tag:theconversation.com,2011:/ca/topics/royal-wedding-53779/articlesRoyal wedding – The Conversation2020-09-04T12:21:25Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1443952020-09-04T12:21:25Z2020-09-04T12:21:25ZWhy do brides wear white?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/353955/original/file-20200820-24-hfea41.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Wedding gown bodice, circa 1836.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://fashion2fiber.osu.edu/items/show/5074">The Ohio State Historic Costume & Textiles Collection</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>“A wedding gown represents far more than just a dress. It is also the embodiment of a dream,” <a href="https://www.davidsbridal.ca/Content_Bridal_VeraWangCA">said Vera Wang</a>.</p>
<p>For most American brides, that dream is realized in a beautiful white wedding gown. It’s a seemingly timeless tradition that is often the center point of little girls’ wedding fantasies. In 2018, about 83% of brides wore white dresses on their big day, according to a <a href="https://www.brides.com/gallery/american-wedding-study">survey by Brides Magazine</a>. Such an overwhelming statistic begs the question: Why do we associate white with wedding gowns? And how long has this tradition existed? </p>
<p><a href="https://www.accessible-archives.com/collections/godeys-ladys-book/">Godey’s Magazine and Lady’s Book</a>, a leading 19th century women’s publication, addressed this in an article on the “<a href="https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=nyp.33433081675609&view=1up&seq=444&q1=white%20wedding">Etiquette of Trousseau</a>” in their August 1849 issue. “Custom, from time immemorial, has decided on white as [a wedding gown’s] proper hue, emblematic of the freshness and purity of girlhood,” they wrote. </p>
<p>While this implies a long history of bridal white, it is not true. At the time, white had only been a popular wedding dress fashion for about nine years – strictly among the <a href="https://fashionhistory.fitnyc.edu/1840-queen-victorias-wedding-dress/">well-to-do</a>. </p>
<p>So when and where did the white wedding dress originate? As a curator at <a href="https://costume.osu.edu/">The Ohio State University’s Historic Costumes and Textiles Collection</a>, I have often been asked this question, and <a href="https://costume.osu.edu/1998/01/10/wedding-traditions/#traditional">my research</a> included the search for an answer. </p>
<p>The practice likely traces back more than 2,000 years, with roots in the <a href="https://www.pbs.org/empires/romans/empire/weddings.html">Roman Republic (509 B.C. - 27 B.C.)</a> when brides wore a white tunic. The color white represented purity, symbolizing both a woman’s chastity and her transition to a married Roman matron. It was also associated with <a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.com/history/magazine/2018/11-12/vestal-virgins-of-ancient-rome/?ngsccourse">Vesta</a>, the virgin goddess of hearth, home and family who was served by temple priestesses garbed in distinctive white clothing.</p>
<p>After the fall of the Roman Empire, white marriage attire fell out of fashion. From the Middle Ages to the mid-19th century, most brides simply wore their <a href="https://fashionhistory.fitnyc.edu/1840-queen-victorias-wedding-dress/">best dress</a> or purchased a new gown that could be worn again. White was simply not a practical choice in a world without running water – or where laundry was hand-washed. </p>
<p>A royal wedding sparked the modern trend in white bridal wear. Queen Victoria chose to forgo the royal tradition of wearing coronation robes when she married Prince Albert on Feb. 10, 1840. Instead, she wore a fashionable white gown that was <a href="https://www.vam.ac.uk/blog/here-come-brides/queen-victoria-and-the-white-wedding-dress">featured in newspapers and magazines</a> around the world. </p>
<p>The style and color of her gown was copied across continents as women aspired to look like the young, attractive queen – much like the public emulates celebrities today. Wearing a white wedding dress became a sign of wealth and status rather than virginity. Only wealthy brides could wear a white silk gown, since they were wed in clean, elegant places that were removed from the muck and grime of life during the mid-19th century Industrial Age. </p>
<p>These gowns were actually cream or ivory, which was more flattering to the complexion. The brilliant white wedding dress would not become popular in Europe and North America until the 1930s, and would not truly become rooted in the public consciousness until World War II.</p>
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<span class="caption">This classic 1950s-era gown, worn in 1957 by a bride named Rita Jane Elliott, is a typical example of post-war style. It was bought at Madisons, a high-end women’s clothing store in Columbus, Ohio.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://fashion2fiber.osu.edu/items/show/4868">The Ohio State Historic Costume & Textiles Collection</a></span>
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<span class="caption">Close-up of Rita Jane Elliot’s white silk dress, which incorporated silk, taffeta, sequins and pearls.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://fashion2fiber.osu.edu/items/show/4868">Ohio State Historic Costume & Textiles Collection</a></span>
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<p>With U.S. wartime rations of fabric and a surge of weddings as American soldiers returned from the front, the war sparked changes in the design of wedding dresses. In 1943, while the war was still raging, the federal <a href="https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uc1.c2544911&view=1up&seq=197">Limitation Order 85</a> dictated that only one and three-quarters yards of fabric could be used to create a dress. </p>
