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    Fashion writers should beware of unconscious gender biases

    By AMANDA POPE Staff reporter April 3, 2018 Journalists who write about fashion must constantly test themselves for unconscious biases that shape their coverage, the senior curator of the Bata Shoe Museum recently told more than 100 Ryerson University fashion and journalism students. Elizabeth Semmelhack, who is also an adjunct professor at the Ryerson School of Fashion, said the traditional gendered approach to fashion writing tends to implicitly view fashion as a frivolous and feminine preoccupation. In fact, fashion has throughout history been a major economic driver, she said, noting that demand for clothing underpinned the early textile industry. “Fashion is gendered. We…