This is what I normally wear: dress, cardigan, leggings, moccasins, various wood/friendship/gold bracelets and my favorite ring. My hair has a side bang and is long, dark brown and messy because it's wavy and I apparently don't believe in a brush.
This is what I'm normally referred to because of this all: hipster, fashionista, emo, hippie.
Seriously, can I just be a girl who wears this because it's comfortable and because she doesn't put much thought into it at all, and hates pants? There are various reasons for why I wear what I wear but none of them include the desire to be a hipster/hippie/depressed kid/fashionista.
Amy Winehouse looks like she should be screaming in a metal band with the way she appears. I mean, according to the stereotype. Instead (when she was known for her singing) she sounds like an amazing vocalists who teeters more on the jazz side of music.
I realize it's everywhere; boys with baggy pants are typecast as hip-hop lovers, girls with Abercrombie & Fitch on are placed into the preppy club, etc. But couldn't we at least say to ourselves, "well they may look like they're a (
insert stereotype here), but I can't assume" when we see someone? Why so quick to jump and judge?
I understand some people wear certain clothing because they
do want to fit a category or make a statement. I do know some people who believe they can fit into a punk lifestyle by putting studs on everything they own and obtaining a hot pink mohawk. When I was in junior high, a lot of kids tried to be goth so they purchased majority of what Hot Topic sold. But once we hit a certain age, I find it hard to believe people still do that.
I won't even get into racial profiling/stereotyping.
So why do you think people stereotype? Is it just easier than taking the time to actually know someone? What have you been stereotyped as?
This is what I normally wear: dress, cardigan, leggings, moccasins, various wood/friendship/gold bracelets and my favorite ring. My hair has a side bang and is long, dark brown and messy because it's wavy and I apparently don't believe in a brush.
Comments (109)
Its human nature. Humans run on a system of symbols, and what we wear, what we buy, where we live, who were around, etc etc are all symbolic of our character.
Stereotypes are associations of symbols with characteristics when a particular symbol and a particular characteristic seem to coincide very often.
I wouldn't say its easier than taking the time to know someone; humans in general are insecure when it comes to figuring out people they don't know; seeing a stereotype being shot down might be a bit of a shock for some people and they have nothing to base their impressions on in future appearances with strangers.
I wear jeans & a t-shirt! What does that make me? :D
@misswonderj@xanga - yep :] human nature is a paradox. We are responsible for setting stereotypes & eradicating them.
x Amieit's funny how people who wear aeropostale/hollister/abercrombe & fitch/american eagle are automatically stereotyped as "preppy" when it's more like "preppy wannabe." i don't bother shopping at those places; all the girls at my school look like clones, they either shop at those so-called "preppy" and overpriced stores and all have the same cheap quality clothing in different colors, shop at hot topic and wear lots of black, or wear converses with neon colored skinny jeans and wildly patterned tops (mostly zip-up hoodies) and have overly straightened hair. preppy is actually polo ralph lauren, j. crew, etc. preppy is a style, unfortunately, people in society have just created the stereotypes that come along with the word... causing negative assumptions about the personality traits/characteristics those who choose to dress in "preppy" clothing. i think this is actually true for most words out there that describe a certain style/way of dressing.
oh, my god, i know the feeling.
my style is quite varied, so i get accused of being just about everything...
"you're a prep because you're wearing Hollister!"
"you have brown and blonde striped hair! what are you trying to be, scene or something?"
"you're a fucking priss for owning Coach boots and should burn in hell!"
"You're wearing an oversized tee shirt? what are you, a boy?"
i hate it ]:
@misswonderj@xanga - well, yes, it IS human nature... but does that mean it's always right?
i'm not trying to pick a fight, i'm just saying.
we don't have the time to get to know everyone, so by assesing their clothes we get an impression of their intellect, socioeconomic status, personality,etc. of course these impressions might be far from accurate. but sometimes it's a good guage or close enough, though not exact. it's unfortunate when people, after getting to know you a little bit, insist you're this or that, even after you've told them you're far from it. sometimes people like to express their alter ego through their clothes. but they do make a strong impression, clothes. and then there are some who defy any stereotype, those whom you can't exactly categorize.
i'm at a point in my life where i just want to be comfy and not stand out by wearing more conservative clothes, those that are not fad-ish. and i'm too lazy to be always fashionable.
@shinymeshapples@xanga - Lol, yeah, I could be mistaken for all kinds of stereotypes.
Stereotyping and judging are just automatic human natures. It's neither right nor wrong; it exists. Sure, I do think "Oh, they look like this" but I do also think "But maybe they're really not." You can't judge me by what I wear; I fluctuate depending on my mood. What - if I wear all black or something, you think I'm emo? Haha [x
wood ??? friendship? lollll
emo = depressed kid
HHAHAAA
Stereotyping takes no effort. Getting to personally know somebody takes time, effort and courage.
you sound boho to me, personality and style
@shinymeshapples@xanga - Who said it was right or wrong anyway? Its just nature. There's no moral value to put on it.
