Gender studies in history are at an intriguing point in their
evolution. Having distinguished themselves from traditional
historiography through a marked emphasis on language as the primary
construction site of power relations, they have created a number of
principal research tasks. One involves the retelling of history from the
perspective of gender relations. A second consists of a description of
the relationship between gender dynamics and those of other categories
of identification, such as class and ethnicity. A third is the move from
the “how” of the construction of gendered power relations to
their “why.” In other words, it is the move from description
to explanation. Despite a number of attempts to undertake the second and
third tasks, this monograph by Mercedes Steedman most clearly presents
itself as a gendered retelling of the history of the Canadian clothing
industry, and it is in this light that it should be appreciated.
