Bulletproof Fashion (Fashion Sociologies)

In the context of gun proliferation and persistent gun violence in the United States, a controversial security strategy has gained public attention: bulletproof fashion. This book examines concerns about security focusing on armored clothing and accessories for civilians.

Available for children and adults, such ballistic products include colorful backpacks, elegant suits, sports jackets, feminine dresses, trendy vests, and medical lab coats. These products are paradigmatic of a "fashion of fear"―the practice of outfitting the body with apparel aimed at maximizing personal security. This fashion encourages the emergence of both a fortress body and an armored society.

Sutton also explores the wider social factors influencing the bulletproof fashion phenomenon, including the inequalities associated with neoliberalism and the militarization of civilian life. The book sheds light on the role of emotions in relation to discourses and perceptions of security, and encourages feminist and sociological studies to pay attention to the linkages between security, bodies, and dress. It is ideal for students and scholars interested in security and gun violence, culture and politics, neoliberalism and consumption, and bodies and emotions.

Barbara Sutton is a Professor in the Department of Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies at the University at Albany, SUNY. She is interested in body politics, multiple forms of violence, and intersecting inequalities, among other sociological issues. Her book Bodies in Crisis: Culture, Violence, and Women’s Resistance in Neoliberal Argentina (2010) received the Gloria E. Anzaldúa Book Prize from the National Women’s Studies Association. She is also the author of Surviving State Terror: Women’s Testimonies of Repression and Resistance in Argentina (2018), which received Honorable Mentions for the Distinguished Book Award by the American Sociological Association Sex & Gender Section and for the Marysa Navarro Book Prize by the New England Council of Latin American Studies. She co-edited the book Security Disarmed: Critical Perspectives on Gender, Race, and Militarization with Sandra Morgen and Julie Novkov (2008) and Abortion and Democracy: Contentious Body Politics in Argentina, Chile, and Uruguay with Nayla Luz Vacarezza (2021).