<p>The <a href="https://etd.ohiolink.edu/!etd.send_file?accession=ucin1428065407&disposition=inline">American Association of Bridal Manufacturers lobbied</a>for an exemption, arguing that it was important to the overall morale of citizens. They asserted, after conducting a study of 2,000 brides that, “American boys are going off to war and what are they fighting for except the privilege of getting married in a traditional way? They’re fighting for our way of life, and this is part of our way of life.” </p>
<p>They were ultimately successful, and the limitation order exempted wedding gowns. But silk was difficult to find; the war with Japan had disrupted trade routes. Nylon was also in short supply, as it was being used in place of silk to manufacture parachutes. Most wedding gowns from those years were made from acetate – except for those worn in “parachute weddings.” Some soldiers, like B-29 pilot Major Claude Hensinger, kept the parachutes that saved their lives during the war and later <a href="https://www.si.edu/newsdesk/snapshot/parachute-wedding-dress">gave the material to their betrothed</a> to make a gown.</p>
<p>Although the first records of brides garbed in white reach far back into the annals of history, it only became standard fashion over last 80 years. With the arrival of ready-to-wear clothing, brides could order affordable, mass-produced gowns based on sample sizes that were then fitted for them: a custom-made gown at a ready-to-wear price. A large, traditional wedding with the bride outfitted in a princess-style white wedding gown became a symbol of the American dream. </p>
<p>From WWII through the end of the 20th century, <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/business-history-review/article/its-our-day-americas-love-affair-with-the-white-wedding-19452005-by-katherine-jellison-lawrence-university-press-of-kansas-2008-xi-297-pp-illustrations-bibliography-notes-index-cloth-2995-isbn-9780700615599/7CB6E2E87490B7A8F35C9C799238827A">the white gown symbolized</a> prosperity, virginity and a lifetime commitment to one person. For most people today, those meanings are gone. </p>
<p>White is now the overwhelming choice for most American brides, with 4 out of 5 choosing to walk down the aisle in a white gown, a sort of bridal uniform. It has become an iconic symbol of weddings, an expected part of the celebration, and despite knowing the relatively short history of the tradition of a white wedding, it was my choice as well. </p>
<p>[<em>Deep knowledge, daily.</em> <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/newsletters/the-daily-3?utm_source=TCUS&utm_medium=inline-link&utm_campaign=newsletter-text&utm_content=deepknowledge">Sign up for The Conversation’s newsletter</a>.]</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/144395/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Marlise Schoeny does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The tradition of a bride garbed in white weaves through two thousand years of history, influenced by the Romans – and Queen Victoria.Marlise Schoeny, Assistant Curator for the Ohio State Historic Costume & Textiles Collection, Adjunct Instructor for the Columbus College of Art and Design, The Ohio State UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1090682018-12-26T19:28:42Z2018-12-26T19:28:42ZHannah Gadsby, a royal wedding and a female doctor: in 2018, TV got a shake up<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/251429/original/file-20181219-27758-2i45ay.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Hannah Gadsby's Nanette received critical acclaim around the world. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">WENN</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>From ground-breaking to game-changing, rule-breaking to near parliament-breaking – 2018 has been a big year for TV makers and audiences. Here are some of the most memorable moments.</p>
<h2>Doctor Who is finally a woman</h2>
<p>What would the 1963 makers of the BBC’s Dr Who have made of television in 2018? They imagined aliens, other worlds and alternate realities, but it took 55 years to imagine a woman in the show’s title role.</p>
<p>Despite some hesitation from a select group of <a href="https://www.wired.com/story/tv-reboots-are-having-a-great-awokening-it-sucks/">die hards</a> , the 13th Doctor, Jodie Whittaker, took the TARDIS to <a href="https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/doctor-who-jodie-whittaker-receives-praise-as-first-female-star-1150054">great effect</a> this year. With a fantastic mix of innovation and respect for the show’s legacy, Whittaker and new showrunner Chris Chibnall have allowed Dr Who to explore known worlds from a new perspective. </p>
<p>Standout episodes included Rosa, in which The Doctor and her companions returned to civil rights era USA to meet Rosa Parks, and The Witchfinders, where The Doctor was caught up in the witch hunting season in Lancashire in the era of King James.</p>
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<h2>Hannah Gadsby shakes up stand up</h2>
<p>Comedy specials have been niche television events for decades, especially championed by US cable outlets like HBO and Comedy Channel. With Netflix now in the mix, the scope for comedy has expanded, and through this global “post-television” network, alternative voices like Hannah Gadsby have found their people. </p>
<p>In Nanette, Gadsby rails against self-deprecating jokes, announces she’s quitting comedy, takes on the canon of Art History and exposes her own traumatic sexual abuse. All done while being funny as.</p>
<p>Praised by the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/24/arts/hannah-gadsby-comedy-nanette.html">New York Times</a>, Rolling Stone, Vanity Fair, The Guardian and <a href="https://junkee.com/nanette-reviews/166225">many others</a>, Gadsby’s impact can be measured by the feathers she’s ruffled, too. Comedians like Jerry Seinfeld have had to <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/26/arts/television/jerry-seinfeld-interview.html">take note</a> of Gadsby’s ability to go beyond “have you ever wondered why” jokes, and her boldness has also earned her a reputation as a strong voice amid whatever comes after #MeToo. A game changer for comedy, for international on-demand television, and for those who hold power generally. </p>
