Change of plan...

I have been reflecting on my practice this past week, and I feel that I have not been working in the area about which I am passionate.
I thought again about my reasons behind this course of study (specifically, MA Fashion) and what I wanted to achieve through it, and go on to achieve afterwards.
It occurred to me that my passion is to promote the concerns and welfare of women. Notably, women oppressed. This oppression may take the form of violence, mental illness, addiction, marginalisation or a general loss of identity or sense of self.
While my previous area of study held a great deal of interest for me, I could not see how it would serve me beyond my current course of study, whereas delving into areas of thinking which resonate deeply with me, and building a practice that explores these ideas seemed much more logical, and likely to evoke a more meaningful response.

The catalyst for my new ideas was the reading of Vagina: A New Biography, by Naomi Wolf.

I found myself responding to the ideas in her work, and wish to explore them further. The chapter in her book which produced an almost visceral response was her chapter 'the traumatized vagina', where Wolf details the use of rape as a tactical weapon of war. The book itself postulates a new understanding of the link between a womans vagina and its treatment with her own sense of creativity, will, and assertiveness. To traumatize the vagina through rape is to disconnect women from their vital sense of self, making women easier to subjugate. Their voice is silenced.

This frightened me greatly: the idea that a woman can be cut off from her own voice, controlled and oppressed, not by mere violence (i am aware that on the whole, women are physically weaker than men, and thus vulnerable to control via violence) but via her sexuality. In fact, without any violent treatment of any other part of the body, the feminine voice may be silenced via mistreatment of her sexuality.

This is an area I think I want to explore further, and am exploring various literature which deals with the feminine identity.

I wish to apply my research to a fashion context, so the next step in my research is to explore feminine identity expressed through fashion, and see what I discover.