History and Traditions of the Orthodox Ukrainian Community in Maramureș

Maramureș County, located in the north-western part of Romania, has always represented one of the oldest religious centres of the ancient province of Transylvania. The first part of the present essay will illustrate the most relevant moments in the history of the Christian community of Orthodox Ukrainian people, who lived within the historical region of Maramureș, and also the structure and the evolution of the local Ukrainian Church. The second part will present and demonstrate the key role played by the Orthodox faith and beliefs in establishing mutual relations of friendship and collaboration between the smaller Ukrainian community and the larger Romanian population, within the boundaries of Maramureș County. These relations of friendship and mutual understanding must endure in order to fight against the newly emerging Antichristian ideology that has shaken the moral and Christian foundations of our society. By sharing the same faith and the same religious beliefs, members of the Ukrainian community have managed to preserve their customs and traditions, their traditional dress codes, music and dance and kept alive their spiritual heritage.

Groepsidentificatie en cognitie

Group-identification and cognition: Why trivial conventions are more important than we think In existing (evolutionary) explanations for group formation and -identification, the function of cultural conventions such as social etiquette and dress codes is limited to providing group-markers. Group formation and identification itself is explained in terms of less arbitrary and more substantial phenomena such as shared norms and institutions. In this paper I will argue that, however trivial and arbitrary, cultural conventions fulfil an important cognitive function that makes them essential to the formation of and identification with large groups. Complex role-division, both informal and institutional, is important in the functioning of any large group of people. Shared conventions enable a virtually automatic understanding of signals, scripts and rules that regulate the interaction of divided roles. They provide a cultural infrastructure within which we perceive e.g. specific behavior and clothing as a range of social-cultural affordances for role-interactions. Shared familiarity with this infrastructure is the foundation for the basic kind of trust of in-group strangers that is a requirement for the formation of large groups. This non-intellectualist view on group formation and group identification can contribute to new ways of dealing with problems in multicultural societies.

Hijabers' Identity Construction as Muslimah through Consumption Structures in Food Lifestyle

The choice of a person's adopted lifestyle can define his social identity through the consumption structure. This research aims to describe how consumption structure in food lifestyle plays a role in identity construction of Muslimah by referring to Pierre Bourdieu's theory. This study discusses the construction of identity as Muslimah carried out by the Hijabersmom Community as one of the biggest Islamic-based communities in Indonesia. This study used a transformative paradigm by online questionnaires and interviews for data collection. The results show their identity as a Muslimah is represented through the consumption of halal-labeled food, paying attention to the composition of foods other than those containing pork and those forbidden by Islam, choosing places to eat that are comfortable for discussing and good for taking pictures, wearing fashionable outfits by using dress codes. The construction of Muslimah identity through this consumption structure is formed due to several factors such as habitus, ideology/religious structure, and this community doctrine. For further research, the researcher suggests conducting research related to the construction of identity as indicated by the expansion of the object of research which is not limited to a religious perspective.

Fashioning an elite entrepreneurial identity via the endorsement of gendered, designer dress codes and artefacts of success

Despite the recent proliferation of articles on entrepreneurial identity in the last decade, little consideration has been given to the semiotics and aesthetics of how such identity formation is operationalised via the adoption of artefacts of success and sartorial signifiers of such success to construct, fashion and influence such identities. Using semiotic analysis techniques this article explores the deliberate fashioning of gendered elite entrepreneurial identities in the blogs of an American entrepreneur and influencer Jana Arnold. Visual data was collected and analysed to illustrate the processes involved. The findings indicate that the possession of branded clothing and artefacts, combined with their physical appearance can lead to the formation of a distinctive ‘aesthetic capital’ which confers a visual legitimacy which can be commodified as a commercialised identity. The findings also suggest that the juxtaposition of selective dress, props and settings combine to create a form of branded, elitist expressiveness conveyed via the presentation of designer fashion, branded artefacts and high value marques and products. Collectively these can coalesce to form an authenticated entrepreneurial identity for those entrepreneurs who can afford to buy and maintain the monetised identity.

