Fashion, Communication & Gender

“How does visual culture in fashion media & pop culture influence the construction and perception of masculinities at the intersection of gender, queer identities, and ethnic diversity?”

This research area is designed to investigate the impact of visual elements in fashion media & pop culture on the societal and individual understanding of masculinities. It encourages a multidisciplinary analysis of how visual representations in fashion & pop culture—through imagery, style, and aesthetic choices—contribute to or challenge existing narratives around masculinity, and how these narratives intersect with questions of gender, sexuality, and ethnic identities. This area allows to explore the powerful role that fashion media and pop culture play in shaping public and personal conceptions of masculinity. It will enable to delve into how visual culture communicates and reinforces, or alternatively, contests and redefines, the norms and expectations associated with masculinities, particularly through the lenses of gender fluidity, queer visibility, and the varied experiences of different ethnic groups.

It’s an area that opens the door to qualitative research methods, including content analysis, audience reception studies, and critical theory application. This area allows to explore the powerful role that fashion media and pop culture play in shaping public and personal conceptions of masculinity. It will enable to delve into how visual culture communicates and reinforces, or alternatively, contests and redefines, the norms and expectations associated with masculinities, particularly through the lenses of gender fluidity, queer visibility, and the varied experiences of different ethnic groups. It’s an area that opens the door to qualitative research methods, including content analysis, audience reception studies, and critical theory application.