You wore what?

There have been topics similar to this before.

Why do we choose to wear what we wear? Or do what we do? A lot of times we choose/pick a particular outfit because of how we feel about that particular outfit. Going on a business meeting, I will dress in something nice, I have always believed that we should dress for the job we want and not the job we have. Going out on a date; again, dressing appropriately and trying to “make an impression.”

The new rap star is wearing a particular outfit that I think makes him look “hard”. Awesome, let me get that because I would like to look hard!

No matter what, we tend to dress a particular way because of the message or what we feel it says about us. And we tend to feel pretty awesome about it in the process.

And this is where we take a turn… :dry:

So why do we tend to have negative emotions when someone makes an assumption based on how we are dressed?
I did say assumption, not judge. :S

My thought is that if I’m wearing a uniform then it is probably a pretty safe assumption that I am whatever that uniform suggests. Not necessarily, but probably a pretty safe assumption. If I was dressed like a skater, or what I remember skaters to wear from my youth, and someone assumed I was a skater I would have no issue with that. :whistle:

Okay, how about this… Tattoos. People tend to get tattoos because of what they feel that tattoo says about them. That’s one reason I got mine and I’m okay with that. What do they say about me? I’ve never actually thought about that.

But, I do know that a lot of people view those with tattoos as having a criminal record. The first time I heard this I thought it was absurd! And then I thought about every single person I knew with a tattoo. Yup, we all had some kind of criminal record. Yes, even I have had a speeding ticket in my life. And guess what; that is all it takes to have a criminal record. So why did I find the idea that all people that had tattoos have a criminal record absurd? I guess because I thought that having a criminal record was a “bad” thing. Or, that it somehow related to the idea that I was a criminal. And I guess that in a way I am even though I would never think of myself that way. (on a side note, the only person I know that does not have any kind of criminal record is my mom... and you guessed it, no tattoos. Not that that proves anything )

So what are the messages we are sending the world?

What do they say about us?

What do we think they say about us?

And, will be offended by what others think?

Is making a quick judgment call based entirely off immediate reaction to what someone is wearing, how they’re dresses, and how it makes you feel a good thing? Is it bad? Could it protect you? Could it hinder you? :blink:

These are all things we should think about as we go through life in my opinion.

Personally, if I were dressed like a “weirdo” and you were hesitant to approach me I might be curious as to why. But I would hope you gave me a chance to find out who and how I really am. But I appreciate the level of self-preservation that you have developed and hope you would carry it with you in your everyday life as well.

So what I have been wondering is, is it wrong to make assumptions?

Or, is there some kind of balance to be had when doing it?

In recent decades much has changed. I remember that when I was born the songs were recorded on LPs (as we call it here) or vinyl record and computers for example used floppy disks. In less than twenty years things have changed faster than in the last hundred years. The clothing, as well as the smells, tasty and mementos are symbols we hold when we see the recall sensations linked to them. The dress says a lot about the person, but not all, we must not forget, the greatest thieves and murderers wear suits and ties and kill more with a pen than with a fusil. Tattoos are also thus a mirror than we have within us, but many link the crime. All this because things change and society simply can not keep up, but time passes and people learn.
Thug Life Man - just kidding :laugh:

This is a very good topic. It is one that I consider on a regular basis as I attempt to determine the level of which I make assumptions about people and how I go about doing it.

First of all, it is impossible not to make assumptions about a person. We are people, we need to categorize things, even if it is subconsciously.

Secondly, how we categorize people is based on our life experiences. Short of actual experience we rely on what we're told.

For example, if I see a person wearing roughed up looking jeans and scuffed up cowboy boots I assume that they spend a lot of time outside on a farm probably working with animals. I do that because I know people who wear roughed up jeans and scuffed up cowboy boots that spend a lot of time outside on a farm working with animals. I have also very rarely seen those things on people who do not fit that category. I have then begun to associated those things in my mind.

If I had never met a person dressed that way then I wouldn't know what category to put them in and I would rely solely on what I was told by others. Sometimes those others are the media, be it news, television, or otherwise. As we know, the media isn't always to most accurate. Note that life experience should usually trump what we're told by others.

Seeing as this is rather unavoidable it shouldn't be classified as a bad thing in and of itself. What is a bad thing is not allowing an individual the chance to prove otherwise. Continuing with the above example, I tend to wear faded, old jeans and somewhat scuffed up cowboy boots, however, I do not spend a lot of time on a farm with animals. I wear old, faded jeans because I don't want to buy new ones, and now all of mine look really worn out. I wear cowboy boots because I ride a motorcycle and they protect my ankles and don't have laces that can get caught in the chain, plus I broke the laces on my other regular shoes so I just started wearing my boots all the time. (plus they do look pretty cool ).

Given all that, if you only took in what you saw and then placed me permanently in the farm boy category I would be a little upset. That's not who I am. I am, however, understanding in that I would probably have made similar assumptions at first and as long as you allow your opinion of me to change as we get to know each other we will have no problems.

Obviously that example is pretty mild, but it still proves the point I think. We will assume things about people because of how they dress, but as long as we stay open minded about that person it's okay.

When I worked security at Best Buy (security is a pretty big over statement of my job there) I used to wonder if I was actually racist. I noticed that I tended to keep an eye on African Americans a bit more than white people. As I started to examine that tendency more closely I determined that I was actually just looking out for a certain style of clothing that was more common among the African American population in my area. I would keep just as close an eye on any person of any race or gender if they dressed that same way (really baggy clothing, like three sized too big baggy, which is something that I've never understood). If African Americans came in in appropriately fitting, nicer clothing I wouldn't watch them as much. (I was pretty good at my job though because I watched everyone at least a little ).

I'm more okay with making assumptions based on clothing because that is a choice. You can be grouped by the choices you make as they are what makes you who you are. Things like skin color and gender do not.