my methodology
by katherine f macdonald

my notes from reading Elizabeth Wilson, Sherry Ortner and the Fabien Society 2025 Authentic vs. Modernist Frameworks Wilson draws comparisons between “authentic” and “modernist” approaches, presenting them as thesis and antithesis in the discourse of fashion. This reminds me of wider binaries such as culture vs. nature and male vs. female (Wilson.E 2003) This raises the issue of perspective; whether feminist critiques of fashion arise from different standpoints (women’s, men’

image credit: Andreas Larsson in The Gentle Woman 2012 https://thegentlewoman.co.uk/library/sinead-oconnor I wanted to add the voice of Sinead O’Connor because no matter when I listen or how I am feeling her voice and words have something to teach me. Her perspective matches mine in various ways, this doesn’t mean I have lived her experience or want to but it does help me understand myself as a woman as it did when I listened in the 1980's and 90’s she articulates so well the

Voices on Love, Sexuality and Matriarchy from Social Psychology My search for differing perspectives on love was brought on by reading Love. by Tom Ingls and my discovery of the views by Fromm and Funk has set me off on another thought spiral so I am documenting it here. As ever it will relate to my other writings and creative practice which may or may not become clear later. Conversations with male friends offered interesting counterarguments to the continued dominance of pa

Last year, I found myself in the company of people I’ve never met; writers, thinkers, observers, who somehow feel familiar. The kind who quietly rearrange your perspective without making a spectacle of it. Through sociology and anthropology especially, I’ve encountered voices that don’t just argue; they explain, untangle and steady something in me. There’s a clarity in their plainness, a reassurance in the fact that their ideas are not just felt but evidenced. Reading them is

I came across this book ‘The Limits of Masculinity’ entirely by accident, in a tiny vintage bookshop in Chipping Camden. At first, I bought it as a joke; thinking it would amuse my male colleagues, as part of our ongoing “bantification” of creative design and social theories and occasional role-playing of gender stereotypes. The book turned out to be unexpectedly interesting and in some ways quietly profound. Reading the book answered some questions I had, particularly aro

Do you ever feel that moment when something resonates with you so deeply that you just have to share your thoughts? That’s exactly what I’m experiencing right now......so here’s my response! I’ve been reflecting on the topic of Love, internally and reading how Inglis articulates Love Capital got me thinking about my own research. It's loosely related to my semi planned/ written research paper on the cause and effect of male dominance in fashion; although I am not entirely con

(A multi - disciplinary perspective from anthropology, sociology, cultural and fashion theory) 'All the articles included in this issue...

(An Anthropological perspective) 'My point is simply that every culture implicitly recognises and asserts the distinction between the...

It all started with a call for papers on the theme; What is Fashion: The Politics of Representation . I thought it would be a one-off. Instead, it’s become a research rabbit hole I can’t get out of. Since then, I’ve been binging books and articles on sociology , anthropology , cultural studies , philosophy and pulling ideas from different eras and perspectives. Some of what I’ve found reassures me, some unsettles me, some makes me question everything...and I love it! I’m doc