Commodification of female body at fashion shows

This thesis, the topic of which is "Commodification of Female Body at Tv Fashion Programmes", is about how and in what way historically patriarchal capitalist system has commodified the female body as a means of consumer culture and depends on fashion. Woman, who is positioned in the center of the consumer culture of the capitalist ideology, is advised consistently to buy and use the commodities to reach the ideal body. Body, which is served for exchange value and disciplined comply with fashion by means of clothing, plastic surgery, make-up, tatoo, piercing, diet and exercise, presents women's identity, sexuality and social standing. This study proves how gender shapes in androcentric world, contributes to political economy feminist point of view. Moreover, lack of the study, which explains Marxist commodification concept, and grasp the style of patriarchal capitalist structure using the feminist discourse analysis technical aspect at fashion axis will contribute feminist point of view. This study consists of totaly six sections. First section dwells on how the position of women changed, deteriorated and subordinated in the context of gender in the patriarchal capitalist system. In this contex, feminist political economy deals the naturalized deteriorated position of women in the patriarchal capitalist system explaines the meaning of feminism and root of feminist ideas. The most important reason of the explaination of the feminist ideas is to approach differently to the second position of women. Second section emphasises, how consumer culture and consumer society are created for the reproduction and maintain patriarchal capitalist system, and how eternal restart of fashion commodifies female body in this society. Because consumption performs the function of ideology of capitalist system and propagates it via media. Consumption moves away from the meaning of waste, consume and squander, instead it loads its consumer values like statue, hedonizm, respect and identity. In consumer society, consumption is not only the use value of commodity, its signs that carry the use value and Exchange value on the same commodity. These commodity-signs in the contex of fashion finding the meaning consumes on the female body is evaluated in the third section. In this section every part of the female body is handled as a commodity and evaluated from the point of fashion. In the fourth section, second position of woman is tackled in the contex of gender and discussed feminist movements in the process starting from the Ottaman Empire to the present day. Also visibility of woman in the society is evaluated in the contex of history providing the limited rights given by the patriarchy system. In the fifth section, feminist critical discourse analysis which is the sub-specialization of the critical discourse analysis is used as methodology which gives the best results from the point of work and tackes issues like woman, femininity, masculinity, fashion, discourse, capitalist system, patriarchy and gender. For this reason in the sixth section, broadcasting during the research fashion programs, which connects the woman and fashion, is evaluated from the perspective of feminist critical discourse analysis. In the sixth chapter, "Bana Her Şey Yakışır", "Moda Takibi" and "Tülin Şahin'leModa", TV fashion programs broadcasted during the research, have been analyzed according to the hypothesis (fashion programs commodify female body and lead women to consumption) taking themes under the subtitles using feminist critical discourse analysis as a branch of critical discourse analysis, which prominences subjects such as discourse, consumption, commodity, patriarchal ideology, gender, ideology and these subjects run on media text. In the section which findings are evaluated, sub-titles and themes that gives the best results of fashion programs commodify female body and lead women to consumption for the work is arranged as; discourses and comments of social actors (fashion, and woman, wedding, marriage and maternity), discourses and comments of woman competitors about their body and garment (ideal body and garment, class, accessory, defective body, fashion and adaptation, diet fashion, inadaptability, role model, statue), discourses and comments about woman body and garment (combination, object of desire, hedonizm, commodity-sign), discourses and comments of women who takes place in the programes about themself, their garment and their body (plastic surgery fashion, belvedere object, make-up fashion, youth and beauty, spor fashion), discourses and comments of competitors for other competitors about their body and garment (rivalry and reward, beauty myth, shopping and consuption). Lastly result of the work is evaluated. This study consists of totaly seven sections. First section dwells on how the position of women changed, deteriorated and subordinated in the context of gender in the patriarchal capitalist system. In this contex, feminist political economy deals the naturalized deteriorated position of women in the patriarchal capitalist system explaines the meaning of feminism and root of feminist ideas. Second section emphasises, how consumer culture and consumer society are created for the reproduction and maintain patriarchal capitalist system, and how eternal restart of fashion commodifies female body in this society. Third section examines gender and fashion in Turkey in the contex of historical development. Fourth section discussed the commodification of female body through fashion. Fifth section explained methodology of the research, which is the feminist critical discourse analysis, is the sub-specialization of the critical discourse analysis. In the sixth chapter, "Bana Her Şey Yakışır", "Moda Takibi" and "Tülin Şahin'leModa", TV fashion programs broadcasted during the research, have been analyzed according to the hypothesis (fashion programs commodify female body and lead women to consumption) under the subtitles using feminist critical discourse analysis as a branch of critical discourse analysis, which prominences subjects such as discourse, consumption, commodity, patriarchal ideology, gender, ideology and these subjects run on media text. The following section includes findings and results. Lastly, in the last section of the work conclusion have been evaluated.