In terms of uniform research, some scholars are also concerned about the cultural and political issues of education. Think about how uniforms function as a form of power that affects students’ bodies. Daphne Meadmore and Colin Symes believe that in Australian schools, school uniforms are not only a symbol of school discipline but also an important management tool. As a “practice of division”, school uniforms constantly confirm a certain subjectivity and exclude other schools, so as to decentralize the division of subjects to achieve the purpose of discipline. The appearance of the school uniform plays an important role. It can not only locate the “deviations” and “defects”, but also promote the “correct” appearance. With the help of Foucault’s concept, we can analyze and explore the appearance of different school uniforms, the different ways of wearing them, and the behaviors that stimulate resistance. Studying the procedures and conventions of uniforms is crucial to understanding how rights use the human body to achieve social and political goals. Ines Dussel believes that uniforms are an important factor in the various technologies that have long-term effects on the body. It combines “aesthetics, science, politics, and morality.” Using the viewpoint of body and power, thinking about how clothing becomes a powerful tool for social control, to prove a viewpoint: “subjectification” mainly acts through the body.
The uniform not only embodies rights but also expresses resistance. Although she believes that uniforms have a singular nature, in reality, uniforms are diverse and contradictory. In other words, although institutions are used to manage the body, it does not mean that they are always successful. Shauna Pomerantz found in a study on the “dress code” of girls in North American schools that some discourses impose “standardized” rights and control on girls, and position some girls as “irresponsible” and “deviant”. The “dress code” shapes students’ awareness of their bodies and trains them to manage themselves in school and society; however, at the same time, it also has the potential to tap and explore creative resistance. The above-mentioned studies are not willing to describe the school as a rigid system but hope to use Foucault’s theory to analyze and reveal the diversity and variability of these discipline programs.
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Reflective statement:
Having read A Guide to Key Theorists: Thinking Through Fashion This book contains various philosophical theories about fashion, which expands my understanding of fashion and makes my research on fashion theory more professional and in-depth.
Chapter 11 Michel Foucauly’s chapter on fashioning the body politic is very helpful to me. He analyzes the relationship between body and power more deeply. His philosophy involves a neglected field in fashion research: clothing in daily life. Explore how power acts on the body. Many thinkers who are concerned about the appearance of society have adopted Foucauly’s power/knowledge model. They regard uniform uniforms as the emphasis of body culture on civic consciousness, and believe that uniforms embodies collective discipline.
The author of this book mentions that school uniforms can locate deviations and defects, promote the correct appearance, and internalize the “standardized gaze” of students. But wherever control is implemented, there is excess and resistance. The common method of resisting the norms of daily appearance is “propaganda feedback”. This is a resistance technique that young people like. These young people know that they have lived under the surveillance system all their lives and are very aware of the consequences of their criticism. Among them, “Although the system is used to manage the body, it does not mean that they are always successful”, indicating that school uniforms need to be changed.
Another important point I have learned from the article is to improve uniforms, to observe whether the “panorama” can detect and neutralize new social forms, and challenge those forces that “standardize” the power of the body. As the example mentioned in the article, to what extent can this society tolerate “excessive obesity”? And who is qualified to decide where to draw this level of line? All I have to do is to wipe off a little corner of that line, move the position of the line, and shake the image of standardization and authority.
The book mentioned how dissidents can improve uniforms, for example, sultwalk (rethinking the status quo of the female body as a battlefield in society) and the public pyjama wearing behavior of some young female workers in Liverpool (resisting dominant females with actual actions) The cases of Code of Conduct (Code of Conduct) are worthy of my in-depth study and reflection.
At the end of the article, it is also my favorite sentence. In daily power struggles, the body is the ultimate place to resist. It can further prove that I want to change the original intention of students to cultivate their own personality through school uniforms.