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Overview
From religious orders to the military, schools to fetish clubs, uniforms shape identities. What does it mean to wear one? Why do certain professions require them? Why are uniforms so alluring when they inspire so many ambivalent feelings? Craik debunks the myth that the meaning of uniforms is transparent. From nurses to brides, from athletes to police officers, uniforms express certain implicit (and sometimes explicit) codes about power, transgression, eroticism and masquerade. Uniforms Exposed investigates the social and cultural significance of these ordinary yet extraordinary garments. Craik demonstrates how uniforms go well beyond the standard definitions of order, discipline, conformity, pride and authority. Their meaning, she argues, is thoroughly context-dependent.
Synopsis
From religious orders to the military, schools to fetish clubs, uniforms shape identities. What does it mean to wear one? Why do certain professions require them? Why are uniforms so alluring when they inspire so many ambivalent feelings? Craik debunks the myth that the meaning of uniforms is transparent. From nurses to brides, from athletes to police officers, uniforms express certain implicit (and sometimes explicit) codes about power, transgression, eroticism and masquerade. Uniforms Exposed investigates the social and cultural significance of these ordinary yet extraordinary garments. Craik demonstrates how uniforms go well beyond the standard definitions of order, discipline, conformity, pride and authority. Their meaning, she argues, is thoroughly context-dependent.