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<h2>A Honey Badger breaks The Bachelor</h2>
<p>Reality television is, of course, never real, but it’s amazing how many real feelings these shows can evoke. Who knew that a quest for true love, staged in front of a national commercial TV audience, made up of a casting call of pretty young things with little in common might be doomed to fail? </p>
<p>This year’s Australian season of the American franchise The Bachelor added some extra spice with footballer Nick “The Honey Badger” Cummins, who dropped as many ocker sayings as possible while taking his shirt off. After all that, he broke the rules of the game by refusing to choose one of the show’s potential mates – leaving it a case of all sizzle, no steak; and making the show’s producers look like they couldn’t organise a piss up in a brewery. Cue outrage. Cue surprise. Cue discussions about the spin off series.</p>
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<h2>Parliament House – the soap opera</h2>
<p>Backstabbing! Affairs! Denials of knowledge about constitutional citizenship requirements! While politicians all over the world have made for extreme television watching this year, Canberra has been particularly spicy in 2018. </p>
<p>There was Barnaby Joyce airing his dirty laundry in the first half of the year for <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-05-29/australians-disgusted-barnaby-joyce-sold-his-story/9810418">a reported $150,000</a>. Meanwhile the dual citizenship saga, first sparked by Greens senator Scott Ludlam’s resignation in July 2017, <a href="https://www.sbs.com.au/news/dual-citizenship-the-constitutional-crisis-that-won-t-go-away-rolls-into-2018">continued</a>. It ate up public funds and airtime.</p>
<p>The show that keeps spinning sequels, “Leadership spill”, continued in August, with Scott Morrison snatching the top job from Malcolm Turnbull. A program that the Australian people are increasingly getting sick of - and it was a shame to see Julie Bishop <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2018/aug/26/julie-bishop-resigns-as-foreign-minister-after-failed-leadership-bid">leave the show</a>.</p>
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<h2>A royal wedding that’s actually interesting</h2>
<p>The marriage of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle was a guilty TV pleasure for many, but also an important historical moment. Television has been a fundamental part of how the British Royal Family is understood (and tolerated) since 1957 when The Queen made her <a href="https://www.royal.uk/christmas-broadcast-1957">first televised Christmas address</a>. The 2018 showstopper was not the bride’s dress or groom’s nod to his still beloved mother, but rather the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RdIZpos-ME4&list=PLn2RjxYNpcazW9TJEigBdWrBJHBandSZi&index=6">sermon by Bishop Michael Curry</a> and The Kingdom Choir’s version of Stand By Me.</p>
<p>Here the former oppressed and oppressors met and were brought together by what was an undeniably very sweet event. While there was some <a href="https://www.who.com.au/royal-family-facial-expressions-at-royal-wedding">apparent uncomfortableness</a> from certain members of the Royal Family, it was captivating viewing for those watching at home in tiaras and pyjamas.</p>
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<p>Honourable mentions include the resignation of SBS newsreader and style icon <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-07-26/lee-lin-chin-career-memorable-moments/10041026">Lee Lin Chin</a>; American actor Roseanne fired from her own sitcom in a show of <a href="https://theconversation.com/commercial-tvs-rare-leadership-on-roseanne-is-a-breath-of-fresh-air-97447">zero racism tolerance</a>; ABC sketch show <a href="https://tendaily.com.au/entertainment/tv/a180903wpv/high-profile-aussies-come-out-in-support-of-axed-abc-comedy-tonightly-20180903">Tonightly</a> coming, growing, then getting cut; (men’s) cricket being “ruined” by a ball tampering scandal and subsequent <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-03-29/steve-smith-apologises-for-ball-tampering-scandal/9603670">weepy press conferences</a>; and NBC/Netflix’s The Good Place continuing to show that network sitcoms can be clever, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2018/jan/30/the-good-place-how-a-sitcom-made-philosophy-seem-cool">philosophical</a>, and still wonderfully funny.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/109068/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Liz Giuffre does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>From ground-breaking to game-changing, rule-breaking to near parliament-breaking, 2018 was a hell of a year for TV.Liz Giuffre, Senior Lecturer in Communication, University of Technology SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1048572018-10-12T11:57:32Z2018-10-12T11:57:32ZPrincess Eugenie and the unexpected importance of second daughters of second sons<p>The reaction of most of the world’s press and the British public to the marriage of HRH Princess Eugenie of York, ninth in line to the British throne has been <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/princess-eugenie-2-million-taxpayers-money-prince-andrew-labour-mp-a8497221.html">at best lukewarm</a>. But this indifference is not really extraordinary –the second daughter of the second son of Elizabeth II has never featured prominently in international media. </p>
