Globalization And Its Influence On Ghanaian Cultural Values: Empirical Study On Clothing

Abstract

The current Ghanaian clothing and dressing styles do not reflect the traditional Ghanaian cultural values. The dressing style of Ghanaian today had negative impacts on their moral lives leading to a high rise in moral decadence. Many Ghanaians have discarded the known Ghanaian traditional ways of dressing for the western way of dressing. The study aimed at exploring how globalization has affected Ghanaian culture values in terms of clothing. Descriptive survey design was adopted for the study. The target population for the study comprised Sandwich Postgraduates students at AAMUSTED-Kumasi Campus, and fashion designers around AAMUSTED-Kumasi Campus area. A sample size of two hundred and sixty five (265) were used. Convenience and purposive sampling techniques were used in selecting the 265 post graduate students and fashion designers respectively. Questionnaire and interview were used to gather information from the respondents. The result showed that the Kaba and Slit, Batakari/Fugu worn by women and men, Jokoto or the joker pants depicts clothing style reflecting cultural values and norms. The finding showed that suitability of clothing style for an occasion, decency/modesty of the clothing style, fashion trend, religious expectation, comfort and protection, and uniqueness of the clothing style are the major factors that influence the adoption of certain clothing style. It was evident that due to globalization, Ghanaian clothing style has become an adaptation of western fashion trends, breeds indecency, low patronage of Ghanaians clothing style, and Ghanaians nowadays dress like westerners. The study concluded that globalization and technological advancements have brought essential transformations into Ghanaian clothing style. The study recommended that government and non-governmental agencies should promote clothing style reflecting cultural values and norms in order to rid of all forms of dress styles that negatively affect the Ghanaian cultural values regarding clothing.