Why Do We Wear Skirts?
The skirt associated with liberation and oppression. The author Jung Chang explains to Mike Williams how the skirt was a dangerous thing to wear during the cultural revolution.
It’s a simple item of dress but one that says much about the societies in which we live. Mike Williams looks at this most basic form of dress the skirt. A rectangle cloth which throughout centuries has been associated with great meaning including women’s liberation and their oppression, politics & gender.
The programme includes an interview with Jung Chang, author of the bestselling “Wild Swans”, who describes how the skirt was a dangerous thing to wear during the cultural revolution.
Produced by Smita Patel
(Photo: Woman wears a polkadot skirt on a green background. Credit: Shutterstock). Credit: Shutterstock)
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China and the Skirt
Duration: 03:00
Broadcasts
- Fri 11 Dec 2015 21:32GMTBBC World Service South Asia
- Mon 14 Dec 2015 02:32GMTBBC World Service Americas and the Caribbean
- Mon 14 Dec 2015 03:32GMTBBC World Service UK DAB/Freeview, East Asia, Online & Europe and the Middle East only
- Mon 14 Dec 2015 04:32GMTBBC World Service South Asia
- Mon 14 Dec 2015 05:32GMTBBC World Service Australasia
- Mon 14 Dec 2015 07:32GMTBBC World Service Europe and the Middle East & East and Southern Africa only
- Mon 14 Dec 2015 13:32GMTBBC World Service UK DAB/Freeview & Online only
- Mon 14 Dec 2015 14:32GMTBBC World Service East and Southern Africa, Europe and the Middle East, West and Central Africa, South Asia & East Asia only
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The Why Factor
The extraordinary and hidden histories behind everyday objects and actions
