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(Ad)dressing pregnant bodies in New Zealand: Clothing, fashion, subjectives and spatialities

Abstract
The article examines the ways in which pregnant women in the West use clothing as a means of constructing a range of complex and seemingly contradictory gendered subjectivities in public spaces. The article draws on interview data collected from 19 first-time pregnant women in Hamilton, New Zealand. These women were asked about maternity wear, body image, fashion, activities they had continued, reduced or stopped during pregnancy, and the places/spaces they occupied during pregnancy. The article focuses on four different 'looks' and subjectivities that pregnant women in this research tried on: the thrifty, self-sacrificing mother to be; the sexy, proud pregnant woman; the growing woman who fears her body will be read as fat; and the pregnant professional. For first time pregnant women making the transition to motherhood clothing the body can be a complex act. What women wear during pregnancy speaks volumes about their subjectivities - what they reveal, what they conceal, what images they create, for whom and where.
Type
Journal Article
Type of thesis
Series
Citation
Longhurst, R. (2005). (Ad)dressing pregnant bodies in New Zealand: Clothing, fashion, subjectives and spatialities. Gender, Place & Culture, 12(4), 433-446.
Date
2005-01-01
Publisher
Degree
Supervisors
Rights
Publisher version