May
2015
Artifact 5: Personal Adornment
Objectives:
- Evaluate personal values and paradigms around body decoration and physical beauty
- Investigate how physical appearance affects definitions of identity and belonging
- Analyze values and belief systems of physical appearance across cultures, sub-cultures and generations
Original Post:
As I sat down and people watched for a bit, I confirmed my belief that the University of Oregon is a place of mass diversity. I apologize in advance if I may so have happened to describe one of my fellow peers.
The first individual that caught my attention was this caucasian male, looked about six foot two inches, wearing a white t-shirt, khaki pants, black shoes, and duo man buns adorned on his head similar to that of what little asian girl would most likely style her hair. He also had a pair of wrestling shoes attached to his backpack. This trend of the “man bun” has growing exponentially in the past couple of months. He was walking with a steady pace across the EMU quad as he seemed to be in a rush of some sort. His decision in wearing the laid-back outfit caused him to appear as having a chill and casual personality who chooses comfort over style. His choice of hair style makes him appear as though he is confident in himself that he does not mind other people giving him strange looks in a comical fashion as his duo man buns draw an eye or two. The appearance of the wrestling shoes hanging from his strap caused me to assume that he wrestles or wants people to think he wrestles. He seems to be making the statement that he can still match his clothes while being laid-back. In conclusion, he seems like a confident individual who shows an interest in sports with a calm personality. I feel these assumptions could say that I am very observant and tend to look for the good in people. I also think or I’d like to think I draw people with the similar personality of being relaxed and chill as I can only deal with hyper and excited people for so long.
Another individual that I observed was a caucasian female who looked like she was around the same age as me, which is 21. She had bright pink hair, a septum piercing, a couple small tattoos that I could barely make out. She was also wearing maroon Dr. Marten boots, bring tie dye leggings and a black top. As she walked across campus, she took huge gaping steps and had a sort of hunched over posture. By her appearance, it appeared to me that they believe in self-expression and making a fashion statement. I don’t think I would ever have the guts to dye my hair pink unless I lost a bet or was attending a crazy music festival. By the way she walked gave me the idea that she is definitely confident in herself with her and knows what she wants. I believe that people that have the ability to wear whatever they feel comfortable in that may come off to passing bystanders as outrageous or give them the thought of “oh my gosh what is she wearing” are probably the most awesome people if you ever get a chance to meet them. We humans have the innate quality of being timid with our actions as we, or some I should say, do not take criticism light heartedly. We are usually afraid of how we appear to others and what people will think and judge us based on our appearance. I think this individual probably has a great personality and potentially radical ideas by the way she asserts her individualism through her eye catching hair and confident step in her stride.
Lastly, I observed an individual wearing heavy makeup, her hair all dolled up, wearing a flowery dress and sandals. She also wore a large necklace adorned with pearls and stones that was very shiny in the sunlight. Being my cynical self, I initially assumed this individual cared way too much about her appearance by taking the time to put prom worthy makeup on her face for school. She seemed to want people look at her with the daunting necklace draped around her neck. The fact that she felt the need to cake her face up with makeup for school shows that she is hiding her true appearance. On the other hand, maybe she just enjoys putting on makeup or had the time to put makeup on before classes. I’ll admit, I do take extra time to get ready during Spring term but only if I have the time. I believe that forcing yourself to wake up early before your classes in order to get ready for school is ridiculous. This individual caused me to think that she cares a lot about what people think and must put up a front so anyone that sees her will think that she has a perfect complexion and never has bags under her eyes from sleep deprivation of procrastinating on homework. I believe this shows that I am a very down to earth individual who cares to an extent of what people think of me. Honestly on school days I dress similar to the same way I crawled into the bed the previous night because I feel I don’t need to impress people while walking down 13th to PLC.
I believe that if my friends, family, teachers, or significant other cannot accept my natural beauty and personality, then that sounds like a personal problem. I am too confident in my values and beliefs that I don’t need to change the way I appear to others in order for them to enjoy my company. I appreciate the way individuals express their individuality through piercings, tattoos and clothing. However, I feel a sort of sadness when I see those robotic individuals who feel they need to dress certain ways to fit in for societal acceptance.
