i'm pretty sure i remember gayle saying, on the first day of class, that even if we started a thread based around a topic such as "hey, i like your hair," it would still meet the starting-a-thread requirement. let's see if this holds up.

me: hey doug, i like your hair. it's pretty sweet hair.
me: yeah? thanks, dude.
me: no problem man. i gotta go, spaghetti's on the stove.
me: dude, i TOTALLY know what you mean ::plays air guitar solo::

-doug

Hi Doug,

I think you reversed what I said.

Discussion of hair, etc. do not count. However, substantive discussion of issues related to this class, even if they have not come up in class, do count.

Let's take your example:



doug 1: do you think people ever use fashion to do anything other than fit into one group or another, or distance themselves from their parents?

doug 2: dude, you mean you think fashion might be a cult thing?

doug 1: no, I'm just wondering where style and fashion fit into this "human condition" thing. ::plays air guitar solo::

Well it is true that people who are trying to look different than the "in crowd" are simply trying to be in with a different kind of crowd... few people really make a fashion statement that is all their own.

how about...is it possible, in our hyper-consumerist day and age, that someone can ever just be "wearing clothes" without those clothes being taken as a statement of some kind, without them being read by others as an attempt to say something? i don't think so. "anti-fashion" is still a fashion ;]

we've yet to consider how air guitar solos fit in with these questions. can the air guitar solo function as a tactic of liberation from "the crowd" and can it ever be used to avoid absorption by mass culture in general?

you know, there is something valuable in here. how important is the "cool" factor in contemporary education, and how much sway do teachers have to combat its more negative effects on students (apathy, etc.) has anyone been following that case in texas about the "fab five" cheerleaders?

I agree with Diana about how it is very few people that make a statement all on their own. The people who always say ,"Im different...I dont follow with the crowd"....are in a group together. I never really thought about it that way. I always tried to think and do things for myself in school, but now I think about it...I was not different...and many people thought the same way. I was considered one of the "popular" girls, but hated that stereotype. I tried to be myself and not go along with what all my other friends were doing. Looking back, I cant really say I was that different from them. It is interesting to think of how many and what people can make a "fashion statement" all on their own.

I do think people use fashion more than to just fit into a group or distance themselves from their parents. I think that some people truly use fashion to feel good about themselves. If dressing in a certain way can make someone feel confident and good about themselves, then I think thats great.

I am a firm believer that fashion could be considered a cult thing. One group of people seem to decide what everyone esle "should" be wearing. I think that all these fashion "cults" could be solved if public schools required dress codes. Personally, i think i would have felt alot more comfortable going to a school with a uniform of a collared shirt and kakais or something. Uniforms would help everyone feel equal and you wouldn't have to decide what to wear in the morning!

For a very cool take on dress codes, uniforms, cults, obedience, normalization, and resistance (all conveniently rolled into one short article!), check out this story from an old Adbusters magazine

http://adbusters.org/the_magazine/64/Uniform.html

This guy's argument is that he's glad he had to wear a uniform to school as a kid (in Britain) because it was "something real and tangible to push against. A physical injustice that gave rise to an awareness that we were being controlled." American/Canadian children, he says, aren't forced to wear the same thing yet still choose to do so (the uniform of baseball caps and low-rise jeans, etc.). It's interesting how many different threads of discussion this one, short piece touches on. Also a rather unorthodox argument in favor of school uniforms

I enjoyed this guy's article but I couldn't help thinking of a couple counterpoints - he concludes his article by saying that his classmates were united when it came to fashion, meaning their school uniforms were horrible. What I found interesting was the fact that his classmates still managed to make the uniform their own - by adding, for example. madonnaesque accesories.

Also, does wearing uniforms eliminate cliques or social groups in schools? I think not. Kids will most likely find a group of friends with whom they are comfortable, even dressed alike, they will seperate. For example. my best friend went to catholic school when we were growing up. I know who she hung out with all throughout elementary and middle school (hers was K-8). They wore the same clothes but the same social groups still existed.

So, while sameness may eliminate some problems between groups, it does not eliminate the existence of that actual group. People will always be with people with whom they feel comfortable (perhaps part of this whole human condition thing???)