorship and desire to both sexes and my performance through this outfit challenges the existing hegemonic condition in which the gaze is fixed on the female. Having acknowledged my appeal to both sexes, who admire me or desire or aspire to be like me, I can consider my body as a site of performance, whereby meaning can be projected onto it according my clothes in this case, the uniform, the manner in which I wear the clothes and also my posture according to an interpretation of an established set of rules as Saussure states.
My stooped stance and feminized gestures and posturing conflict with the typical upright military stance that is normally associated with this clothing, and so it can be read as a destabilizing of the uniform’s original meaning especially considering the theatrical context in which it appears.
The contemporary men’s suit, the epitome of our society’s notion of masculine style, has its origins in 18th and 19th century Uniforms, which were cut too small for the wearer. Combined with the inflexible wool fabric used, they enforced an upright stance in the wearer, pushing his shoulders back, and increasing his stature and which had obvious advantages in a combat situation.
But who decides what the criteria are for masculinity?
A renewed interest in the athletic and the perfectly honed body of the Greek athlete during an 18c Neo Classical Revival combined withprecision cutting and this influenced civilian tailoring whereby garments became styled in order to allude to the naked male body beneath.
The concept of designing men’s clothes that embodied both the conquering hero and the integrity of wool was endorsed by the new post- industrial middle classes, and contrasted with earlier frippery that had been enjoyed by both sexes. Frivolous fashion became the preserve of the female, whereas men’s attire was now considered architectural serious and earnest, which is fundamental to the way that hegemonic masculinity has been constructed and connects the suit to the work ethic and reliability conformity etc.
Simone de Beauvoir in the second sex one is not born a woman but becomes one, in other words that the female gender constructed and performed and the same can be said for the male. Butler comments on this that if gender does not relate to sex but is reproduced by a series of repetitive ritual actions and at what point does one ‘become’ the gender? How can this be expressed outside of the limits of the binary of sex?
When Roxy emerged into the music scene in 1972 our undermining of traditional notions of masculinity was considerably more overt. Our camp, effeminacy was appropriated elements from 1940’s and 50’s Hollywood and glamour and theatricality that had previously been reserved for the female.
Comparisons can be drawn between the kinds of controversy and derision caused by challenging gender norms in the 1970’s and the reaction that and men’s such as the Macaroni’s received during the 18th century.These were men who were mocked for their effeminacy and their outlandish attire and because they similarly did not conform to contemporary expectations of masculinity in terms of their dress, and demeanor. They were derided for their extravagant dress, which was considered unnatural and their penchant for Italian and French styling influences tight breeches and waistcoats lace and high heels, all influenced by their going on The Grand Tour.
Historically, influences from other cultures have been treated with suspicion in relation to their effects on contemporary society’s notion of what masculine image should be, whether it be 1950's American music and cinema or the effects of European Surrealism, Dadaism and theatre on myself and others who did not fit into the mould of other bands of the time.
Deliberately situating oneself as ‘other’, as I did in creating a glamorous persona ‘or Bowie did with his 'alien persona' and the 18th century Mollies and Macaroni’s did, defies societal conventions of what it is to be a man. After my initial early overt flirtations with gender, I wanted to disassociate myself with mainstream Glam bands and so I moved towards adopting a more conventional image, still with references to Americana.
During the 1980's my use of fabric leather colours and the cut of the lapels etc. defied traditional tailoring style and so I was still able to differentiate myself from conventional styles with this paradigmatic shift using colour, textile or detail.
As I have progressed through my career I have adopted a variety of seemingly more conventional country gent/urban sophisticate looks and I can afford to patronize bespoke long established savile row tailors who help me to create my current style.
This leaves me with the question Am I still subverting conventional modes of dress by using these clothes in this context or am I reproducing existing and established hegemonic codes of masculinity and assimilating into the conventional image of masculinity that I was originally satirizing?
THE END
Pecha Kucha Presentation
16 November 2012
The Masculine style(s) of Bryan Ferry
I delivered my presentation dressed in an outfit that was inspired by one worn by Bryan Ferry in the mid 1970’s. The presentation was read from my own scripted notes
My name is Bryan Ferry and I’m a 67 year old English singer/songwriter and founder of the innovative art/rock band Roxy Music. I have always had a strong sense of style and my concept for the band came out of a Duchampian and Dadaist sensibility whereby I situated myself as an artwork. Cultivating a stylish and cool persona that has been consistent throughout my career, I have always been associated with beautiful women on and off stage, and my enduring sense of style was acknowledged by being awarded GQ magazine’s Lifetime achievement award in 2005.I would like to talk about the idea of masculinity as a construct and to include some of my own outfits to illustrate how I have used clothes when creating and projecting a my own distinct masculine style.
As I have already stated, my image has always been important but is the role of clothes in conveying this? Rules about which items should be worn together and how they should be worn have been established culturally and so syntagmic rules are broken when I combined items such as a military shirt and tie in this way
Sharon McElroy