Neo-Feminism at Luxos Fashion Show

On March 26, 2013, I went to a fashion show titled “Luxos Fashion Show” at the St. Regis Hotel in Qatar. The event was organized by Design Creationz, which is a company that helps new designers in the Middle East to showcase their fashion lines. Three Brazilian/American women (Cricely Demenjon, Michelle Demenjon, Polie Campitelli) happen to be the co-founders of the company, Design Creationz. These three women have come together to create a social change that will give Qatari women as well as women in the Arab region the opportunity to attend a spectacular fashion show, brought to them from different Middle Eastern designers. There were fashion designers from Qatar, Bahrain, Morocco, and Lebanon. We learned in this week’s class the term “neo-feminism.” The author of the book “Neo-Feminist Cinema, Hilary Rander,” defines “neo-feminism” by personal choice, sexuality, fashion, and consumption. The models at the fashion show for example made the choice of being models to help the designers promote their fashion lines. Rander also says that the word ‘neo-feminism’ is used “To refer to the tendency in feminine culture to evoke choice and the development of individual agency as the defining tenets of feminine identity–best realized through an engagement with consumer culture in which the woman is encouraged to achieve self-fulfilment by purchasing, adoring or surrounding herself with the good that this culture can offer,” (Rander, 6). Another point to talk about is the fact that some women have an excessive need to shop, and they always want to be up with the latest fashion trends. It’s considered a neo-feminist thing because it’s associated with consumer culture as well. The fashion show will add a positive impact to women’s fashion in the Middle East. The fashion designers had the chance to showcase their work, and the attendees were introduced to the latest fashion trends (Abaya and dresses). The models looked very chic and elegant. The models’ gestures were very feminine. “Women are expected to perform a femininity that exudes beauty, caring, nurturance, neediness, and compassion, complete with every range of possible emotion,” (Cinematic Sociology, 132). Below are some short videos of Luxos Fashion Show that I’d like to share with you.

Luxos Fashion Show 1 from Muneera Al-Buainain on Vimeo.

Luxos Fashion Show 2 from Muneera Al-Buainain on Vimeo.

Luxos Fashion Show 3 from Muneera Al-Buainain on Vimeo.

In case you’re wondering what Luxos means, it means luxury in Portuguese.

The Girly Truth

In today’s post, I will analyze the 10 common girly traits found in girly or neo-feminist films. In my post, I look for these traits in The Ugly Truth. I will give examples in each of the 10 traits when applicable because this will allow for readers to better understand what I am referring to when I use my examples to explain the traits.

1.    Women’s appearance is a crucial aspect of her identity?

In the course of the movie The Ugly Truth, Abby cannot find her perfect man who fits all ten of her checklist criteria. The entire plot revolves around how she will eventually get the man of her dreams by changing her appearance, which as a result will reflect her new identity and attitude. Mike is her guide and he is the one who emphasizes the importance of her appearance and how she has to change a lot about herself to get the Doctor she has her eyes set on. 

2.    The female succeeds in her goal of marrying the man of her choice?

What’s interesting about this movie is that Abby succeeds in obtaining the man of her dreams but realizes that he wasn’t the man of her dreams after all. Instead, Mike is the right man for her. She does eventually end up with Mike and at the end of the movie we don’t actually witness a wedding but the idea of marriage is implied.

3.    The protagonist is a single woman who works for a living and whose work in some way defines her?

From the beginning we can tell that Abby is a single, uptight workaholic. She is a producer for the KSXP news company. When her boss told her the bad news that he may need to kill the show, she immediately considered canceling her date and staying home to think of ideas to raise viewer ratings for the show.

4.    The ability to shop is a tool that enables the female to resolve conflict and achieve her goals?

The main goal in The Ugly Truth is for Abby get the man of her dreams, which for the most of the film Collin, the doctor. Mike takes her shopping and helps her change her look from the woman “operating heavy machinery” to the attractive lady that is desirable.

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5.    Consumer culture offers a magical place where everything goes right?

After Abby changes her look and identity through appealing to consumer culture and going out shopping, everything begins to go right. When Collin comes over to see why she never called him back earlier that day she greets him at the door wearing a tight black dress that compliments her body. In that scene we see that he starts showing interest in her right then and there because he asks her on a date to a baseball game.

6.    There is ambivalence about the role of romance, marriages and work in a woman’s life?

Abby is trying to balance out her professional life with her personal life. Throughout the film we see how she tries to be the independent, confident workaholic while still having a girlish feel to her through her endless search for her perfect match. She believes in true love and that she will find it when she finds the man that fits all ten of her checklist criteria. In one of the scenes Abby has to give up her romantic getaway with Collin for work reasons. Her boss asks her to accompany Mike to his interview with Craig Fergusson and she does as her boss requests. During her time with Mike, she realizes she is in love with him and not Collin and that’s when things become quite complicated for Abby and she is put in a position where she has to choose.

7.    The film takes place in a large well-known city?

The Film takes place in the capital of the state of California, Sacramento, which is the sixth largest city in California.

8.    There is a theme of personal transformation?

This is definitely evident in the events of the film. Both Mike and Abby help each other to transform to the better versions of themselves. With Mikes help and guidance, Abby is able to transform to an attractive, desirable woman who can get the guy of her dreams, Moreover, she learns that check list items don’t matter in the face of true love.

At the beginning of the film Mike comes off as a misogynist who does not believe in true love. The time he spends with Abby allows him to discover how amazing she truly is and therefore ends up falling in love with her. Because of Abby, Mike is transformed to a man in love.

9.    The plot contains a “do-over” in which a past mistake is resolved?

The mistake that takes place in The Ugly Truth is that Mike lets the elevator moment slip away because when he goes to Abby’s room to talk to her about it, Collin greets him at the door. Abby tells him that Collin surprised her in the hopes that Mike would tell her to leave Collin and be with him but Mike fails to do so. In the end Mike fixes his past mistake on the hot air balloon by admitting to Abby that even thought she drives him crazy he’s in love with her.

10. There is a sense of nostalgia of glorifying the past?

Not applicable.

9/10 of the common traits are found in this movie, definitely making it fall under the genre of the girly film or the neo-feminist film.