<p>Since her birth in 1990, Eugenie – who is <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-45827183">marrying drinks executive Jack Brooksbank</a> – has never formed part of the actively working monarchy in the same manner as her cousins, princes William and Harry. While she does support some public charities in keeping with the roles and duties of her family – most recently in the <a href="https://people.com/royals/princess-eugenie-travels-to-serbia-to-help-fight-human-trafficking-ahead-of-her-royal-wedding/">fight against human trafficking</a> – she is not on the Civil List, and has pursued <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-45827183">an independent career</a> in fine art sales, making use of a degree in the history of art from Newcastle University. </p>
<p>But it was not always so easy for a princess so far down the royal pecking order to stay out of the spotlight – and history has shown that sometimes unexpected heirs turn out to have important roles to play.</p>
<p>A recent trend in historical research has been to look beyond the dominant central characters of the history of monarchy and investigate peripheral members of royal dynasties – the princely satellites to royal suns, as I explored <a href="https://theconversation.com/prince-harry-and-the-history-of-the-heir-and-the-spare-96685">in a previous piece</a> for The Conversation. In extending this story one step further, to the second daughters of second sons, we can see that the history of monarchy in Europe was in fact a much wider affair, embracing not just kings and queens, but even those members of their families who were fairly remote from the expected succession to the throne.</p>
<h2>Anne the survivor</h2>
<p>Princess Anne of York, who was born in 1665, was expected to play a fairly peripheral role in the British monarchy. The daughter of James, Duke of York, and niece to Charles II – a second daughter of a second son – she was fodder, you may have thought, for a marriage to secure a diplomatic alliance for the Stuart monarchy. But Anne had a couple of things going for her: none of her brothers had survived infancy and it was clear by the time of her birth that her uncle Charles was not going to produce an heir. Most importantly, neither England or Scotland barred female succession to the throne.</p>
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<span class="caption">James II with his family.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Peter Lely/Benedetto Gennari via Wikimedia Commons</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
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<p>James’ first wife, <a href="http://www.englishmonarchs.co.uk/stuart_37.html">Anne Hyde</a>, died in 1671 and the Duke of York remarried the Italian princess <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Mary-of-Modena">Mary Beatrice of Modena</a> in 1673 – and hoped for a male heir. Daughter Anne was married off, therefore, in 1683, to <a href="http://www.unofficialroyalty.com/prince-george-of-denmark/">Prince George of Denmark</a>, the younger brother of King Christian V. Christian was a protestant – but also an ally of France’s catholic king, Louis XIV – and so a good counterbalance to Dutch power in the North Sea, which was represented dynastically by William of Orange. William had been married a few years before to Anne’s older sister, Princess Mary.</p>
<p>In 1685, Charles II died and his brother became James II of England (and James VII of Scotland). But he was only to reign for a few years before being chased off the throne by the “Glorious Revolution” of 1688. His daughter Mary was proclaimed queen alongside her husband William III. Anne became their heir. </p>
<p>So, when William died in 1702, Anne succeeded as queen – and reigned for 12 years. Finally emerging from the shadows, she surprised many by proving herself <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/anne.shtml">a capable ruler</a>, overseeing the transformation of England and Scotland into a united Great Britain. It was during her reign that the two-party system of government largely evolved.</p>
<h2>Changing roles</h2>
<p>As junior royal daughters go, Anne was atypical in her rise to the top – as many similarly situated younger daughters of younger sons faded into obscurity. But the nature of the British monarchy regarding female succession has meant that, while still limited, there were more opportunities for royal women than in neighbouring France or Germany where women were still banned from the throne. Queen Victoria was the <a href="http://www.englishmonarchs.co.uk/hanover_6.htm">daughter of a fourth son</a> and Queen Elizabeth II is the <a href="https://www.biography.com/people/queen-elizabeth-ii-9286165">daughter of a second son</a>, George VI, another duke of York, who succeeded to the throne after his brother’s <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/2701463.stm">abdication in 1936</a>.</p>
<p>The role of junior princesses marrying to aid royal diplomacy did of course continued: royal daughters and grand-daughters – even those fairly remote from the throne – were directed by Queen Victoria to solidify alliances through marriage, resulting in several members of her extended family being <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2552270/Royal-Cousins-War-tells-family-rift-saw-George-V-Tsar-Nicholas-against-German-cousin.html">on opposite sides in World War I</a>. </p>
<p>One of these, Princess Victoria Melita, another second daughter of a second son (Prince Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh), defied royal tradition and started off the 20th century with a shocking new idea, <a href="https://www.historyextra.com/period/victorian/in-profile-the-british-princess-who-scandalised-the-royal-family/">divorcing her first husband in 1901</a> and marrying for love the Grand Duke Cyril of Russia, against the family’s wishes. Another second daughter would attempt to do the same in the 1950s, as seen in the recent television documentary <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0bk8xcp">Princess Margaret: the Rebel Royal</a>. </p>
