Objectives:
1) Evaluate personal values and paradigms around body decoration and physical beauty
2) Investigate how physical appearance affects definitions of identity and belonging
3) Analyze values and belief systems of physical appearance across cultures, subcultures, and generations
Original Post:
My everyday routine starts from taking a shower. After the shower I try to get dressed as nice as I can, depends on how much of time is allowed in the morning. I didn’t care or didn’t know how to dress up because I was required to wear uniforms all throughout my middle school and high school in Korea. I didn’t have to buy extra clothes and could save time in the morning, avoiding deciding what to wear that day. But uniforms took away freedom to express ourselves.
I look back now, I really did not mind wearing uniforms at all. It lifted the burden of the stress that I had to look nice somewhat. But now, I have to spend quite a lot of money on online shopping to buy nice clothes, shoes, etc. Because I care how other people see me, as I sadly admit that I sometimes cannot help not to judge others from their untidy appearances. Wearing clean, nice, and neat clothes everyday reflects how I would like to be seen from others. (I am not the most tidy person in the world when it comes to organizing and cleaning my room, however) I have my ears pierced, one on each side. But I don’t have any other facial or genital piercings. I don’t have any tatoos, either. It also reflects how concerned I am with what kind of impression I can make with my appearances to others.
In adolescence I got my ears pierced without asking for my parents’ permission. It was during my teenage rebellion phase. Having my ears pierced and starting to wear make ups were a means for me to express my emotions and frustrations on whatever I was having as a teenager. I come from Asian background. And my parents are very conservative when it comes to body piercings or tattoos. Luckily, I was not scolded too harsh for getting my ears pierced. But I remember when my older brother had his ears pierced without telling my parents. It was his first “rebellious” action in his life, as a celebration of getting admitted to a medical school. He showed up with earrings, and my parents almost disowned him that day. Girls may have their ears pierced (only one on each side), but no guys should have their ears pierced, according to my parents. I remember my mom saying to my brother that he would not become a good doctor if he keeps the earrings. That is how conservative my parents are. I cannot even imagine how they would react to tattoos. As a result, having conservative parents affected my values and beliefs on how to dress up.
In this society, there is no dress code. Body adornment is welcomed, as well. At least in Eugene, it is not too rare to see dreadlocks around. Tattoo parlors are pretty popular too. Having liberal mindsets, welcoming tattoos, and non-existing dress code portraits how Eugene/Springfield is like. Because Eugene is a college town, a lot of young adults wearing nice clothes can be seen a lot too. Because there are varieties of styles of people living here in Eugene, I think there is less judgement made on people’s appearance, compared to California. I believe people respect others’ taste on clothes and body decorations very well in Eugene, as they are used to present and express individual’s uniqueness in an art form.
Reflection:
My personal values on body decorations such as piercings, tattoos, and different styles of clothes do not seem to have changed much. Because the preference I want to be appeared in front of others is heavily influenced by how I was raised, it must be very hard to change. Because I live in Eugene which is a liberal town, as I mentioned in my previous post, I adopted the liberal perspective on body decorations.
The way an individual is dressed up easily gives others an idea where you may belong, in terms of the class in the society and occupations. Although how people look at body decorations have changed over generations, the certain ways people dress up according to their belonging does not seem to change.
Future Intention:
As I grew up in such a conservative family, I have never even thought about getting a tattoo or another piercing. But since I am graduating college and growing up, I’ve started thinking about getting a facial piercing, which would show more uniqueness. I have a few friends with uncommon facial piercings, and the way I thought about them have changed over the years I have known them. Sander described, “those who choose to modify their bodies in ways that violate appearance norms- or reject culturally prescribed alterations- risk being defined as socially or morally inferior” (Sanders). More and more the time passes by, I will be numbed to people’s piercings and other body decorations, and even respect them for brave for risking being treated inferior.
