For this assignment, I decided to sit at the EMU at the University of Oregon and “people watch” in order to make observations about personal adornment. In particular, I picked out three distinct individuals who had a unique style of dressing. First, I saw this male who had all black clothing on, with his hood on, listening to music in an isolated table in a corner. He did not acknowledge people actively as they passed by as his head hung low, seeming almost uninterested in any social encounters. Based on his body language and clothing, I would assume that he is an individual who tends to keep to himself and does not prefer to be social. Additionally, the fact that he was wearing clothing that was all black demonstrated a dull personality to me because he had an absence of color or desire to be noticed. Based on these observations, I am making the assumption that he wears all black clothing all the time and that he prefers to isolate himself from society. Additionally, from his clothing choice, I made the assumption that he has a dull personality, without even engaging in any sort of conversation with him. As a result, these observations and assumptions on my part portray a judgmental attitude. Based solely on this individual’s clothing choice and posture, I was able to formulate an opinion about him in my head. This is something that has become increasingly common in our society but I do not think it is an admirable quality to possess.
The second individual I picked out was a middle-aged male with a long beard and several facial piercings. In addition to these piercings, he had several tattoos on his face, down to his neck, and on the visible areas of his limbs. He had headphones on as he walked by and was wearing a kilt with boots. He expressed a nonchalant behavior as he walked along. From these observations, I think he displayed values of confidence and individualism. Due to the tattoos on his face and the way he dressed, he was clearly ignorant to what others thought of him. The piercings and tattoos are external additions to the body that are a reflection of personal beliefs and values. The numerous piercings almost looked like an addiction opposed to a fashion statement. He enjoyed decorating his body to an extent that others would find unnecessary and he showed pride in displaying it in public. Based on these observations, I am assuming he always dresses in a way that is extremely unique. In addition, I am assuming that he got such tattoos and piercings to show others that he does not care what others may think. Immediately, this also makes me think that his family prefers to look the same way and that he only associates with such people. His nonchalant gait also makes me assume that he is self-centered and proud of the way he looks. These assumptions characterize the way I tend to categorize people based on their initial looks. My first impression of an individual leads to some kind of mental picture that I store in the back of my mind and do not alter unless I find a valid reason to. While this guy may enjoy getting tattoos and piercings, I think of it as an addiction because I would never get those. This speaks to the fact that I like to compare people to myself when I initially see them, based simply on visual observations.
The final person I observed was a female who was wearing a basketball jersey, jeans, sneakers, and a baseball cap. She had a backpack on and also held some books under her arm. She was walking with two other females, who were dressed completely different (one wearing a dress and the other, yoga pants and a sweatshirt). From this simple observation, it seems like she is a sports fan and is fairly active. She was walking with two other girls who were dressed in a different manner, but seemed comfortable in the way she stood out. She seemed like a tom-boy in a sense because she wore jordan shoes and a baseball cap as well. I also noticed that she did not have any ear piercings, while her friends did. I think this demonstrates that she does not value piercings as much when it comes to personal adornment and prefers a different dressing style than typical females would choose. Based on these assumptions, I am categorizing her as a female who prefers to be classified as a male. Additionally, her sense of clothing and uniqueness when compared to her friends says that she is strong-willed and confident in the way she looks. I can also assume that does not care about beauty in the sense that most females do because she chooses to wear a baseball cap to cover her hair, with no piercings in her ears. By classifying this female into the male gender, I have made a huge assumption based solely on her clothing. This portrays my beliefs about females when it comes to dressing in public. I prefer to see females in clothing that is unique to their gender because that is just what I have always seen as normal. I’m not saying that girls who wear baseball caps and jordan shoes are less female-like, however. I just have a tendency to associate females and males with certain clothing and it seems odd when I do not see something that matches this mental image. Additionally, just because she did not have any piercings, I assumed that she prefered personal adornment in another fashion. With this, it becomes obvious that I have a rigid fashion sense that is to be associated with each gender. When I do not see what I expect, I make a hasty judgment which may not necessarily be valid.
February 6th, 2015 at 15:13
Great post! You very detailed to describe three people that you selected from the EMU. I can image all people base on your description. Also your assumption to three people is very precisely, especially on second people, because I never pay attention to people with tattoos and facial piercings and I think those people is hard to contact. But your assumption which they show confidence and individualism values can let me know more about them.