Culture

The Cultural Meaning of Bralessness to Consumers: Feminism, Freedom, and Challenge

Authors: Yeong-Hyeon Choi (Hanyang University) , Seong Eun Kim (University of Missouri) , Kyu-Hye Lee (Hanyang University)

Abstract

This study aims to compare and analyze the perceptions of Korean and American consumers on bralessness and to confirm whether cultural influences interest toward bralessness. In the perception of American consumers, there were many positive words, among Korean consumers, more negative words were found. Feminism, freedom, and challenge were assumed to reflect the social meaning of bralessness. As a result of analyzing the relationship between each keyword, it was understood that the interest of US consumers in bralessness and feminism was higher than that of Korean consumers. Also, it was confirmed that interest in freedom and challenge leads to interest in bralessness. In the case of Korean consumers, as the interest in feminism increased, the interest in bralessness also increased, but no significant influence was found in the relationship between the interest in freedom and challenge. Therefore, Korean consumers still have a remarkable tendency to view bralessness as a negative deviation.

Keywords: bralessness, feminism, freedom, challenge

How to Cite: Choi, Y. , Kim, S. & Lee, K. (2022) “The Cultural Meaning of Bralessness to Consumers: Feminism, Freedom, and Challenge”, International Textile and Apparel Association Annual Conference Proceedings. 78(1). doi: https://doi.org/10.31274/itaa.13373