I
think the theory that best related to my popular culture topic of fashion is
that of stereotyping. Perhaps because
this stereotyping based on clothing is so present in the news in the tragic
death of Trayvon Martin it drove home the point of just how dangerous
stereotyping could actually be to society.
I also believe that is so easy to stereotype based on how someone is
dressed; and further, I believe that we would be hard pressed to find someone
who does not do this type of stereotyping.
Whether we see a woman with plunging neckline, someone wearing dirty
clothes at the grocery store, or seeing someone dressed to the nines in an
Armani suit, we all make judgments about the character and status of these
people based solely on their clothing. I do not think that the practice based
on stereotyping is anything new to this generation, but I do believe there are
so many different variations of dress now that it provides a perfect storm for
stereotyping. In the 60’s, there were
basically just a few different ways to dress – either conservatively, as a
hippie, or as a rebel. Today there are
dozens of distinctive fashion styles and more opportunities to stereotype than
ever before. Hopefully our society has
come far enough that many of us would be ashamed to stereotype based on
race. But how many of us are ashamed to
stereotype based on fashion? I bet most
of us would fill somewhat justified to make this type of snap judgment. Fashion definitely does make a statement and
we often use this to our advantage. We
are so aware o this, that we dress a certain way on a job interview or when we
attend a funeral or wedding. Just last
evening I heard the interview of a man who is serving a life sentence for
kidnapping and robbery. He and a partner
would rob jewelry stores and take one of the workers with them to help them
escape safely. In the interview, he said
that he and his partner would dress in nice pants, shirt and a tie so that they
would set the workers at ease when they walked in the store. This is an important lesson that stereotyping
in any fashion can put us in danger. 
While I agree that clothing does say
something about our personalities, it is definitely not be the end all be all
of our character. I hope that as a
result of this class, I have gained a better understanding of the impact of
stereotyping and that I will be even more open-minded in my interactions with
people who may dress different from myself – even in ways that I would not
approve. It also helps to remind me that
people are stereotyping me as well and that I may need to be making more effort
to move myself beyond those stereotypes.
