Sexism and ‘sexiness’ in Victoria's Secret and Agent Provocateur:: a case study research of the lingerie industry amid burgeoning societal emphasis on equality, diversity and inclusiveness

Tan, Karen and Ahmed Sid, Fatima Zahra (2024) Sexism and ‘sexiness’ in Victoria's Secret and Agent Provocateur:: a case study research of the lingerie industry amid burgeoning societal emphasis on equality, diversity and inclusiveness. 10th Annual Research Methodology Conference: RMC, London Institute of Social Studies, London, United Kingdom. 28 Sep 2024.

Record type: Conference or Workshop Item (Other)

Abstract

Much has been written about the use and application of case study research including its differences among various foundational researchers of case study research (Yin, Merriam and Stake readily come to mind). However, what seems current and important is the urgent need to re-position and re-align its use in light of new and warranted developments such as the realisation that exclusion of minority and marginalised groups must be avoided, and a return with a clearer focus on equality and diversity in all walks of life. As such, we hope to incorporate these elements in an area within an industry that has been much debated, maligned, and even vilified: that of the lingerie industry or more explicitly ‘night and underwear’ garments as promoted by Victoria Secrets, Agent Provocateur, Savage X Fenty, among others.
Addressing this issue and taking a critical feminist position, we propose the interrogation and scrutiny of the highly visible, highly valuable lingerie industry (valued at USD 22 billion in 2022 for the US market alone) by advocating the use of what we have termed: a multi-faceted case study research. In this proposal, as the name suggests, what constitutes a boundary or boundedness for case study research will be expanded and re-delineated. Within this research of interrogation of the lingerie industry, notions such as authenticity and what is deemed ‘experiential’ of key parties are given equal importance. Despite limitations in capturing the complex experiences of marginalized communities, such factors must and will be taken into account.
More specifically, this type of research takes into consideration established frameworks and benchmarks such as Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), Stakeholder Theory, and the Authenticity Framework. This multi-faceted critical and reflexive approach combines both primary sources and secondary data analysis. Participatory methodology insights such as how consumers perceive and respond to these brand narratives and examining secondary data sources (company reports, advertising campaigns, social media posts, etc.) to understand the strategies employed by lingerie brands – all these collectively can shed light on concepts of inclusion and authentic behaviour or their lack-of.
Accordingly, this also includes a systematic analysis of discursive and material practices: how brands construct and negotiate their authenticity via the lens of critical fashion studies and feminist theories of embodiment so as to better situate the analysis and evaluation within the broader cultural and political context of the lingerie industry. Only then will counter-narratives, resistances or agency, and experiential knowledge and perspectives or what was previously unknown, unlooked-for, and dismissed can become more apparent and emerge from marginalized communities in the research process.
This paper thus proposes a novel framework that is attentive to the specific challenges and opportunities of a particular industry i.e. the lingerie industry, and is able to offer an invaluable space for researchers to debate, discuss and interrogate controversial issues while offering an explanation (another facet) for the centrality of its consumption given lingerie’s prevalence and visibility in contemporary culture amid associations of sexism and ‘sexiness’ alongside a greater emphasis of inclusiveness and diversity in society.

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