Redress through Dress

The Nocebo effect, as panellist Timothy Maurice rightfully pointed out, is when a negative expectation of a phenomenon or experience causes it to have a more negative effect than it otherwise should. Sometimes if we expect to be judged in the clothes that we wear, we will feel judged, even if no one is judging us. This is a constant reality for domestic workers, where a constant feeling of shame and judgement slowly eats at a healthy perception of themselves and how they perform. It is not all in their heads though; we do also judge. The Ma(i)de ReDRESS event, in collaboration with Yvonne Chaka Chaka and the University of Johannesburg, prompted a discussion around the frightfully and excitingly powerful capacity for clothing to advance human thinking and behaviour. This is a conversation worth joining.