Reflection:
These opinions, as mentioned previously, stem from my parental guidance and upbringing as these are where the core of my values originate from. As I have explained in my Artifact 2, I heavily look towards the teachings of my parents when making life decisions and forming opinions. What I have learned from my parents is my base of all my formulation of judgements. I have also learned through my schooling, friends, and experiences that there is more to than just what my parents have taught me. I tend to people watch frequently as it is just part of my nature and, if I may say so, quite entertaining. I usually try not to stare but everyone knows if there is just something out of the ordinary occurring, it is hard not to look away. One of my fellow classmates had mentioned in his blog the idea of formulating opinions based on what people are wearing, such as the first suspect: the stereotypical Greek life. I too am guilty of associating the idea of typical fraternity boy with wearing bright colored polos, bright colored shorts, and Sperry’s. It is due to their adamant and repetitive attire that these types of people seem to wear. I believe that the way these people act in society will cause other individuals and by-passers to link these types of attire to those in Greek life.
Tattoos and piercings have slowly but surely become a social norm. Society has started to accept these types of body adornments as an expression of individualism and style. In reference to Artifact 3, I believe that body adornment, or body art, is another way of individuals to express their past and present ideology of what they think is beautiful. One of my favorite social media icons is Jennah Yamamoto, also known as Gypsyone. She has a multitude of tattoos that she shows beautiful through her artistic and talented photography skills. As more and more people see the way she makes her tattoos look like it is a part of her as if she was born with it and other patrons with tattoos, I feel it will show the public that tattoos should not be frowned or looked down upon. Most people decide to get tattoos for memorabilia as well as making a fashion statement. Tattoos have such a deeper meaning than seen through societies eyes. Piercings in unusual places, such as the septum piercing which often looks like a bull ring, has become more of a fashion statement as well. I have noticed individuals have the inclination of getting the piercing because they think it looks good on them.
Often times in certain cultures getting tattoos and piercings represent authority, familial status, and other underlying meanings. In Hawai’i, it is part of the Polynesian culture to get tattoos of your ‘aumakua, or the animal god that protects your family. My friends have adorned themselves with beautiful tattoos, also known as a tribal tattoo, that represent their family crest or integrated their ‘aumakuas. They have chosen to represent their family with something that will be forever embedded on them for the world to see. I think that is is very loyal and makes a statement that you proud of your family and where you come from.
Future Goals:
With the better understanding of analyzing the way people dress themselves, I will continue to people watch but with a more educational view. I plan on integrating my newly found knowledge when trying to figure out why people decided to adorn themselves with their ensemble. After completing this assignment, it has been brought to my attention that we as human beings have the tendency to judge people based off of looks as an innate quality as well as an influence from society. I will try not to judge people from what they look like and attempt to see everyone has a story that may just be interesting and life changing. I still need to dive deeper into understanding why certain cultures adorn themselves with lots of tattoos and odd piercings. I think it would be interesting to learn about how these types of rituals and traditions came about.
Bibliography:
Blackiston, B. (2015, April 25). The Life of a Sports Fan. Retrieved May 4, 2015, from https://blogs.uoregon.edu/blackiston16/2015/04/29/adornment/
Devens, A. (2015, April 8). Assignment 1-Unit 2 | AAD 250. Retrieved May 4, 2015, from https://blogs.uoregon.edu/baconlover1/2015/04/08/assignment-1-unit-2/
Devens, A. (2015, May 4). Artifact 2: Life Values | AAD 250. Retrieved May 4, 2015, from https://blogs.uoregon.edu/baconlover1/2015/05/04/artifact-2-life-values/
Devens, A. (2015, May 4). Artifact 3: What is Art? | AAD 250. Retrieved May 4, 2015, from https://blogs.uoregon.edu/baconlover1/2015/05/04/artifact-3-what-is-art/
Hawaiian Tattoos. (2014). Retrieved May 4, 2015, from http://www.tattoostime.com/tattoos/hawaiian/page/18/
Nā Puke Wehewehe ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi. (2002). Retrieved May 4, 2015, from http://wehewehe.org/gsdl2.85/cgi-bin/hdict?e=q-11000-00—off-0hdict–00-1—-0-10-0—0—0direct-10-ED–4——-0-1lpm–11-haw-Zz-1—Zz-1-home-aumakua–00-3-1-00-0–4—-0-0-11-00-0utfZz-8-00&a=d&d=D1614
Yamamoto, J. (2011, January). GYPSY ONE. Retrieved May 4, 2015, from http://gypsyone.tumblr.com/
Table of Contents:
Artifact 5: Personal Adornment
Artifact 6: Creative Spirituality