talk

Women, Shopping and Public Places

It's x amount of days till Christmas...x amount of days of men lurking outside Topshop at Stephen's Green with twelve stuffed bags at their feet, x amount of days of intercom announcements in toystores 'Would the mother of Anna Murphy please come to the customer service desk...' But we still brave the battle of the prams, queues in Penneys and condescension from Brown Thomas shopgirls, and we don't even do it out of necessity - we do it for fun. Why?! Why, Lord, why?! Let Colette Fahy give you a bit of insight into the evolution of woman's obsession with the shop, and man's disdain therewith (unless the outlet stocks Black and Decker.) The relationship isn't just a girly aesthetic folly: the shop has been integral to feminine emancipation. Don't believe me? Find out for yourself at Dublin Contemporary! / Kate Frances Coleman