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.

System of Untouchability

More than 160 million people in India are considered Untouchable – people tainted by their birth into a caste system that deems them impure and less than human.

Indian caste system is a system of social stratification in which communities are defined by thousands of endogamous hereditary groups called jatis. The values and ethics are strongly held by the people belonging to the castes. Their life chances, context, choices and social status in the society largely depended on their caste. There are 5 different levels of the Indian caste system followed over years:-

The untouchables or dalit faced non prejudiced discrimination and were not considered as citizens. Historically, they were associated to odd jobs such as butchering, removal of waste and animal carcasses. They were called untouchable as they were not allowed to come in contact with the other castes. This system has worked in Indian history. But present-day India forbids discriminating and practicing untouchability. Along with this law the government allows positive discrimination of the depressed classes in India. But positive discrimination have created new problems in the Indian society.

The video below is a brief description on the prejudice and discrimination faced by the dalits. The video gives us examples of movements held to destroy the system of untouchability.



Indians have become more flexible in their caste customs. In urban India, the people are less strict about the caste system than the rural. The biggest challenge in India is to overcome the violent clashes connected to caste tensions in remote villages. This will be a big leap to a more developed India.

Stereotyping

Stereotyping is something that all individuals do on a daily basis, whether consciously or subconsciously. A stereotype is an inaccurate generalization about a person or a group of people, and can be both positive and negative.

People always associate certain races with things like music, sports, fashion, wealth, food, jobs, and many other facets of life. However it’s not true, because all individuals are capable of being associated with each of these things. All of us have been socialized into thinking that certain races are either good at something or bad at something. But we never pause to think about whether an individual belonging to a particular race has chosen to assume a certain role, or whether the person was forced into it, or whether it was by mere chance.

Television plays a huge role in socializing the way in which we interpret race, ethnicity and culture. Movies and TV shows are the mediums that greatly influence how we generalize people. Shows such as “Everybody Hates Chris” and “Everybody Loves Raymond” portray the contrast between a Black-American family living in a “ghetto” neighborhood and a White-American family living in the suburbs. “Everybody Hates Chris” shows how a 16-year-old Black-American has to attend an all-white school, and how he gets picked on and bullied. This makes viewers interpret that all Black American people live in the ‘ghetto’ and that all white people are prejudiced towards them. “Everybody Loves Raymond” is about an Italian-American family living in a suburban neighborhood and addresses issues that white families usually encounter. This makes viewers interpret that all white people live in fancy houses and face a lot of family issues.




Although these shows address stereotypical ideas, the contrast between both these shows highlights the systems of racial and ethical classification. In Sociology this is a way of dividing people into ethnic or racial categories and ranking them on a scale of social worth. Generally Black or African-Americans are viewed as being part of gangs or as criminals, but this is not true at all. What about the Black or African Americans who have worked hard and are doing well for themselves and their families? Not many people have this view in minds.

In Doha, we usually associate South Asian men with labor class jobs, and East Asian women with jobs in retail or grocery stores and fast food restaurants. This is not true for all South Asian men and East Asian women in Doha. But do we know whether they chose these jobs for themselves? We just take it for granted that they all work these jobs, and yet we do not consider why.




Everyone creates stereotypes: French women are the most fashionable in the world; Asia produces the smartest people in the world, Italian and French cuisines are the most delicious, the U.S has the best athletes, all Black Americans love rap music. These are all made up, I do not agree with any of these stereotypes. I have my own personal views and I have a different taste in food, fashion and in what makes someone smart or athletic, and not all Black Americans love rap music.