Cultural History Essay Example for Free

Cultural History Essay Since long time ago, Bra has defined fashion and beauty among women. The history of Bra is linked to social history of the status of women which entails both the evolution of fashion and the changing views of the body of a woman. Since time immemorial, women have used various garments and devices to cover, elevate and restrain the breasts. Over a period of time the emphasis of bras has changed from the functionality point to fashionable point. This fact means that in current period bras are part of fashion of a woman. Origin of the Bra The origin of bra is believed to be in 2500BC worn by the Minoan women who resided in the island of Crete in the ancient Greece. These women used to wear garments that looked like Bra whose aim was to lift up their breast and boost them. Since then, there has been tremendous change in the shape of the breast with different social meanings. Evolution of Bras The evolution of bra starts with the Corsetry which was worn by the Cretan Women. The Cretan woman stood with bare breasts and the waist and hip corset shown above the decorative part of her underwear. The aim of the corset among the Cretan women was as a symbol of beauty and was aimed at showing off the breast. It is believed that bare breast had a cultural and religious significance. Around 450bc, the Greek started wearing a bodice tied above the breasts leaving the breasts naked. This Small band of material was referred to as Apodesme and was introduced after the corsets were prohibited. Apodesme played a functional role as they prevented the breast moving while walking. The bra like structures accompanied with fashionable clothes of that time. In many of the 18th century paintings show ladies wearing free falling, pleated loose dress backs. It was probably developed from the over gown that was worn in the 17th century. Under the pannier dress was perfectly crafted laced stays that were made of many pieces of whale bones. These stays were backstitched by hand and were very beautiful and decorative. The stays supported and raised the breast to a sharp point in the front as well as defining a trim shape. The stays always matched the dress as the bones in these stays were placed laterally across both the back and front shoulder blades to ensure that the front remained straight and an upright back. Although women had clothes that provided support to the breast such as crinolines and bustles in Victorian age, corsets started to reappear in 18th century and this was evident with Edwardian Era. During Edwardian era, Edwardian Corsets started making a big impact in women fashion. Fashion favored mature women as it exploited the curves of a highly corseted shape. The young and the old women laced themselves so tightly that they distorted their figures to get am s shape associated with that period. Health corsets were greatly favored in 1890s and 1900 and were designed with an aim of assisting the women in breathing. Aches Sarraute of Paris designed health corset with an aim of aiding health instead of endangering it. She introduced the straight fronted busk that left thorax free. It was also designed to support and raise the abdomen instead of forcing it downwards. She rightly aimed at reducing pressure on vital female organs dispensed with constricting curves at the waist which was a common feature among all corsets. Corsets after 1907 were straight as women’s obsession on small waist had reduced. The corsets of 1907 achieved a long slim figure. These corsets had had elastic gussets inserts which were supposed to increase the level of comfort. The new longer styles of 1912, corsets increased in length reaching the knees making it difficult for women sitting down. These corsets were designed for beauty purposes as fashion played a major role in their development. During this period, there was a shift of attention from metallic corsets and the concept of bra started to appear. (Workman, 1996) The word Bra was developed and first reported in America copy of Vogue in 1907. The original French name of brassier meant a soldiers arm. The First World War contributed to evolution of bras where women abandoned corsets and started wearing bras. During this period, the term brassier started to appear in high profile women magazines and eventually appeared in Oxford English dictionary in 1912. (Elizabeth, 1976) In 1913, Mary Phelps Jacob, a New York socialite, made a backless brassier from two silk handkerchiefs and some ribbon after discovering that the corsets were too restrictive when a woman was dancing in night clubs. Mary sold her patent to Warner Brother’s corset company for 1500 us dollars. After the year 1918, bras were made of lace bands with straps. The best bras at that time were the Symington side lacer which was a reinforced bodice. The side lacing was aimed at flattening the bust when it was tightened. It was at this time that the term bra changed from brassier. (Elizabeth, 1976) In 1930s the bra became more sophisticated and the home sewn version of bras started to diminish during this period. In 1928, entrepreneur William and Ida Rosenthal developed bra by introducing the cup sizes and bras for all the stages of a woman. Warmers developed the alphabet bra which was made in a set of sizes that were corresponding to alphabetical letters. This is as a result of women gaining interest in the size of their