Hegemonic disguise in resistance to domination: the Clothesline Project's response to male violence against women

Abstract

for getting me out of wordprocessing predicaments, especially when fatigue got the better of my memory and X imagination and I couldn't maneuver even the easiest of formatting instructions. IH bring in the chocolate-covered cherries next week. To Rehan Mullick, for not one, not two, but three lessons in using the scanning equipment needed to transfer my photographs to computer disk. I think I've finally gotten the hang of it. To Sine Anahlta, for sharing in my agitation and for not abandoning me when things took longer than anticipated. Your moral support, not to mention the "power of your personality," uplifted me. To Denlse Rothschild, who not only introduced me to the sanity-saving "soft return," but did so with patience and levity on a day when throngs of stressed-out graduate students awaited their time with her, each wanting and receiving the thoughtful attention she gave me. To Jim Orr, computer wizard extraordinaire, who supplied me with great tools to accomplish the formatting of the dissertation and who surrendered a drizzly Sunday afternoon to help me print the photographs that don these pages. Thank you for your patience and good humor. To Janet Huggard, for understanding how important this was to me and letting me obsess with her about every detail. You kept me well supplied with coffee and cream; I couldn't have done it without you or the caffeine. To my playmates in Des Moines, especially the women from my Wednesday night volleyball team, who provided stress-relief through much laughter, if llttie exercise. You nurtured, nourished, and encouraged me. Now, if you could only teach me how to set the ball! To the women of the Clothesline Project to whom this dissertation is dedicated, especially those on Cape Cod, in Massachusetts, and In Des Moines, Marshalltown, Iowa City, and the Quad Cities. You tiiisted me with your shirts and your stories. I feel honored and beholden. And to Su Zanna Kay Prophet, bibliographer supreme and absolutely the most devoted "research assistant" any woman could have. What can I say? Thank you for periodically kidnapping me for rides in the country to clear my head. Thank you for your unflagging support and encouragement, and for quelling my anxieties. But most of all, thank you for being proud of me. I can't wait to wear that magnificent graduation cowl! xi

“I am the Woman Next Door”: The Clothesline Project as Woman Abuse Survivors' Societal Critique

“…Survivors who view the art at public displays feel strengthened as they recognize that other women experience similar abuse (Mercer, 2003). Women who create T‐shirts feel empowered and often report that their participation in the project contributes to their healing (see Gregory et al, 2002; Hipple, 1998; Mercer, 2003; Ostrowski, 1996; Willis, 1995). Further, Clothesline Project victim/survivors reconfigure their individual experiences by adding their stories to the collective voice of woman abuse survivors.…”

“…Despite The Clothesline Project's invitation to viewers to inhabit the marginalized perspectives of abuse survivors, few pause to examine survivors' art for the depth of knowledge contained within it. Although researchers recognize the empowerment and healing properties The Clothesline Project offers to victim/survivors (see Gregory et al, 2002; Hipple, 1998; Julier, 1994; Mercer, 2003; Ostrowski, 1996; Willis, 1995), the complexity of the messages survivors' art communicates to the public remain overlooked in previous research. Further, existent research on the project focuses too heavily on the symbolic elements that founded The Clothesline Project (such as laundry as women's work, or as “airing dirty laundry” in public) and fail to critically examine survivors' messages.…”

“…Many of the displays, in fact, hang in outdoor spaces frequented by people walking to work or passing by on their way to class, or in indoor spaces where people congregate casually or pass by on a daily basis. Hipple (1998) notes that Clothesline artists often deliberately use bold colors and strong language in order to demand attention. As a result, and because so many abusers exist, it seems highly probable that abusers view the shirts, whether they want to or not.…”

Clothing their Resistance in Hegemonic Dress: The Clothesline Project's Response to Violence Against Women

“…According to Scott, linguistic and textual codes, gossip, rumor, euphemism, folktales, jokes, songs, rituals, dialects, and gestures are employed to disguise subversive messages, while costume, cover, and crowd are used to cloak the identity of the messenger. Elsewhere I have discussed ways in which discursive messages on Clothesline Project shirts are encoded for visual, visceral, and psychic effect, as well as to disguise the identity of the shirtmaker (Hipple, 1998). Here I focus on the way shirts themselves serve as a disguise.…”