A life-sized model of a human body, usually made of plastic or wood, used to display clothes in stores.
From Dutch 'manneken,' meaning 'little man,' which is the diminutive form of 'man.' The word came to English through the fashion industry, which has always borrowed terms from European centers of clothing manufacturing.
The famous Manneken Pis statue in Brussels (a fountain of a little boy) is where the Dutch word 'manneken' comes from, and clothing mannequins are basically the adult version of this 'little man' concept!
Derived from Dutch 'manneken' (little man), yet mannequins predominantly display women's bodies and fashions. The term erases the gendered commodification of female bodies in retail and fashion industries.
Use 'display model,' 'form,' or specify 'dress form' or 'figure' to avoid implicit gendered associations.
["display model","form","figure","dress form"]
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