<p>In today’s world, Princess Eugenie’s choice of husband has caused no royal ripples, and it is extremely unlikely that – barring some kind of bizarre disaster that removed the eight people who are ahead of her in succession – she will ever rise to greater prominence in the history of monarchy of the United Kingdom. But history has shown, sometimes we can expect the unexpected.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/104857/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jonathan Spangler does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>At least one second daughter of a second son of the British monarch has ended up on the throne in her own right.Jonathan Spangler, Senior Lecturer in History, Manchester Metropolitan UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/970812018-05-24T04:17:30Z2018-05-24T04:17:30ZMeghan Markle and why being ‘mixed race’ matters in Australia<p>Journalist Stan Grant argued this week in <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-05-22/royal-wedding-meghan-markle-harry-windsor-race-racial/9786206">an article on the ABC</a> that that we should stop talking about Meghan Markle being “mixed race”. Grant made the argument, which is often employed to discredit racial identities, that race has no scientific basis and therefore should not be used to put people into categories. </p>
<p>The problem with Grant’s position is that it is possible to adopt a racial identity without using the <a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.com/magazine/2018/04/race-genetics-science-africa/">debunked scientific argument for race</a>. Grant himself admitted that race matters because people are still seen as belonging to particular races: the fact that African American people in the US still suffer a <a href="https://inequality.stanford.edu/publications/20-facts-about-us-inequality-everyone-should-know">number of inequalities</a> is evidence of this.</p>
<p>People are read as African American, Aboriginal, or Asian because of the social construct of race. That makes race real to us. It’s possible for me as an Okinawan (Japanese) Australian to talk about how society categorises me according to my race without saying that race is a scientific reality.</p>
<p>The term “mixed race” is, of course, problematic for many Aboriginal people. This is no doubt due in part to the horrifically racist colonial history of attempting to <a href="https://www.themonthly.com.au/monthly-essays-robert-manne-sorry-business-road-apology-823">“breed out”</a> Aboriginality and divorce Aboriginal people from their heritage. </p>
<p>Demeaning blood quantums were used to categorise Aboriginal people’s supposed mixedness. There is obviously good reason for them to be suspicious of terms like “mixed race”. However, where does that leave those with other histories that need a language to describe their mixed roots?</p>
<h2>Post-race? Not yet</h2>
<p>Mixed race people can find themselves living between cultures. For people like me, this can mean explicitly or inexplicitly feeling that we are not white enough or not Asian enough. Growing up here in 1996, hearing Senator Pauline Hanson say that Australia was in danger of being <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-09-14/pauline-hanson-maiden-speech-asian-immigration/7645578">swamped with Asians</a>, made me feel an outsider in my own country. Yet in Japan, I was always considered a foreigner.</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/220245/original/file-20180524-88002-14oewob.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/220245/original/file-20180524-88002-14oewob.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/220245/original/file-20180524-88002-14oewob.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=705&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/220245/original/file-20180524-88002-14oewob.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=705&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/220245/original/file-20180524-88002-14oewob.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=705&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/220245/original/file-20180524-88002-14oewob.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=886&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/220245/original/file-20180524-88002-14oewob.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=886&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/220245/original/file-20180524-88002-14oewob.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=886&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">In her first parliamentary speech in 1996, Pauline Hanson warned Australia was in danger of being ‘swamped by Asians’.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">PETER MATHEW</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>This created a confusing, and sometimes painful, dilemma. Where did I belong? Was I white or Asian? There were few positive examples in the public sphere to show me that I could be both.</p>
<p>Many mixed race people with white heritage experience a devaluing of their ethnic backgrounds. Social norms tell us that it’s better to be white than ethnic. For instance, when Western popular culture overwhelming depicts lead characters in film and TV as white and often portrays people of colour in <a href="https://library.ithaca.edu/sp/subjects/asianfilm">stereotypical ways</a>, we internalise a hierarchy of race. This can mean that mixed race people learn to pass as white and hide their ethnic culture or identity. In some places, such as Japan, mixed race people suffer <a href="http://hafufilm.com/en/">segregation, discrimination</a>, and racist <a href="http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2016-05/21/c_135376784.htm">hatred</a>.</p>
<p>A growing number of mix-raced people has led to <a href="https://aeon.co/essays/the-future-is-mixed-race-and-thats-a-good-thing-for-humanity">talk of a “post-racial” era</a>. This refers to the idea that one day everyone will become mixed - there will be no more race and therefore no more racism. Mixed race people are the poster people for this “raceless” future. But the consequence of this idea is that their experiences now are very rarely taken seriously. </p>
