Clothing, Hair Is About Expression, Not Conformity

Editor’s note: Taryn Hecker’s “Speak for Yourself” column on physical appearance prompted several responses to Our Generation. Here’s one more:

The article by Taryn Hecker in the May 31 issue of Our Generation was radically off base. Never before have I read an article so misinforming that it made me write back. Her article seriously criticized variety in fashion, even going so far as to suggest one’s clothing could alter that person’s intelligence.

The largest error in the article was claiming that neon hair, nose rings and bellbottoms were popular trends used by an increasing number of people looking to be cool. Either the typical dress at Rogers is drastically different than at North Central or I’m not looking hard enough, but I don’t see a lot of green-haired, body-piercing, bell-bottomed teens around.

What I do see is a lot of ordinary-Joe T-shirts-jeans-hat wearing people (with normal hair, I might add). Weird colored hair won’t be part of the trend for another decade, if ever, simply because its too much of a shock for the average person.

Nose and body rings won’t be trendy until a less painful way of getting metal through flesh is devised.

Society supposedly supports the “be yourself” idea, using variants of the phrase in commercials, magazines and fashion shows. Surely you’ve seen in one of your classrooms over the past nine to 12 years a poster of a Dalmation among a group of black and white spotted cats with a sign reading “In a world of copy cats, be an original.”

Many people claim they dress to be themselves and then I look at them and think, “You look exactly like every other follower who says they dress to look different.” Unfortunately, society will support individualism, just as long as someone isn’t too individual.

The minute it sees a human wearing a dog chain, safety pins holding together black shredded clothing and spiked dyed or bleached hair, it forgets everything it ever said about individualism being cool and will mock the person as a freak.

I myself wear fishnet stockings and, occasionally, makeup, and the replies I get are far from respect. They range from simple mockery (“Why the hell are you wearing nylons?”) to outright disgust (“Great tights, faggot.”).

I am heterosexual, I wear fishnets and makeup because I and a few other weirdoes think it looks cool. I dislike being called gay for the way I dress, the people who insult me act as if the average homosexual dresses different than anyone else.

Remember, no clothing or appearance is 100 percent permanent. Piercings can come out, hair in time will revert to its normal color and clothes can be changed. Hecker’s article implies clothing covers up intelligence and without the proper attire one cannot reach full mental capacity. This is obviously false.

If everyone “dressed with class” and “used a little judgment” when they got dressed, the fashion around school would be very dull. Clothing is a way of expression, not conformity. A little variety never hurt anything.