The acculturation and commercialisation of thematic holidays in the globalisation era

Doss, Samuel K.; Wang, Yong J.

doi:10.1504/ijbg.2010.035475

Cited by 1 publication

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“…With the growth of consumerism, holidays have also evolved into "industries" with mass marketed specialty merchandise [2] For Halloween in North America, commercially-produced costumes account for the largest share of such holiday consumer spending, and the child-oriented costume market has been dramatically expanding to meet growing demand for adult-sized costumes [3,4] Children and adults alike may face pressures to Arguing that "the commercial marketplace plays a major role" in children's costuming choices (p. 138), Nelson examined gendered messages on package labels of over 400 ready-to-wear costumes and costume patterns sold in North America [13]. When she collected her sample (the 1990's), costumes were not gender-segregated by merchandisers on the sales floor, so Nelson identified implicit gender markers used by marketers as a proxy for explicitly gender-labeled, gender-targeted packaging (e.g.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Female Disempowerment Disguised as a Halloween Costume

Sullivan¹,

Hipple²,

Hyers³

2017

TOFAMSJ

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Objective:We explore the relationship between gender stereotypes and North American Halloween costumes. Method (Study 1):Extending Nelson's analysis of gender-markers in mass-produced children's Halloween costumes, Study 1 explored gender-typing in children's costumes (n = 428), also adding a sample of adult's costumes (n = 428) from major retailers, coding for character archetypes (heroes, villains, and fools), active-masculinity/passive-femininity, and for degree of disguise. Results (Study 1):Compared to boys'/men's costumes, girls'/women's costumes represented more ornamental feminine-passivity. Method (Study 2):Ornamental feminine-passivity was explored in an additional sample of baby girls' (n = 161), child girls' (n = 189), teen girls' (n = 167), and women's (n = 301) costumes, coded for character archetypes and markers of infantilization and sexualization. Results (Study 2):In addition to age differences in character archetypes, women's costumes were most likely to be sexualized (especially heroes), girls' and teenage young women's costumes were most likely to combine both infantilization and sexualization, and baby girls' costumes were least likely to incorporate either gender-markers. Conclusion:Costumes reinforce gender stereotypes differentiating boys/men and girls/women and the ways in which girls/women are stereotyped varies across the lifespan. Patterns are discussed with regard to how gender stereotypes embedded in holiday traditions reinforce messages of disempowerment for women and girls.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%