Analysis of Fashion as Nonverbal Protest Rhetoric in 1960s Movements

This research identifies the role of Ego-function within Black Power, Women's Liberation, and the Youth International Party of 1960s America. There is a hyper focus on how fashion and style were used by members of each group as a platform for protesting that served a greater purpose of establishing shared identity and ego. Fashion is a uniquely important nonverbal tool because of the visible immediacy and connection to larger societal standards. Symbols of each movement were manifested into their fashion choices as a way to further distance themselves from their oppressors. By studying these past movement's rhetorical tactics, we can identify the way members of different social and financial classes develop combined ego in the name of reform.