Unit Objectives:

  • Evaluate personal values and paradigms around body decoration and physical beauty
  • Analyze values and belief systems of physical appearance across cultures, sub-cultures and generations

 

The original blog post can be viewed here.

Unit 05 – Personal Adornment Reflection

I wish I could say that there are many beliefs that go into what I wear and my body adornment. But realistically the only beliefs I really think about with my visual representation is about freedom. I think it is important for people to have freedom of expression in the way they dress. I think fashion and body adornment is a huge way people like to express themselves. Each and every person has their own distinct sense of fashion, even if people buy the same clothing items from the same stores, every single person has their own way of pairing it with different clothing items that makes up their sense of style and makes it different than the way anyone else wears that same item. Everyone should be able to wear whatever they want, but in reason. I think that skimpy clothing is definitely looked down upon by most of society. I personally agree that people, especially women should find their sense of style in a way that is classy. I don’t believe this because society looks down upon it, but because women should respect themselves, and dressing risqué I feel reflects a lack of self-worth in most women. They don’t appreciate or value themselves enough that they want attention and try to gain it in the only way they think is possible for them. I think body adornment in the forms of tattoos and piercings are the same way. Some people like to express themselves in the forms of writing, painting, or music. Other people like to put images or words that mean something to them in a place that is always close to them, will never be lost, and will never be forgotten: on their skin permanently. I have to say, for me personally though I use body adornment not for beliefs but for fashion’s sake. I have piercings myself. One of them, I got almost as my own rite of passage for turning 18, and also because I thought it looked cute. My other ear piercings, I got because again I liked the way they looked. The reason I do not have any tattoos is because I am afraid of the permanence. What if I hate the way it turns out? What will it look like on my skin by the time I’m 60? What if the tattoo I get represents something of value to me now, but my values change when I’m older and it no longer represents what I believe in? I am in the process of trying to live a life free of regrets, so I think that’s the main reason I have not gotten any tattoos. I think the reasons for why I make my choices have changed over the years very simply from being impulsive to now thinking through my actions and choices and thinking about the consequences of each and every one of them. I no longer get piercings out of impulse because I think it would look cute, because since I have had a few infected piercings, I think about the possibility of a new piercing becoming infected. I don’t get tattoos because of the permanence and there are possible consequences of me regretting it.

There were some very conservative core beliefs in my family when I was growing up. Tattoos were a definite no. I got my first ear piercings when I was six years old, and I loved them. When I became a teenager, I wanted a double ear piercing, but I was told I was not allowed until I turned eighteen and became an adult. With clothing, my parents obviously didn’t want me wearing clothing that made me look much older than my age. Most of the time, my parents didn’t have a problem with me wearing inappropriate things because I was a tom-boy pretty much until I got to high school. My parents told me I couldn’t wear things if they were too short, too low cut, the usual. They had a lot of help keeping me in check since I went to a strict private school. No cleavage was allowed, dresses and skirts had to go to the knee, shoulders could not be shown, things like that. For the most part, I knew what was appropriate and what was not and my parents beliefs became my own with regards to clothing.

I think the core beliefs and values of my peer community are definitely more flexible than my parents. My generation has made more risqué clothing more acceptable than my parents’ generation had. Skirts have gotten shorter, dress necklines have plunged, heels have gotten taller. My mom used to tell me that when she was growing up the only women who wore thong underwear were prostitutes. Now, many women wear them so they don’t have the horrible and infamous underwear line. I feel I have a more relaxed set of beliefs than my parents because they have been shaped from my peers. I have more piercings than my parents did, I wear more revealing clothing than my parents did, but not quite as much as some of my peers.

Reflection:

I feel that I met two of the unit course objectives when creating this artifact. Answering the assigned questions made me reflect on my own dress and body adornment and what drove me to make the decisions I did. I do think that through my dress and appearance some of my own values show through. In the reading states, “At the simplest level, clothing and fashions are adopted in order to display symbolically gender, social status, role, life-style, values, personal interests, and other identity features” (Sanders, 4). I realized that my own appearance shows that I respect myself as a woman, I like to be comfortable, and I like to keep things simple not flashy. People might think that because I do not have any tattoos that I am against them, but that’s not true. The permanence just scares me. I almost respect people who trust themselves enough to choose something so permanent to be with them on their skin the rest of their life. This artifact made me realize that physical beauty does matter to me. It’s sad to say, but it plays a large role in society and as much as I try to not let it affect me, it still does. If I am going into a professional interview I will try to look “put together” meaning I will try and make myself beautiful by doing my hair nice and wearing an appropriate amount of makeup.

This artifact also showed me that values change from generation to generation just as paradigms change. My parents were against tattoos and piercings, but because it is a more prevalent thing as I was growing up, I view it as normal and not a big deal. Some people have tattoos and some don’t. Not something I think much about.

Future Intentions:

Since before this unit, I never thought much about how my appearance represented my own values, I will probably put more thought into my appearance and how I put myself together every single day. When I get dressed, I will think, how does what I’m wearing show my values? If I get a tattoo or piercing I will think about this as well, and think about how my own parents’ values have changed as well with cultural norms to accept that one or two tattoos is a normal thing.

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