breast and other women breast. The women interest in these types of bra was as a result of aggressive marketing and the changing role of women in the society. During this period, bras became a major industry and there was great improvement in fiber technology, patterns, colors and varieties of the bras. There was increase in innovation such as sized cup, adjustable strap, increased elasticity and padded breast for small sized breast. The marketing of bras during this period targeted the younger women as beauty was an important aspect in them. The desired feature in 1930s was a pointy bust and this further increased demand for a forming garment and bras fitted well for this function. In 1940s, Clothing was determined by the Second World War. During this period, advertisements of clothes were based on patriotism. The highly structured conical pointed bullet bras were used as protection clothes whereby in the military fraternity, the female soldiers were advised to wear them for anatomical support, good taste and for morale. During this period, bra enhanced the concept of the sweater girl. Sweater girls often wore bullets bras which contributed to the development of later brassieres. The war had an impact on the flow of materials as there was shortage of material which resulted into women producing their own bras from parachute silk and old wedding dresses. Commercially manufactured bras were made from minimum amount of material and hence bore the utility mark. This led to the emergence of utility bras. In 1950s, the bras were typical long line stitch and fashion was a major contributing factor towards the development of bras. The long line conical bra gave support silhouette for girls who wanted to be like film stars sweater girls like Jane Russell. The bras got better as use of nylon materials made them more attractive, lighter and easier to wash. Pretty 1960s was a period that was characterized by increased interest of quality and fashion of bras. There was increased demand for maternity and mastectomy bras and increase in the use of washing machines led to increase in preference for durable bras. There was increased marketing promotion such as wearing bras 24 hours a day. This period was marked with cultural changes which represented a great threat to bra market. These counter culture to bra production included civil right movement and feminism which greatly opposed women wearing bras. During this period, there was development in the form of bras which were seamless, flattering and sexy and were more appealing to teenage girls. The invention was referred to as wonderbra invention. These Bras tugged the breast together and pulled them forward and hence they were a means of attraction. They were marketed as a form of luxury. The material used became durable, light weight and elastic. In late 1960s, bra and other feminine emblems became targets of feminist activism. The feminists viewed bras as objects which reduced women as sex objects. Some women started questioning the role of bra and this led to protest against 1968 miss American beauty pageant. For example, Germaine Greer stated that bras were absurd invention aimed at reducing the status of women. In 1968, they were a protest against Miss America beauty pageant by 400 women coming from New York Radical women in Atlantic City convention hall. The demonstration took place after Democratic national convention and the protestors placed bras, high heeled shoes, hairsprays and other beauty apparatus seen as symbols of oppression of women in a freedom trash can placed on the ground. This was a clear sign of protest against bra although no real burning of the bras took place. There was also another protest in 1970 which received wide coverage and was perceived as sexual liberation. This protest although seen by people as breaking of the law was somehow fruitful as many women stopped . This led to some stores such as Berkeley Roos closing Bra department due to poor sales. The protest led to development of ‘no bra’ by Rudi Gernreich in 1964. This bra was light, transparent stretch netting and had a simple shape. The fine layer of foam in the bras made the cups to stand up on the end (Pederson, 2004) The ‘burning of bra’ by feminist led to innovations in fashion industry in order top win back the lost customers. Gossard launched its wonderbra crusade in 1968 which led to introduction of original wonderbra. At first 36C was the top size of this innovatory under wired bra that was a necessity for V neck dresses of late sixties caftans which had ling necks were changed by the cleavage from a wonderbra. In case where one was in need of larger bra, a bra replacement fastener was used as an extender. Inserts of extra lagging or foam rubber could be inserted into small pockets in the wonderbra to increase the fullness where there was no bust. In 1990s, silicon implant scare caused the women to turn to bras as the best option of improving their breast size. The wonderbra became best seller in 1990s. In 1916s there was the presence of bra slips which were common for short skimpy dresses. The return of cleavage was recorded in 1990s . In a blonde ambition tour; Madonna was sported wearing sported ice unguent coned circular sewed cup on her Gaultier corset. Gautier first made designs of breast that were based on the conical breasts of 1980s but received full approval after Madonna used it in a number of her