Tactical is the new black: Examining gun owner fashion as political expression
Middlewood, Alexandra T. Schwartz, Noah S. Wasinger, Anne
Middlewood, Alexandra T.
Schwartz, Noah S.
Wasinger, Anne
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Location
Time Period
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Original Date
Digitization Date
Issue Date
2024-10-16
Type
Book chapter
Genre
Keywords
Content analysis,Gun culture,Gun ownership,Tactical clothing
Subjects (LCSH)
Citation
Middlewood, A.T., Schwartz, N.S., Wasinger, A. (2024). Tactical Is the New Black: Examining Gun Owner Fashion as Political Expression. In: Kedrowski, K.M., Ortbals, C.D., Poloni-Staudinger, L., Strachan, J.C. (eds) The Palgrave Handbook of Fashion and Politics. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-57073-5_22
Abstract
Over the past several decades gun owners have emerged as a formidable political force in both their participation and attitudes. This chapter examines gun owners' expression of political values through tactical clothing choices. We hypothesize that the rise of the tactical aesthetic is attributed to an evolving gun culture. As the focus of gun culture has shifted to self-defense, tactical clothing has been increasingly popularized as a form of political expression. For example, references to democratic ideals consistently appear in firearms-related clothing and tactical wear are increasingly present at pro-gun political protests. Additionally, Gun Culture 2.0 has less male, less rural, less hunting, and less childhood entry characteristics than the previous iteration (Yamane 2015 https://gunculture2point0.wordpress.com/2015/10/27/evidence-for-gun-culture-2-0/). As such, we pay particular attention to the tactical fashion choices made by women and gun owners of color. This chapter explores these themes using content analysis of advertisements in five major publications popular with gun enthusiasts-American Rifleman, Field & Stream, Gun Digest, Guns & Ammo, and Recoil. We begin in 1994, the year the Federal Assault Weapons Ban was passed by Congress, and peripherally examine whether the law had an effect on advertisements of tactical wear. © The Author(s). All rights reserved.
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Publisher
Springer Nature
Journal
The Palgrave Handbook of Fashion and Politics