Paper short abstract:

The paper discusses forms of ‘modern’ bodily behavior in urban Ethiopia of the 1960s, which clashed with cultural norms and progressive social movements. It demonstrates in how far disputes about athletic male bodies and short female dress are lenses to understand social transformation.

Paper long abstract:

From the late 1950s onwards, the Ethiopian urban centers experienced the emergence of 'modern' forms of bodily behavior, expressed though dress, shape and public display. They did not only clash with established cultural norms, but also came into conflict with progressive social movements, such as the Ethiopian student's movement. The paper discusses these tensions along two thematic lines.

The first focuses on ideas about acceptable bodies in relation to heavy athletics. Institutionalized 'modern' sports in post-war Ethiopia targeted at the formation of disciplined, effective and strong (male) bodies. However, these 'heavy athletic bodies' also instilled fear and generated rumors about criminal behavior and an immoral urban leisure culture. Furthermore, the mentally and spiritually healthy, strong 'gentlemen' - especially of the Ethiopian YMCA who voluntarily served the nation - might be seen as the counter-model to a politically informed vision of progress, which expressed itself through male student bodies wearing bell-bottoms and Afro hairstyles.

The second line of argument revolves around short female dresses, which emerged in Ethiopia the 1960s and provoked public disputes. Apart from general critical voices which linked the miniskirt - the icon of the 'modern' woman - to immoral behavior, it was especially the Ethiopian student's movement which increasingly used the short female dress as a trigger for controlling female behavior and, what is more, for questioning Imperial authority.

The conclusion links the two thematic lines by conceptual questions about how to use disputes about bodily acceptability as lenses for studying larger aspects of social transformation.