Tropical whites : Hegemonic masculinity and menswear at the crossroads of Australia and Asia, 1900–1939
Journal article
Bellanta, Melissa and Cramer, Lorinda. (2022). Tropical whites : Hegemonic masculinity and menswear at the crossroads of Australia and Asia, 1900–1939. Gender and History. pp. 1-25. https://doi.org/10.1111/1468-0424.12640
Authors | Bellanta, Melissa and Cramer, Lorinda |
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Abstract | This article explores the social and gender history of ‘tropical whites’ – all-white men's suits worn with pith helmets in tropical societies colonised by European powers – between c.1900 and 1939. Focusing on two northern Australian ports with multiple connections to Asia, the article shows that tropical whites helped to sustain inequities of race, gender and class in the colonial tropics. The fashion did this by helping to produce hegemonic masculinity in the region. Tropical whites served this function by symbolising racial whiteness and imperial mastery, but also because of their material dimensions: who made and maintained them, and the bodily influence they exerted on their wearers. Underlining the embodied dimensions of hegemonic masculinity, the article explores the multidimensional relationship between menswear and power in the Australian tropics; at the same time showing that racially subordinated men transformed aspects of the fashion for their own ends. |
Year | 2022 |
Journal | Gender and History |
Journal citation | pp. 1-25 |
Publisher | John Wiley & Sons Ltd |
ISSN | 1468-0424 |
Digital Object Identifier (DOI) | https://doi.org/10.1111/1468-0424.12640 |
Scopus EID | 2-s2.0-85136648413 |
Open access | Published as ‘gold’ (paid) open access |
Page range | 1-25 |
Funder | Australian Research Council (ARC) |
Publisher's version | License File Access Level Open |
Output status | In press |
Publication dates | |
Online | 27 Aug 2022 |
Publication process dates | |
Accepted | 07 Jul 2022 |
Deposited | 04 Jul 2023 |
ARC Funded Research | This output has been funded, wholly or partially, under the Australian Research Council Act 2001 |
Grant ID | DP190103341 |
https://acuresearchbank.acu.edu.au/item/8z35v/tropical-whites-hegemonic-masculinity-and-menswear-at-the-crossroads-of-australia-and-asia-1900-1939
Download files
Publisher's version
OA_Bellanta_2022_Tropical_whites_Hegemonic_masculinity_and_menswear.pdf | |
License: CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 | |
File access level: Open |
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