A Pioneer of Women’s Liberation

Gabrielle Bonheur “Coco” Chanel is a creative icon who has freed the ‘new’ woman from the millennium of dictated dress codes, stereotypical behaviors and clichéd sexual and status simplification. The little black dress has become synonymous of sophistication, to the femininity she gave the character flavor of relaxation and empowered women with timeless clothing pieces and equipped them with inspiring pieces of jewelry, distinctive decorative accessories and bold fragrances. Since then, with the Chanel fashion women were able to step sovereignly and freely aside of male. Coco resisted the reservation of clothing and decorative pieces and fabrics as exclusively masculine in order to help revolutionary women on their journey to a more a more useful elegance and a more noticeable fatality. Without any doubt she succeeded. She gave the new woman what she could not have before: practicality, youthfulness, timelessness and freedom, which was often scandalous at the time of her creation. But it has paid off with a revolution in the clothing industry and, more importantly, with a historic step in liberating the modern woman.

Appearances and Cultural Symbols as Formal Functional Symbols: on the Hermeneutics and Recognition of Yorùbá Dress Code

This paper argues that Yorùbá dress codes (fondly called traditional dress) ought to be symbols of both cultural and formal identity. As part of the being of the Yorùbá, dressing represents more than covering human nakedness, it defines the individual just as it symbolizes different things and moods. Colours, designs and functions all serve as symbols. Unfortunately, within these symbolisms the Yorùbá dresses are not generally welcomed as symbols of formal environments (especially nongovernmental corporate offices). Such outfits at best may be allowed as a dress-down. Formal symbolisms of Yorùbá dresses are restricted to political office holders or government functionaries, beyond which cultural attires are reserved for social functions. In other words, corporate dress codes do not give room for normative or psychological recognition of Yorùbá cultural dressing. Although in recent years Africans have given life to very rich indigenous identities, which have begun to re-affirm the functionality of our arts, yet not many people today have tried to relate these to questions of corporate dressing. It is believed that African cultural symbols are better reflected as traditional symbols. The methods of exposition, hermeneutics, conceptual analysis and critical evaluative reasoning are used in this paper to expose on the one hand Yorùbá dress symbolisms and on the other hand to submit that Yorùbá costumes are as formal as wearing a tie and suit to the office. This lends a voice to the recognition and incorporation of Yorùbá garments (and other African cultural dresses) into general formal symbols.

DOES THIS SHIRT MAKE ME LOOK GAY? Exploring the Invisibility of Hegemonic Masculinity In Heterosexual Men’s Dress

During the last fifteen years, men have become increasingly active consumers of fashion with over half of men in western societies buying their own clothes. While, studies have been conducted on the relationship between men and fashion there currently exists a gap in research on the consumption habits of young, style conscious, heterosexual men in the current shifting cultural landscape of men’s fashion. Through in-depth interviews, this study unpacks how these men engage with fashion against traditional cultural masculine dress codes. This study proposes that although these men do not actively subscribe to hegemonic masculine values they continue to follow this hegemony on a subconscious level. Through upbringing and cultural influence, heterosexual men are continuously primed to follow a hegemonic masculine ideal, leading to new mutation of hegemonic masculinity that is both invisible and powerful. Ultimately, this study contributes to the overall body of research on male fashion consumption habits as it tests societal assumptions on modern menswear.

DOES THIS SHIRT MAKE ME LOOK GAY? Exploring the Invisibility of Hegemonic Masculinity In Heterosexual Men’s Dress

During the last fifteen years, men have become increasingly active consumers of fashion with over half of men in western societies buying their own clothes. While, studies have been conducted on the relationship between men and fashion there currently exists a gap in research on the consumption habits of young, style conscious, heterosexual men in the current shifting cultural landscape of men’s fashion. Through in-depth interviews, this study unpacks how these men engage with fashion against traditional cultural masculine dress codes. This study proposes that although these men do not actively subscribe to hegemonic masculine values they continue to follow this hegemony on a subconscious level. Through upbringing and cultural influence, heterosexual men are continuously primed to follow a hegemonic masculine ideal, leading to new mutation of hegemonic masculinity that is both invisible and powerful. Ultimately, this study contributes to the overall body of research on male fashion consumption habits as it tests societal assumptions on modern menswear.