• Are there any personal beliefs or values that are supported and expressed by your dress or body adornment?
• Why do you make the choices you do?
• How has this changed over the years?
• What were the core beliefs and values in your family and how were they communicated/sustained through dress or body customization?
• What are the core beliefs and values of your peer community? How are they expressed through dress and body adornment?

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I  believe everyone shows their values through their body language, body customization, and their outfit  choices.  For me, it’s not a conscious thought to show my personal values from what I wear, I focus more on what I say and what I do.  However, if someone were to look at me and “decode” me, they would probably be right most of the time.

First, I’ll describe what I wear most of the time and how I have customized my body.  I usually wear jeans, a top, and a cardigan with flats.  I’ll have my hair up in a bun so it’s out of my way, and I will wear little-to-no makeup.  In middle school, I got both of my ears pierced, twice (so two piercings on each ear), and in high school, I got my belly button pierced.  My hair has been dyed so many times, but only one color: blonde.  Now, I’m growing it out to my natural color which is a brownish blonde.  I have my nails painted most of the time too.  I wear jewelry all the time: a simple ring on my left ring finger, a similar one on my right ring finger, and a cross necklace.  These three items are always on my person.

Now that I’ve done that, I’ll start answering the above questions:

I think all most of my values in life are clearly shown in how I dress and customize my body.  For example, the way I dress is very modest so I think it shows that I respect myself and I’m very shy.  The clothes that I wear show that I’m mature for my age because I dress very age-appropriate and sophisticated.  It also shows that I value the way I look because I want to be seen as responsible.

My piercings show that I like to have fun as well and I’m not all work.  However, many may take this as a sign of rebellion, considering what others said in their people watching assignment, but I actually had approval before I did anything that would change my body.

I wear my cross necklace to show that I value my religion and the values that are associated with it.  The ring on my left finger show that I value my relationship with my boyfriend and the one on my right shows that I value all my other relationships.

I think a lot of people dress in a way that will show others who they really are, and the values they hold dear.  I am the same way, and I will choose what to wear based on how I would like to portray myself to others.  I would like people to be able to see the little things that I value and hope they will respect them.  My values have not changed over the years, but the way I perceive myself has.  There have been times when I didn’t respect my body and would dress in a way, that I think, showed others that.  Through time though, I believe I have had a better understanding on how to dress, and show myself, in a way that respects my values and shows others that I do have certain values and would like them to know it.

The values that hold in my family are mainly honesty, respect, and loyalty.  I would say that respect and loyalty show though how I dress and customize my body (honesty is hard to show through dress).  Like I mentioned in the previous paragraphs, the rings on my fingers show that I am loyal in my relationships, and the way I dress, and how I don’t permanently change my body, shows that I respect myself.

I think that the values of my community are in contrast with the way I dress and customize my body.  I don’t think the majority of people in Eugene, or at the U of O, dress very modest or have the most respect for their bodies.  The people I see everyday, are dressed either very inappropriately, or have a lot of tattoos and piercings.  I want to say that I’m not judging everyone and saying that I’m the only only one at the U of O that respects her body.  However, the majority of people in this college that I see are not respecting their own bodies and choose to party, and tattoo their body like it’s not a big deal.  I feel that I am one of the few that dresses appropriate for my age and choses to show my values through my body instead of trying to get attention through my body.

Honestly, people watching is my thing.  I love to look at people and analyze who they are (this doesn’t mean judging them by the way).  Sitting in the rec center or on 13th right in front of Columbia are my favorite places to people watch.  Right now I’m sitting in front of Columbia and a couple people stood out to me because of how they were not standing out.  For example, one girl that I see is wearing black leggings, converse high tops, a sweatshirt, and a puffy vest.  I noticed her because she was wearing what the typical University of Oregon college student wears.  I think that her values are showing in her dressing: she values nice things but doesn’t want to show it.  She wants to look trendy and conform to how the Pacific Northwesterners dress.  Her dressing tells me that she wants to fit in with the crowd, but be able to get attention too.  This tells me that I value people who have confidence and can stand out in a crowd.  The second person I noticed was a young man probably in his mid twenties.  He was wearing tight jeans, boots, a sweater, and a jacket.  He had big earrings, probably gauges.  It tells me that he probably wants to stand out and wants people to notice him.  I think I jump to these conclusions because of what I have associated with these earrings.  If he didn’t have the earrings I would have automatically assumed he didn’t care if people noticed him, but with the earrings I think he’s a rebel.  It’s interesting to see later in life how we look at people depending on what we have associated certain things with when we were young.  The third person I noticed was a young lady dressed in workout gear, but her hair and makeup were done.  This tells me that she either is going to work out and doesn’t work out that hard, or she isn’t going to work out but wants people to think she is.  This tells me she values people’s opinions and wants people to see her as athletic and healthy.  A lot of people first judge people by what they are wearing and how they look.  I believe that’s just human nature.  So with that knowledge, I think people dress a certain way to portray the way they want to be seen by other people.  This assignment has made me try and connect the way I look at people to my values.  For example, with the guy and the gauges, I assumed he wasn’t very professional and didn’t take himself seriously.  That is what I have learned to associate with “rebel” clothing, which reflects my values on what is appropriate dressing for portraying yourself as professional versus not.