functions and hence sexy lace Bras came back into business. In 1990s there was the introduction of very plain tactel underwear slips which gave a good line beneath dresses making it possible to wear unlined dresses successful without static build up. Bra industry was further promoted during this period by the quest for women who had shed their breast in 1960s to have more figure control especially when wearing the straight sheath dress that were back in fashion. During this period, there was pursuit for cleavage by utilizing water, air and silicone pads and improvement in this development enhanced the sales of fashion companies in 21st century as they put more emphasis on breast management and improvement. The change in fashion trends resulted in different types emerging to suit different fashion needs of women. Cleavage enhancers are types of bras which have a plunging neckline which is important for maximum cleavage. The pads add an additional lift and the bra fully characterize bust hence ideal for low necklines. There are other fashionable bras referred to as Convertible/strapless which go up to five ways on a strapless bra often having molded padded cups that offer support and shape to the breast. They have seam free cups that are not visible under clothes. Bras do not only serve as fashion apparatus but they also play a big role in sports. Sport bras are perfectly constructed to provide a maximum support, compresses the breast and hence minimizing bouncing by the breasts. The material fabric is important in drawing moisture away from the body hence keeping the body comfortable. Silicone bra is a type of bra comes in different sizes from cup size A, B C; D. It does not have any strap. It is flexible and sticks tightly in conformity with the woman’s bust as it has self adhesive coating. It is made from high quality silicon gel. It is easy to wash, it has no strap and occurs in a range of colors and so the user has a wide choice of the colors she desires. This bra can be reused many times after laundering. Push ups and inflatable brassieres is a type of bra introduced in mid 1990s and added major sex appeal to the USA market. It was pioneered in 1960s by Fredricks of Hollywood . The look was classic pieces of soft cup inflated into a cone-shaped point. During this period, Singer and Dancer Madonna played a big role in making this bra to be famous. This bra has undergone much innovation such as volume adjustment systems, pairing of the sleek looking bra with air extricable padding. The bra has a molded cup and wireless lifts. It has a weightless padding which gives the cleavage a slight projection. It has barely three Bralettes. It is found in soft cup, Camisole like sheers as well as lacy under wire creations which exhibit double cleavage of their full cup counterparts. (Steele, 2001) Sex openness among the current time women In 1950s to 1980s feminists played great role in trying to liberate women from oppression by men. They tried as much as they could in transforming the working and business environment to suit women and this resulted in many of them getting jobs and becoming more liberal especially in their sexual lives. In the past, feminists opposed beauty apparatus which they considered as being tools which reduced women as sex objects. This did not get support from all the women as beauty was still valued b women and so they continued using beauty apparatus and fashion determined what they wore. Currently the society has changed greatly and as a result of empowerment, women have become more liberal and hence more open to sixths is depicted by the clothing they put on which more is revealing than in the past years. Also increase in innovation by fashion industries has played a major role as these companies strive hard to market products which are said to make women look sexy. Improved technology especially in the entertainment sector has contributed a lot to women becoming more sexual open as they mostly emulate the lifestyles of the entertainment stars. (Kunzle, 2004) Conclusion Innovation has played a major role in shaping the fashion in different time span. Bra comes out clearly as a major fashion tool and from its evolution, it can be concluded that it has played a central role in women fashion and enhancing beauty among the women. Women have considered fashion as an important aspect in their life and this is evident in the different variety of beauty apparatus they have been having since time immemorial. In the contemporary times, women open sexuality show that women are liberalized and hence free to select any type of lifestyle and clothing to put on. Reference List: Elizabeth, E. , (1976). â€Å"Underwear: A History. † New York, NY: Theatre Arts Books Kunzle, D. , (2004). â€Å"Fashion and Fetishism:† Thrupp, UK: Sutton Publishing Limited Stephanie, P. , (2004) â€Å"Bra: a thousand years of style,† Newton Abbot: David Charles Valerie, S. , (2001). â€Å"The Corset: A Cultural History. † New Haven, CT: Yale University Press. Workman, N. , (1996). â€Å"From Victorian to Victoria’s Secret: The Foundations of Modern Erotic Wear. † Journal of Popular Culture. 30. 2, 61-73

The Role of the Modern Woman Essay -- Women

