Unisex fashion in Pop, the first youth magazine in Brazil (1970s)

Abstract

Pop, the first magazine aimed at teen girls and teen boys of Brazil, was published between 1972 and 1979 by publisher Abril, covering the fashion of the period amongother topics. The magazine, published during the military dictatorship, addressed behavioral transformations of those years driven, in part, by the hippie, gay and feminist movements. We understand that fashion is not a neutral and apolitical practice, but one permeated by worldviews, interests and regulations, which may or may not reiterate social inequalities. Therefore, the objective of the text is to understand how unisex fashion, that circulated in Pop, materialized cultural transformations of the period, questioning and/or reinforcing gender norms. To do this, we analyzed the dungarees, the most prominent unisex piece in the magazine, based on Gender Studies and Cultural Studies and the History of Brazil, Media and Fashion. From the analyses, we verified whether the fashion pieces really worked in a unisex way, framing or not different ways of dressing them when connected to so-called female and male bodies. Furthermore, we also assessed whether or not the productions maintained references to femininity and masculinity, causing gender ambiguities or not.