@dulce_am0r@xanga - What makes someone preppy isn't the store they buy it from but the style of clothing. At least get the stereotype right if you're gonna tear it down XD
@Losertastic@xanga - it makes you losertastic :D <3
@misswonderj@xanga - haha yes! I guess no matter what I wear, I shall always be losertastic :D
@Losertastic@xanga - yay :D!
hm, I wonder what I would be stereotyped as.
People stereotype because it's easier than getting to know everyone. Face it - you can't go through life without generalizing somewhere; it just doesn't make sense and it's not possible. Stereotyping doubtless keeps us from meeting some really cool people, but it's kind of unavoidable. I stereotype people even though I'm in the school of thinking that you shouldn't judge anyone based on their appearance. I do it without thinking, and then I have to go back and reverse that thinking if it's worth the time.
I'm in that rare group of people that you can't really stereotype because they're so darn normal:) Dressing-wise, that is. It kind of depends on what day it is. When I do dress up, I wear a dress or a skirt and leggings with some boots or legwarmers. What does that get stereotyped as? Je ne sais pas. I would love to have your wardrobe - that stuff is so comfy to wear:)
@dulce_am0r@xanga - Thank you! I hate it when people call stores like Hollister and Abercrombie preppy when they are not "real preppy" at all! Where I live, you would get laughed at if you called those stores preppy, yet I've seen many people on the Internet claim they are.
@misswonderj@xanga - You did not read what I said carefully, or you misread it. Those stores I listed that do not carry preppy clothing all have similar styles of clothing, making girls who shop at only those stores, not actually those who dress in the actual preppy style. The other stores I listed do carry similar styles of clothing that fall under the umbrella of preppy. I was not talking about whether one shops at certain stores or not makes them "preppy." So yes, I got the stereotype right, and next time, try to read more carefully before you reply.
@dulce_am0r@xanga - Actually you didn't. If you took the tag off the article of clothing it would still be preppy sweetie. =) If I took a shirt from Aero and put a CK tag on it that doesn't matter now does it?
There are stores that get styles incorrect, however its more about how the person wears the clothes that a store is selling. I could take clothes from a store that would be exclusively preppy and turn it into another stereotype very easily. =)
Clearly you didn't read the comment or else you would get this?
The style is irrelevant of the store, the brand name, etc. Hollister, Aero, all the other stores like that are just brand names. The price tag doesn't make the style either. =)
Perhaps one day you'll get this and be creative enough to make your own style instead of following the trends?
@misswonderj@xanga - Might I ask why you keep trying to arguing against me when all you are doing is agreeing with me, because much of what you are saying is simply restating my points or supporting them?
I mean saying, "If I took a shirt from Aero and put a CK tag on it that doesn't matter now does it?" is pretty much agreeing with what I said. I am not saying that the specific store/brand matters, you could take a shirt from J. Crew and try to sell it in a Hollister store and it would still be preppy, you can even take the tag off of it if you want and it'd still be preppy, change the price and it'd still be preppy clothing.
All I said was that too many people think stores like Aeropostale/Hollister/etc. that carry similar clothes of a certain "unknown and nonpreppy" style, are stores that do carry clothes of the preppy style, when in actuality, they don't. Therefore, the girls who choose to shop only at those stores that do not carry preppy styled clothing whatsoever, are not actually dressing in the preppy style.
It is the other stores like J. Crew that carry clothes of the preppy style, not because of the brand/store itself, but because the clothes sold by these stores are of the preppy design/style.
If Hollister/Abercrombe & Fitch got rid of all their clothes now and started making preppy styled clothing, I could say that they carry similar clothes of the preppy style like Polo Ralph Lauren and other such stores, could I not?
So honestly, I'm not sure what you have been arguing against this entire time.
I have my own style, actually. I don't think that was a necessary assumption to make, just because I choose to take notice of trends I see it doesn't mean I follow them.
I hope you finally understand my point(s), as it is quite tiring to keep up this constant replying and debating and repetitiously typing "preppy."
what's worse than people who stereotype are people who make a big deal out of being stereotyped.
just take it as a compliment; they're called "trends" for a reason--somewhere, people like what you're wearing. and that's a good thing, no?
look at my main picture...people would think im out of it or i cant afford a decent looking top "tube tops are so 90s".
i dont really blame people for judging cause its not like we have our personality written on our foreheads and we could pick based on it. some people just cant help judgining, we all do it even the nice ones cause its human nature.
it is easier to judge than getting to know someone. if we like how a person looks on the outside its a go ahead to want to get to know them as a person. if we dont like what we see we dont bother. cold hard honest truth.
P.S. amy winehouse scares me. the girl was once decent looking but she lost it to drugs and alcohol. why...
I think people stereotype - when it comes to clothing - because the stereotype is so well-known that it gives an accurate picture of what it looks like. Whether the accurate picture of clothing accurately depicts what the personality of the person is, is another story.
My roommate is often in leggings, boots, a shirt, scarf and peacoat.. and her colors are often scattered. Her hair is long and highlighted, but as of lately, she doesn't straighten it because of time. With her look, you'd assume she is just following the trends of fashion and trying to be as hip as she can... when in reality, she just wears whatever she can pull together in ten minutes. :)
As for why people stereotype with other things - like race and gender - that can be answered (to me) rather simply: ignorance!