The book was created for use in a course at Iowa State University, AMD 165 Dress, Appearance, and Diversity in US Society. The course description is below.

Examination of dress and appearance practices and experiences of marginalized identities and communities in the United States. Introduction to fashion- and dress-related theories, culture and identity concepts, and social justice concepts and issues in regards to dress, appearance, and fashion in the fashion industry. Meets US diversity requirement.

In this course, students are introduced to topics about identity, dress, and the body. We explore how individuals and communities use dress to communicate (i.e., “negotiate,” in fashion studies) their various identities. There is heightened attention to social justice, power, privilege, and oppression. That is, we focus on the experiences of historically marginalized communities and the ways they navigate dress and dressing their bodies in different contexts.

An increased awareness of appearances and fashions of individuals historically experiencing oppression and marginalization can aid in developing a more socially just environment and reject past perpetuations of white supremacy, ableism, homophobia, transphobia, fat phobia, and xenophobia. As students enter the workforce with a social justice background, they will better understand and work with others who are different from them. Additionally, a better understanding of diverse consumers could help provide these consumers with the products they desire, in addition to avoiding public diversity issues that are far too common in the fashion industry.

Contents

The book contains two distinct parts.

Part 1: Dress Theories and Concepts introduces readers to concepts and theories related to fashion, clothing, dress, and/or accessories.

Part 2: Dress and Marginalized Communities asks readers to examine the role fashion, clothing, dress, and/or accessories play in identity development for individuals in marginalized communities in the United States.

Content Course Level Objectives (CLO)

• CLO 1 Analyze foundational concepts and theories related to dress, identity, fashion, and culture and how they intersect with sex, gender, sexuality, beauty, attractiveness, disability, religion, race, and ethnicity, with heightened attention to marginalized communities in the United States.
• CLO 2: Analyze the experiences and the role of fashion, clothing, dress, and/or accessories for identity development with heightened attention to marginalized communities within social contexts in the United States.
• CLO 3: Critique social justice issues within the fashion system in the United States for marginalized communities.
• CLO 4: Deconstruct your own personal values and positionalities in relation to fashion, clothing, dress, and/or accessories with heightened attention to marginalized communities in US society to be able to live in and collaborate with others in the United States.
• CLO 5: Identify the driving forces of transformative social justice change in the fashion system.

Soft Skills Course-Level Objective (CLO)

• CLO 6: Analyze what academic honesty means, your experiences with academic honesty, and your related future goals.

Module Level Objectives (MLO)

Part 1: Dress Theories and Concepts

Orientation and Honesty

• MLO 1.1. Identify the policies in the syllabus.
• MLO 1.2 Meet other students to create a sense of community.
• MLO 1.3 Identify concepts related to academic honesty and dishonesty. [CLO 6]
• MLO 1.4 Explain ways to engage in honest behaviors in the course. [CLO 6]
• MLO 1.5 Explain ways to engage in dishonest behaviors in the course and the related consequences. [CLO 6]
• MLO 1.6 Articulate your past perspectives and experiences with honesty in college courses. [CLO 6]
• MLO 1.7 Articulate your perspectives, approaches, and plans for honesty in this course. [CLO 6]

Dress, Appearance, and Identity

• MLO 2.1 Identify foundational concepts and theories related to identity and dress. [CLO 1]
• MLO 2.2 Identify pioneering scholars in the identity and dress discipline [CLO 1]
• MLO 2.3 Identify the sources of information and research for the course content. [CLO 1]
• MLO 2.4 Summarize the role of dress in identity development. [CLO 1]
• MLO 2.5 Explain the ways individuals learn about how to dress. [CLO 1]
• MLO 2.6 Explain various motivations for dress. [CLO 1]
• MLO 2.7 Analyze the relationships among stigma, stigma management, identity, and dress. [CLO 1]
• MLO 2.8 Deconstruct your own perspectives and approaches to understanding the dress of others. [CLO 4]\

Social Justice

• MLO 3.1 Identify foundational concepts related to social justice, identity, and dress. [CLO 1]
• MLO 3.2 Identify driving forces of transformative social change. [CLO 5]
• MLO 3.3 Articulate your own positionalities. [CLO 4]
• MLO 3.4 Reflect on your progress towards development of empathy related to social justice issues, identity, and dress. [CLO 4]
• MLO 3.5 Examine social justice issues in the fashion industry. [CLO 3]

Social Science Theories

• MLO 4.1 Identify foundational concepts and theories related to identity and dress. [CLO 1]
• MLO 4.2 Summarize the role of dress in identity development. [CLO 1]
• MLO 4.3 Analyze identity and dress with social science theories and concepts. [CLO 2]
• MLO 4.4 Analyze the norms that influence your own identities and dress. [CLO 4]

