Katelyne Brockman
Gender Ethnography
While an exuberating array of pinks, purples, yellows and oranges line the clear
window displays, temptation and the swiping of plastic cards soon follow ones entrance into one
of thirteen woman’s clothing stores at the South Pointe Pavilion in Lincoln, Nebraska. Eighteen
stores were listed as Clothing and Accessories on the Directory that one would find upon
entering the outlet. While observing the interior of each store, I counted five stores that had
clothing materials for Male and Females. Thirteen of the eighteen clothing stores were purely
Female stores. Around six of these stores seemed to be intended for woman past the age of 40.
This is said due to the conservative and quiet-like styles. The stores for these women had styles
with higher collars and longer sleeves. There were no pants that were specially advertised as
“Skinny Jeans” which are common amongst the younger crowd. The materials were flowey and
not form fitting. It comes to no surprise; there were no stores in this outlet mall that only
contained what one would consider Male clothing. From these numbers, one can assume that
shopping outlets and malls are a “Woman’s” world. The men and women employees ranged in
age at both stores I visited; Scheels All Sports and Gap Kids. I did not notice anything odd or
Hegemonic about where the employees were positioned within the stores.
This Ethnography began at Scheels All Sports. Scheels carries sporting equipment,
hunting gear, fashion accessories and top brands like Nike, The North Face and Under Armour
for men, women and children. This store aimed their products for men and woman of all ages. I
am not positive if it was my own shopping habits or the bright red sale signs that drew me to the
racks that were displayed as soon as you walked in the door. This was a great technique for the
salesmen to realize that women with families and college students are usually out for a good
deal! One would assume that this was a woman’s section due to the bright colors.
Spandex and form fitting styles were consistent throughout the women’s section. Soft
materials such as cotton were predominant on the shirt racks. Polka Dots, flower patterns,
jeweled sequins and chevron prints appear periodically on the shirts. The shoes on display were
bright just like the clothes. The selection of Women’s dress shoes ranged in multiple colors as
well as heel height. Unlike the men, various styles of closed and opened toe shoes were
available.
The men’s section at Scheels was not as exciting as their counterpart across the aisle.
Bold and darker colors such as greens, blues, grays, blacks and browns are displayed in this
section. Stripes, polo’s and the simplicity of bold colors draw men to these clothing racks. A
sportier look is displayed as well. Jerseys and t-shirts for local, college and pro teams were found
in this section. None of this paraphernalia was found in the woman’s section. The dress shoes for
men seemed to be on the other end of the spectrum. Brown and black shoes that could simply be
slipped on were on display. I feel that most men dress for comfort and these shoes represent
exactly that. I thought it was interesting that the sale racks were not crammed to the front of the
men’s section. To find Gender neutral clothing at Scheels is not hard within the athletic sections.
Large logos plastered across with solid colored shirts are worn on both men and women. For the
fancier blouses and polo’s, they are not so interchangeable due to the "girly-ness" or blandness
that the unintended sex would oppose to.
Not only did the men not have much choice at this outlet, the children did not either. Gap
Kids was only the second store with a children’s section that I encountered. I think Gap Kids did
a great job of combining versatile outfits that boys and girls could wear. It was not so easy to
point to the “Girls” section and the “Boys” section. Some distinctions such as blue button down
shirts paired with khakis were placed on a boy mannequin. A pink sequined shirt with skinny
jeans were placed on a little girl mannequin and a dress on another girl mannequin. If a boy
walked into the store and asked his mother if he could wear the same dress that was on the girl
mannequin, the stares of others and a quick scolding by the mother would soon follow. The
assumption that a girl is supposed to have long hair and a boy is supposed to have short hair is
how I determined the boy and girl mannequin. I also found three styles of pants that a little girl
could choose from in this store: Play-Date straight, Mini Skinny and Cute boot. As to why
parents would put small children in skinny jeans, I do not have a clue. However, the media has
successfully lent a hand in infiltrating this fashion statement into the closets of America’s
toddlers.