Diana Spencer, more commonly known as Princess Diana – or even Princess Di to some – was with out a doubt one of the most influential women of our lifetime. Diana represented what the woman of the 20th Century could become. Strong willed, independent and gorgeous all at once. Not in recent history had royalty, much less that of the United Kingdom, connected so well with the people. She was the first member of the royal family to travel the globe and meet with children victim to land mines and HIV/AIDS. Diana held so much power – and was loved so much by her people – that at her funeral, some referred to her as the Queen of the People. It is said by some that because of her extraordinary influence over the English nation, she suffered an untimely death. Diana was with out question adored by the English people, as well as by foreigners. However, the role she played – which she did with extreme grace – was a relatively new one. One hundred, fifty, even twenty years ago, women were not expected to play the role Diana played. There was no such thing as divorced royalty traveling to devastated parts of the third world countries raising awareness of peoples’ plights. One hundred years ago, women played extremely different roles than they do now. Most educated people are aware of this, however, the evolution of the role women partake in society is one that is not told often. In the past hundred years, two periods really stand out as periods where women made advances in how they were seen by society. The first was in the 1920s when they were granted suffrage. The second was in the 1970s with the rise of the Modern Feminist Movement. The evolution of society’s view of women is best illustrated in the visual publ ications of the last hu... ...ositions in the government, large corporations, even in certain religions. Women have made large and permanent advances that are milestones in this country. Though much needs to be done in other parts of the world – even within the United States – progress is inevitable. Sooner of later, one way or another, change will come. Works Cited The Modern Woman: A Look at Who She Is and How She Got There http://www.ellisparkerbutler.info/epb/pic/womans_world_1913_09_a.jpg http://images-eu.amazon.com/images/P/B0000AIZ63.03.LZZZZZZZ.jpg http://www.thespiderawards.com/AwardsPass/WINNERS-NOMINEES/PRO- fashion/images/Flapper.jpg http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacqueline_Lee_Bouvier http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/powers_of_persuasion/its_a_womans_war_too/images_ html/images/we_can_do_it.jpg http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&se=gglsc&d=5002183556&er=deny

Housing Problems Essay

1 Population growth and urban problem in Mumbai, India According to G.Tyler(1994), the more poor people move from rural to urban area the more poverty is becoming urbanized. A lot of cities have damage because of the extreme poverty and social and environment in stead of being centers of commerce and industry. In this article I will discuss the problem of slum clearance in Mumbai, India. I am interested in poor people in urban area. First I will refer about population growth which is related to urban problem. Second, I suggest that slum clearance is not good enough for solving the problem. Third, as a conclusion, I suggest that India government should keep providing various kinds of social services to needed people. Population growth is related to urban problem. According to Tyler (1994),at least 1 billion people -18% of the world’s population-live in the crowded slums of inner cities and in the vast, mostly illegal squatter settlements or shantytowns that ring the outskirts of most cities in LDCs(Less Developed Country)(bookÃâ€"@,p.26). I agree with Tyler’s explanation. India government has done slum clearance since early 70s when the Slum clearance Act was passed the Mumbai city (artic.Ãâ€"@,para.2). In the name of beautification India government did renewal the city. India government has a vision to develop her country like Singapore. I think the slum clearance is very strict for the poor people and the policy does not work well. Because slum clearance only makes other squatted area. People have no way with dwelling in bad habitat environment. In my opinion this is also an ethical issue because people have the rights to live. I believe everyone has the rights to live even they live in slum. Unfortunately, poor people are r egarded as a part of bad environment. So the real problems are in the human rights and the government policy. India Government should face with the roots of problem and provide some policy. So they should keep provide various kinds of social services for needed people. Some private organizations provide health care program and family planning. One of the organization has maternal and child healthcare program. To save poor people they should focus on each person who is involved in serious conditions. They have a lot of need. I think such social service and education are very important to fulfill the needs of poor people. They need clean water, foods, housing etc. So I suggest that India government should keep welcoming NGO from foreign countries and support their activity. As a conclusion, Population growth is related to urban problem. Slum clearance is not enough for solution of the problem. India government should keep providing various kinds of social services for needed people. To provide social service to those area is a kind of investigation to children for the future. I believe when people change, nation change. This issue should be developed to the quality of life of poor people in