Culture

• MLO 5.1 Identify foundational concepts and theories related to culture, identity, and dress. [CLO 1]
• MLO 5.2 Identify the factors that influence different cultural aspects of dress. [CLO 1]
• MLO 5.3 Identify the different cultural perspectives an individual can take to approach understanding the dress and identity of others. [CLO 1]
• MLO 5.4 Explain the role of dress in identity development. [CLO 1]
• MLO 5.5 Examine how marginalized communities in the United States use dress and appearance to negotiate their identities. [CLO 2]
• MLO 5.6 Deconstruct your own perspectives and approach to understanding the dress of others. [CLO 4]

Subculture and Group Membership

• MLO 6.1 Identify foundational concepts and theories related to subcultures, identity, appearance, and dress. [CLO 1]
• MLO 6.2 Identify the factors that influence different aspects of subcultural dress. [CLO 1]
• MLO 6.3 Explain the role of dress and appearance in identity development for different subcultures. [CLO 1]
• MLO 6.4 Examine how marginalized communities in the United States use dress and appearance to negotiate their identities. [CLO 2]
• MLO 6.5 Deconstruct your own perspectives and approach to understanding the dress of subcultures. [CLO 4]

Fashion Theories

• MLO 7.1 Identify foundational concepts and theories related to fashion, identity, appearance, and dress. [CLO 1]
• MLO 7.2 Identify the basic tenets of fashion theories and how they help explain dress and appearance. [CLO 2]
• MLO 7.3 Explain how marginalized communities in the United States use dress and appearance to express their identities. [CLO 2]
• MLO 7.4 Examine how dress and appearance of marginalized communities in the United States are represented in the fashion system (e.g., advertisements or retailers). [CLO 3]
• MLO 7.5 Examine social justice issues related to dress and appearance of marginalized communities in the United States. [CLO 3]
• MLO 7.6 Deconstruct your own perspectives and approach to understanding the dress of others. [CLO 4]

Part 2: Dress and Marginalized Communities

Sex and Gender

• MLO 8.1 Identify foundational concepts and theories related to sex and gender, fashion, identity, appearance, and dress. [CLO 1]
• MLO 8.2 Identify the numerous aspects of transition for individuals in the transgender and nonbinary communities in the United States. [CLO 1]
• MLO 8.3 Identify different types of dress worn by the transgender and nonbinary communities in the United States to affirm their gender identities. [CLO 1]
• MLO 8.4 Identify trans and nonbinary people’s experiences in the United States wearing different dress objects reflecting their trans and nonbinary identity. [CLO 1]
• MLO 8.5 Identify different fashion brands that produce and sell dress objects for the transgender and nonbinary communities in the United States to affirm their gender identities. [CLO 3]
• MLO 8.6 Identity how gender expressions and norms have shifted and changed over time and across different cultures. [CLO 2]
• MLO 8.7 Explain the role of dress and appearance in the development of one’s sex assigned at birth and their gender. [CLO1]
• MLO 8.8 Examine social justice issues related to dress and appearance of the transgender and nonbinary communities in the United States. [CLO 3]
• MLO 8.9 Deconstruct your own perspectives and approach to understanding the dress and appearance of the transgender and nonbinary communities in the United States. [CLO 4]
• MLO 8.10 Identify the driving forces of transformative social justice change in the fashion system related to transgender and nonbinary identities in the United States. [CLO 5]

Sexuality

• MLO 9.1 Identify foundational concepts related to sexuality, fashion, identity, appearance, and dress. [CLO 1]
• MLO 9.2 Identify different types of dress worn by queer communities in the United States to express their sexual identities. [CLO 1]
• MLO 9.3 Identify queer people’s experiences in the United States wearing different dress object reflecting their queer identities. [CLO 2]
• MLO 9.4 Identify different fashion brands that produce and sell dress objects for the queer community in the United States to affirm their sexual identities. [CLO 1]
• MLO 9.5 Explain the role of dress and appearance in the development of one’s queer identity in the United States. [CLO 1]
• MLO 9.6 Examine how dress and appearance of queer communities in the United States are represented in the fashion system (e.g., advertisements or retailers). [CLO 3]
• MLO 9.7 Examine social justice issues related to dress and appearance of the queer community in the United States. [CLO 3]
• MLO 9.8 Deconstruct your own perspectives and approach to understanding the dress and appearance of queer communities in the United States. [CLO 4]
• MLO 9.9 Identify the driving forces of transformative social justice change in the fashion system related to queer identities in the United States. [CLO 5]