<p>What does it mean to be partly Asian and partly white in a country that, in various ways, reinforces the idea that white people belong and <a href="http://asaa.asn.au/becoming-asian-in-australia/">Asian people don’t</a>? This is not about an oppression Olympics either: I’m not saying that mixed race people suffer more difficulties than others. I simply think that it’s worth talking about what it’s like to be us.</p>
<p>This is especially important because I grew up never seeing my experience reflected in the public domain. I suppressed my ethnic feelings and caved into the pressure to assimilate to white Australian culture. It wasn’t until my early-20s (at university) that I was given the tools to unpack this internalised racism. This led me to reevaluate my ethnic identity and take pride in my background, despite the pressure to conform. </p>
<p>We need to make sure there is space for ethnic Australians to freely express their identities, in any number of ways. It’s also possible to have a mixed race identity that doesn’t fall into exclusive categories (for instance, white or black). Expressing these identities, and talking about them openly, is the only way we’ll understand how race as an idea affects all of us. </p>
<p>I want to hear other mixed race Australians talk about what it means to them to grow up here, and if Meghan Markle offers one way of having that conversation, bring it on!</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/97081/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Timothy Kazuo Steains does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Journalist Stan Grant has argued that we need to stop talking about Meghan Markle’s ‘mixed race’ identity. But our society still categorises people according to race - and we need to discuss this.Timothy Kazuo Steains, Lecturer in Gender and Cultural Studies, University of SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/950132018-05-17T10:29:56Z2018-05-17T10:29:56ZWhat Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s wedding can teach us about the economics of partying<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/219233/original/file-20180516-155607-4tyej0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/london-uk-may-11th-2018-union-1088382869?src=hQjCaYQSt9nHh1oDbCcnkg-1-15">Ink Drop / Shutterstock.com</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The cost Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s nuptials on May 19 2018 has been <a href="https://www.standard.co.uk/news/uk/revealed-secret-cost-of-the-little-things-at-prince-harry-and-meghan-markle-s-wedding-a3800271.html">estimated at £32m</a> by one wedding planning company. The cost to the public, however, will be far less than his brother William’s marriage to Catherine in 2011, largely because this brought with it a <a href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/royal-wedding/8154445/Royal-Wedding-four-bank-holidays-in-11-days.html">bank holiday</a>.</p>
<p>Still, £32m is a lot to spend on a party. It can be justified, however, if the benefits outweigh the costs. For this to happen with the latest royal wedding – or any mega event that’s being staged – the most important thing is that the money involved has a long-term positive impact. </p>
<p>Then there’s the social dimension to any party. Building better relationships with your family, friends, colleagues or neighbours is an important part of any event. So this shouldn’t be discounted. </p>
<p>One of the big arguments for events is “what goes around comes around”. This sums up what economists call the “multiplier effect”. Take a simple example. The same company that estimates the wedding will cost £32m accounts for <a href="https://www.standard.co.uk/news/uk/revealed-secret-cost-of-the-little-things-at-prince-harry-and-meghan-markle-s-wedding-a3800271.html">£26,000 being spent on sausage rolls</a>, which will be given to the 2,640 members of the public that are attending. This will boost the profits and pay packets of the sausage roll company that’s providing them. And this, in turn, will likely be poured back into the wider economy. Over a year, this £26,000 could add extra benefits totalling much more than the original outlay.</p>
<h2>Multiplication not diversion</h2>
<p>So the big spend on the royal wedding will create additional spending, just like the Olympics and any other mega event. It’s growing the economy, right?</p>
<p>Maybe. That depends on how the money and resources are being spent on the wedding and on the state of the wider economy.</p>
<p>If all the resources in the economy are already working at capacity, the extra £26,000 just contributes to inflation, as the buoyant demand grows prices, not output. In fact, output of other important things may be slowed as production switches to more sausage rolls rather than, say, medical treatment. </p>
<p>Take another example of costs: the policemen and security staff needed to cover the royal wedding. They have to be diverted from somewhere. So instead of there being a multiplier effect, we see more of a diversion of resources from one place to another. For spending to have a real multiplier effect it should be invested in something productive.</p>
<p>Let’s say the royals feel guilty about their excessive sausage roll expenditure plans and instead decide to keep the £26,000 in the bank. Following the multiplier idea, this could have a negative effect on the economy because of the revenue it would have produced for the sausage roll seller.</p>