slum area. 2 Air Pollution Construction activities that contribute to air pollution include: land clearing, operation of diesel engines, demolition, burning, and working with toxic materials. All construction sites generate high levels of dust (typically from concrete, cement, wood, stone, silica) and this can carry for large distances over a long period of time. Construction dust is classified as PM10 – particulate matter less than 10 microns in diameter, invisible to the naked eye. Research has shown that PM10 penetrate deeply into the lungs and cause a wide range of health problems including respiratory illness, asthma, bronchitis and even cancer. Another major source of PM10 on construction sites comes from the diesel engine exhausts of vehicles and heavy equipment. This is known as diesel particulate matter (DPM) and consists of soot, sulphates and silicates, all of which readily combine with other toxins in the atmosphere, increasing the health risks of particle inhalation. Diesel is also responsible for emissions of carbon monoxide, hydrocarbons, nitrogen oxides and carbon dioxide. Noxious vapours from oils, glues, thinners, paints, treated woods, plastics, cleaners and other hazardous chemicals that are widely used on construction sites, also contribute to air pollution. Water Pollution Sources of water pollution on building sites include: diesel and oil; paint, solvents, cleaners and other harmful chemicals; and construction debris and dirt. When land is cleared it causes soil erosion that leads to silt-bearing run-off and sediment pollution. Silt and soil that runs into natural waterways turns them turbid, which restricts sunlight filtration and destroys aquatic life. Surface water run-off also carries other pollutants from the site, such as diesel and oil, toxic chemicals, and building materials like cement. When these substances get into waterways they poison water life and any animal that drinks from them. Pollutants on construction sites can also soak into the groundwater, a source of human drinking water. Once contaminated, groundwater is much more difficult to treat than surface water. Noise Pollution Construction sites produce a lot of noise, mainly from vehicles, heavy equipment and machinery, but also from people shouting and radios turned up too loud. Excessive noise is not only annoying and distracting, but can lead to hearing loss, high blood pressure, sleep disturbance and extreme stress. Research has shown that high noise levels disturb the natural cycles of animals and reduces their usable habitat.

The Harder You Look, the More There Is to See Essay

Far away, on the border of both France and Switzerland, lies the massive CERN Accelerator Complex. This series of particle accelerators increases the momentum of packets of nuclei to almost light speed, then collides them. It collects the debris of the resulting destruction in hopes of finding the basic building blocks of matter. This is a basic overview of what happens at CERN, but when examined more closely, this process becomes far more difficult and complicated. How does this â€Å"Atom Smasher† work? How is it built? Most importantly, how do the thousands of euros poured into this costly research benefit the practical world? The CERN Accelerator Complex uses advanced technology and complicated processes to speed up particles just below†¦show more content†¦The final step is when they are shot into the Large Hadron Collider, twenty-seven kilometers, about seventeen miles, in circumference. This ring has two vacuum tubes that fire protons in opposite direction, cro ssing them over in detector caverns. Here, computers take measurements to make sure nothing unexpected happens, such as a packet colliding into a wall, or smashing into another packet too early. When they are finally made to collide at four terra-EV each, the computer tracks information about the debris, small particles such as quarks, and keeps it as data. Thus ends the travel of the packets and the process is repeated, furthering the cause of science. The technology to make this process work is incredibly advanced, stretching from super-conduction to super computers. Most of the electronics at CERN are superconducting, which is where wires are cooled to such an extent that they provide virtually no resistance for the electrons passing through them. The niobium titanium wires at CERN are cooled to negative 456.34 degrees Fahrenheit, making them one-hundred times more conductive. This is vital, because the power required to keep the accelerators, computers, magnets, ect. running is so colossal, the CERN complex needs it’s own substation. It runs on 1.3 terra-watts hours per year, enough to power 300,000 homes in the United Kingdom. The radio-frequency cavity, one of theShow MoreRelatedDrawing: A Little Girl Stretching her Hand to Touch the Rain, Waiting for the Rainbow761 Words   |  4 Pageslife because life just keeps on getting harder and harder. However, this picture can help soothe people. It says â€Å"Everyone wants happiness nobody wants pain but you can’t have a rainbow without a little rain.† In this picture, we see a girl’s hand stretching out to feel the rain. It seems that she is prepared to go to the heavy rain and the background is rather blue and cloudy. This shows us that the girl is ready to go to the rain so that later, she can see the rainbow. 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