Beauty and Attractiveness

• MLO 10.1 Identify foundational concepts related to beauty, attractiveness, identity, appearance, and dress. [CLO 1]
• MLO 10.2 Identify the ways beauty and perceptions of attractiveness influence people’s experiences. [CLO 1]
• MLO 10.3 Identify the aspects of facial appearance that contribute to perceptions of attractiveness. [CLO 1]
• MLO 10.4 Identify how people alter their bodies when they do not think they are attractive or meet cultural beauty ideals. [CLO 1]
• MLO 10.5 Identify factors that influence why people alter their bodies when they do not think they are attractive or meet a specific beauty ideal. [CLO 1]
• MLO 10.6 Identify people’s experiences related to meeting the ideals of beauty or perceptions of attractiveness. [CLO 2]
• MLO 10.7 Examine social justice issues related to dress appearance, and interpretations of beauty and attractiveness in the United States. [CLO 3]
• MLO 10.8 Analyze how dress, appearance, and concepts of beauty and attractiveness in the United States are represented in the fashion system (e.g., advertisements or retailers). [CLO 3]
• MLO 10.9 Deconstruct your own perspectives and approaches to understanding dress, appearance, beauty, and attractiveness in the United States. [CLO 4]
• MLO 10.10 Identify the driving forces of transformative social justice change in the fashion system related to beauty and attractiveness in the United States. [CLO 5]

(Dis)ability

• MLO 11.1 Identify foundational concepts related to disability, fashion, identity, appearance, and dress. [CLO 1]
• MLO 11.2 Identify different types of dress worn by people with disabilities in the United States. [CLO 1]
• MLO 11.3 Identify the experiences of people with disabilities in the United States wearing different dress objects reflecting their disability identities. [CLO 2]
• MLO 11.4 Identify different fashion brands that produce and sell dress objects for people with disabilities in the United States. [CLO 2]
• MLO 11.5 Explain the role of dress and appearance in the development of one’s disability identity. [CLO 2]
• MLO 11.6 Examine how dress and appearance of people with disabilities in the United States are represented in the fashion system (e.g., advertisements or retailers). [CLO 3]
• MLO 11.7 Examine social justice issues related to dress and appearance for people with disabilities in the United States. [CLO 3]
• MLO 11.8 Deconstruct your own perspectives and approach to understanding the dress and appearance of people with disabilities in the United States. [CLO 4]
• MLO 11.9 Identify the driving forces of transformative social justice change in the fashion system related to disabilities in the United States. [CLO 5]

Religion

• MLO 12.1 Identify foundational concepts related to religion, fashion, identity, appearance, and dress. [CLO 1]
• MLO 12.2 Identify different types of dress worn by people following different oppressed religions in the United States. [CLO 1]
• MLO 12.3 Identify people following different oppressed religions experiences in the United States wearing different dress objects reflecting their religious identities. [CLO 1]
• MLO 12.4 Identify different fashion brands that produce and sell dress objects for people following different oppressed religions in the United States. [CLO 2]
• MLO 12.5 Explain the role of dress and appearance in the development of one’s religious identity in the United States. [CLO 2]
• MLO 12.6 Examine how dress and appearance of people following different oppressed religions in the United States are represented in the fashion system (e.g., advertisements or retailers). [CLO 3]
• MLO 12.7 Examine social justice issues related to dress and appearance for people following different oppressed religions in the United States. [CLO 3]
• MLO 12.8 Deconstruct your own perspectives and approach to understanding the dress and appearance of people following different oppressed religions in the United States. [CLO 4]
• MLO 12.9 Identify the driving forces of transformative social justice change in the fashion system related to oppressed religious groups in the United States. [CLO 5]

Race and Ethnicity

• MLO 13.1 Identify foundational concepts related to race, ethnicity, fashion, identity, appearance, and dress. [CLO 1]
• MLO 13.2 Identify different types of dress worn by people of color in the United States. [CLO 1]
• MLO 13.3 Identify people of color’s experiences wearing different dress object reflecting their race and/or ethnicity in the United States. [CLO 2]
• MLO 13.4 Identify different fashion brands that produce and sell dress objects for people of color in the United States. [CLO 2]
• MLO 13.5 Explain the role of dress and appearance in the development of one’s racial and/or ethnic identity in the United States. [CLO 2]
• MLO 13.6 Examine how dress and appearance of people of color in the United States are represented in the fashion system (e.g., advertisements or retailers). [CLO 3]
• MLO 13.7 Examine social justice issues related to dress and appearance for people of color in the United States. [CLO 3]
• MLO 13.8 Deconstruct your own perspectives and approach to understanding the dress and appearance of people of color in the United States. [CLO 4]
• MLO 13.9 Identify the driving forces of transformative social justice change in the fashion system related to people of color in the United States. [CLO 5]