<p>But let’s say the bank lent this money out to generate new investment in robots that were much more productive in making sausage rolls – the economy would gain in higher productivity as a result. This is known as the <a href="https://www.investopedia.com/terms/p/paradox-of-thrift.asp">paradox of thrift</a>. Saving is bad for the economy in the short run, but great for growing the economy in the long run. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/219239/original/file-20180516-155573-1wkklzz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/219239/original/file-20180516-155573-1wkklzz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=385&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/219239/original/file-20180516-155573-1wkklzz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=385&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/219239/original/file-20180516-155573-1wkklzz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=385&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/219239/original/file-20180516-155573-1wkklzz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=484&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/219239/original/file-20180516-155573-1wkklzz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=484&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/219239/original/file-20180516-155573-1wkklzz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=484&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A sausage roll worth waiting for.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/homemade-sausage-rolls-179911007?src=BjsIDFo5z2DdYwJWhsEGlw-1-25">shutterstock.com</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The lesson here is that we all get sausage rolls much more cheaply, but we have to wait and suffer a little bit first. Saving becomes investment, which becomes productivity increases, which becomes economic growth, which becomes economic well-being. So party economics says, save up now and have a better party later.</p>
<p>The UK benefited greatly from the 2012 London Olympics because the substantial infrastructure was not only created for the games, but brought <a href="https://www.standard.co.uk/news/london/east-london-still-racing-ahead-as-olympic-boom-creates-110000-jobs-a3653881.html">significant investment and long-term employment</a> to an otherwise disused part of the city. </p>
<p>Good party economics balances the amount consumed and the amount invested. If you under-invest then roads get pot holes, cars break down, deliveries fail, hospitals don’t get built and productivity declines. Saving, investing, creating new markets, creating new infrastructure, education, health and developing new skills is the message here. </p>
<p>Markle’s dress is expected to set <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/royalwedding/meghan-markle-wedding-dress-royal-wedding-designer-bridal-fashion-a8355116.html">future fashion trends</a> and the evidence suggests Prince William’s wedding brought a <a href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/9071757/Royal-wedding-leads-to-tourism-boom.html">tourism bump</a>. So opening new markets might be the answer here – copycat wedding dresses and various wedding-branded collectables will bring some returns. </p>
<p>Who knows, the great British sausage roll might become the new global foody item of 2018. But one thing is certain, only by creating and not diverting can parties be economical.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/95013/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jonathan Seaton does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Is £26,000 on sausage rolls money well spent?Jonathan Seaton, Reader in Business Economics, Loughborough UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/967082018-05-16T20:16:03Z2018-05-16T20:16:03ZFrom Victoria to Diana to Meghan, royal weddings have shaped bridal fashions<p>We might not know who designed Meghan Markle’s wedding gown until she walks up the aisle at St George’s Chapel on Saturday to marry Prince Harry, but we can be assured that her dress will inspire bridal trends for years to come. And if history is a guide, Markle, like the Duchess of Cambridge, Kate Middleton, will have scrutinised dresses worn by past royals before making her important decision.</p>
<p>Some have suggested <a href="https://www.express.co.uk/news/royal/948088/royal-wedding-2018-meghan-markle-wear-white-dress">Markle may not wear white </a> because she is divorced (she was married to producer and actor Trevor Engelson until 2013). Yet the age-old tradition of wearing white to the altar has not always been wedding etiquette. Until the mid 19th century, white - being the colour of mourning for French royalty - was rarely seen. Black was a favourite for Scandinavian brides. </p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/219122/original/file-20180516-104267-5ho1r6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/219122/original/file-20180516-104267-5ho1r6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/219122/original/file-20180516-104267-5ho1r6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=779&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/219122/original/file-20180516-104267-5ho1r6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=779&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/219122/original/file-20180516-104267-5ho1r6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=779&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/219122/original/file-20180516-104267-5ho1r6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=979&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/219122/original/file-20180516-104267-5ho1r6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=979&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/219122/original/file-20180516-104267-5ho1r6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=979&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Queen Victoria started a trend when she wore white to her wedding with Prince Albert.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Wedding_of_Queen_Victoria_and_Prince_Albert.jpg">Wikimedia</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>An important precedent was set when white was chosen by Queen Victoria for her marriage to Prince Albert in 1840. The Queen selected this pure colour as a sign of frugality, not wishing to appear ostentatious in front of her British subjects. She did, however, forbid anyone else from wearing white to her wedding and had the pattern for her dress destroyed so it couldn’t be copied.</p>
