The first person that I observed was a female. From what I could tell she seemed to be a mix of Hispanic and Caucasian. Immediately I noticed her hair, which hung low past her bottom. This made me think that in her family or possibly in her culture having long hair is seen as beautiful for a woman. This could also be important in her religion, signifying maturity. Or her decision to grow her hair out long may all just be personal preference and what she feels most comfortable in. Something that was poignant to me was the fact that during this scorching hot day she was wearing jeans, close toed shoes, and a long sleeve shirt. I assume by this outfit that she is conservative because of how much she chooses to cover up, especially on a hot day like this. Unfortunately somebody who dresses more ‘conservative’ stands out in a crowd where other girls choose to wear extremely revealing outfits. Both of these choices I believe have everything to do with how you were raised and what kind of values and beliefs your parents have. Although it is hard to tell with her hair covering her face as well as her outfit, I could deter that she looked around 19-20 years of age. As for her emotional condition, I consider these things almost impossible to determine for such a short time observing. For the short time I did observe, she seemed focused and intent on her computer possibly her homework.
The next person I observed was the complete opposite. Instead of covering up, she seemed to take pride in her body. I formed this assertion because of the clothes she wore. She had on a very low cut and revealing shirt which exposed her bra. She also wore shorts that revealed more than what I consider acceptable based off of my own values. Because I have grown up in Portland, I have become comfortable to different styles and choices. However, something that has always made me feel uncomfortable is when women reveal too much of their body. I only think this because I believe women do this because they care more about impressing men than respecting their own bodies. I have developed these beliefs based off of how I was raised. My parents taught me to understand it is not important to degrade my own body for someone else’s benefit. From her appearance it looked like she was also in her 20’s. Something I also noticed was that she looked as if she goes tanning. This is another aspect of her personality that highlights the idea that she may care a lot about her appearance. My assumption is that she may feel overwhelmed by the pressures of college.
The third person that I observed was Male, looked about 22 and appeared to be Indian. Immediately I noticed that he was very outgoing and not afraid to show his personality. He spoke in a ‘feminine’ way and also wore a very tight fit t-shirt with shorts and flip-flops. Because of how society has shaped our viewpoints towards men, I made the assumption that he is gay or maybe bisexual. Seeing people who are open about their sexuality makes me happy. Seeing this also makes me think his parents could have been very supportive of his lifestyle choices, helping him feel comfortable in his own skin. It’s very interesting for me to sort out all of these possibilities in my mind. Although I usually do this without writing it down, I feel like I’ve gained insight by hoping to understand others values and morals solely based off of what I can see and hear.
I agree with you that typically girls wear more revealing clothing whenever the sun is out especially here in Oregon where everyone lives for those 80-degree sunny weather. Because of this it really does seem strange, now that I think about it, when someone is covered up when it’s so nice out. I like how you related the fact that it’s sunny out and she was covered up to something that’s cultural because that is probably true. It is really interesting learning about varies values and cultural beliefs because they’re all different. I love how it is very diverse here at the University of Oregon.
Although, the pressures of college are hard they are definitely there and I totally understand what you are talking about. I feel that college and the amount of people that we are constantly around definitely makes some people feel as if they need to try their best to look their best for reasons other than for themselves. These people need to be less self-conscious and not care about what others think.
Moreover, I definitely enjoyed reading about your last person because like you said he was “comfortable in his own skin” – which is something I encourage and applaud people to be. No one should even care about what others think or feel about them.
It’s interesting how we transfer our beliefs and values onto others in our minds. In general, we assume, probably sub-consciously, that people around us see the world the same way that we do, and therefore hold similar values. You didn’t feel that the clothing that the second person you observed was appropriate, and that she (and other women) only dress that particular way to get the attention of men. While that may be true for some, that might not be true for that young lady. She could be homosexual, or she could have just lost or gained weight, and she is proud of the body she has and isn’t ashamed to show it off. Or she could have just been warm, and wore the least amount of clothing she felt comfortable with to escape the heat.
I think that your observation of the third young man says a lot about your family dynamic at home. I’m assuming that you have a good home life, because when you saw happiness and joy in the young man that you observed, you assumed that his parent’s fostered that attitude in him. Isn’t it also likely, however, that his family was not accepting of his sexual orientation (if that is actually the case), and now that he was away from home, he feels like he is free to be the person that he wants to be? Or it could be a facade, and he is really struggling internally. I think that the point of this exercise was to understand how our values shape the way we see other’s values.
I like that you mentioned the fact that you were born here in Oregon and that it has influenced your decisions on what is acceptable and what it not. It was also interesting of your view of the third person. It is interesting that your view on life has chosen to make the male homosexual based on female traits. I think that it is an important part of life to experience different cultures in their own settings. It is quite an amazing thing to see people from different cultures in many different places around the world and I hope that you get that chance at some point in time just to allow the ability to see through a different set of eyes.