Whole Class Lesson 

In this lesson, students use themes from the Autry’s Dress Codes exhibit to analyze how women throughout U.S. history used pants as a form of protest, either against an explicit legal code or implicit social norm. Students examine brief biographies of women who used pants as a form of protest, identify what they were protesting and evaluate the response to the clothing protest. Students then choose an issue in their community they want to change or address and design a piece of clothing as a sign of protest for that issue, or as a way to highlight that issue.

---

Standards 

CA HSS 11.5.4
CA HSS 11.8.8
CA HSS 11.10.7
CA HSS 11.11.3

---

Lesson Resources

Lesson: Clothing for a Cause: Women in Pants
Spanish Version - coming soon

Fillable Student Response Sheet

Teachers Guide

 

---

Teaching Tips for Different Learning Environments

Self-Paced Lesson: Complete the lesson as is without group discussion.

Tech Fun: Post biographies on Padlet and have students comment and answer questions from the lesson on the document.

---

Associated Resources

• Lesson: Art and Activism: Betye Saar
• Lesson: Women’s Suffrage in the West
• Lesson: Crafting for a Cause
• Videos: Women of Color Suffragists
• Videos: The Story of Mabel McKay
• Digital Tours: Women of the West Galleries Tour
• Digital Story: Manuela Garcia: A Woman of Many Talents
• Primary Source Collection: Women in the West