<p>Queen Victoria’s choice of an orange blossom wreath and tulle veil rather than a more traditional bonnet instigated a fashionable following that continues to this day.</p>
<p>Royal weddings have provided some of our most memorable bridal moments. The Queen Mother married King George VI in 1923 in a simple wedding dress very much in keeping with an era in which Chanel made unstructured styles de rigueur. Many weddings of the 1930s were second marriages due to the carnage of the first world war and this resulted in a major shift in traditional wedding attire. </p>
<figure class="align-left zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/219124/original/file-20180516-104267-mx2e2r.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/219124/original/file-20180516-104267-mx2e2r.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/219124/original/file-20180516-104267-mx2e2r.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=828&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/219124/original/file-20180516-104267-mx2e2r.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=828&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/219124/original/file-20180516-104267-mx2e2r.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=828&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/219124/original/file-20180516-104267-mx2e2r.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1040&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/219124/original/file-20180516-104267-mx2e2r.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1040&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/219124/original/file-20180516-104267-mx2e2r.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1040&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The wedding of the Queen Mother, Elizabeth, and King George in 1923.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wedding_of_Prince_Albert,_Duke_of_York,_and_Lady_Elizabeth_Bowes-Lyon#/media/File:Wedding_of_George_VI_and_Elizabeth_Bowes-Lyon.png">Wikimedia</a></span>
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<p>Most notable was the famed wedding of the Duke of Windsor to twice-divorced, American Wallis Simpson. In keeping with the austere times, Wallis wore a simple pale blue dress designed by Mainbocher who was responsible for much of her everyday wardrobe. It became one of the most copied dresses of the times.</p>
<p>Due to austerity measures following the war, fabric for wedding dresses was scarce during the 1940s. Ingenious solutions were sought, with parachute fabric or the heavier silk used to contain the supplies dropped from military aircraft reused to created bridal gowns. </p>
<h2>Ration coupons for a queen</h2>
<p>Even the then-Princess Elizabeth had to use clothing ration coupons to pay for the heavy duchesse satin of her 1946 wedding dress. The British government allowed her an extra 200 coupons since her gown was viewed as a national investment, being a product of its time. The train was symbolic of rebirth, hope and growth in the period following the world war.</p>
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<p>Kate Middleton’s 2011 wedding gown, designed by Sarah Burton, creative director of Alexander McQueen, was a 1950s-style dress made with satin gazar, lace and organza, nipped in at the waist with a full skirt designed to resemble an opening flower. </p>
<p>It was inspired by the iconic dress Grace Kelly wore for her 1956 marriage to Prince Rainer III of Monaco. Created by Helen Rose, a costume designer in the wardrobe department of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, this gown was made with taffeta and embellished with 125-year-old lace. It had three petticoats: a smoothing one, a ruffled one and a foundation petticoat.</p>
<p>Kelly’s became the most admired wedding dress of the decade and, like the Duchess of Cambridge’s traditional dress, had an instant impact on style history, inspiring thousands of copies worldwide.</p>
<p>But let’s not forget <a href="https://honey.nine.com.au/2017/09/22/11/41/kate-middleton-second-wedding-dress">Kate’s other wedding dress</a>: a second McQueen strapless evening dress <a href="https://www.popsugar.com.au/celebrity/Kate-Middleton-Pictures-Second-Sarah-Burton-McQueen-Gown-Royal-Wedding-16131254">worn later that day</a>. Although she may not have invented the two-dress concept, it has become very popular since.</p>
<p>Royal wedding dresses have both reflected and set the trends of the day. Princess Diana’s voluminous ivory wedding gown worn in 1981 was in true 1980s “Dynasty” style. The Emanuel design was totally excessive with layer upon layer of silk taffeta and encrusted with over 10,000 pearls. </p>
<p>Even with its dramatic 7.62 metre train, the dress was emulated the world over and the puffy-sleeve trend was born. Although it was not to everyone’s taste, we are still talking about it.</p>
<p>The dress of the royal bride speaks to its time. While the bridal gown is a garment unrivalled in its emotional appeal, the royal wedding dress often carries deep messages that are important to the era it was created. Markle’s will no doubt be photographed, scrutinised and copied by future brides who dream of fairytale romances - the stuff of Hollywood and her former world.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/96708/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Robyn Gibson does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>When Queen Victoria donned white for her wedding in 1840 she started a trend that continues today. Other royal weddings have proved to be just as influential.Robyn Gibson, Associate Professor, Visual & Creative Arts Education, University of SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.