Should We Judge People Based On What They Wear Essays Example

I don’t think that we should judge a person too harshly based on how they dress, especially when what’s considered improper changes constantly. On the other hand, there are specific clothing traditions that should be followed out of courtesy and social contract, such as formal dress at weddings and professional attire in certain offices.
Every generation seems to have it’s own ideas on proper and improper dress. As fashion changes, so does taboo clothing. Right now, critics claim that baggy, sagging pants are plaguing society. Twenty years ago everyone was complaining about ripped jeans and the “grunge” style. Before grunge, there was “punk;” we can even stretch back into the nineteen-twenties when the nation was scandalized by the “flapper” style. There was a time when it was considered improper for American women to wear pants, or bathing suits, or even show their ankles. There are countries where women are still held to those clothing standards.
In our country, the First Amendment guarantees that we can wear what ever we like, as long as it doesn’t break any decency laws. Those First Amendment laws don’t protect people from the consequences of wearing clothes that are considered improper. You have every right to wear sagging pants and shirt with a marijuana leaf on it to an interview, but you’re probably not going to get the job. An employer choosing not to hire you based on your clothing is not against the First Amendment. She chooses not to hire you because your clothing says something about you; it says that you have the poor judgment to wear sagging pants and explicit shirt to an interview. If you choose your clothes poorly, what other poor choices could you make? An employer takes one look at the sagging pants, and sees a liability, not a good future employee.
That’s the trade off to wearing clothes that are viewed as improper or even out of the ordinary. People judge others based on their clothing, and not just in an interview situation. I’ve seen women walking down in the street get catcalled because they’re wearing skirts or tight clothes. Then men catcalling a woman assume that she wants that attention because of how she’s dressed.
Clothes can also be a way that a person signals who they are. If someone has baggy pants, people might assume that the person is a thug. Black clothes could mean “Goth.” A guy in a business suit is considered a businessman. A lady in wearing pajamas in public might be considered lazy. You can change the way you’re perceived just by changing you clothes.
The problem is, some people can’t afford to change their clothes. Unacceptable clothes could be considered a sign of poor choices, but it could also signal poverty. I went to a formal dress wedding where the men wore suits and the women wore gowns, everyone except this one guy who was in a hoodie and jeans. I didn’t think that he was purposefully going against what the bride and groom wanted. I figured that he was too poor to buy a suit, and that he would have worn one if he could have afforded it. In the same way, not being able to afford a suit could keep someone from getting a job.
Sometimes, what we wear is a choice, and sometimes it’s not. That’s the reason why I don’t think we should judge people too harshly based on what they wear. Yes, we should consider company expectations on what to wear to a job interview or to work. Aside from that, what a person wears can be symbol of self-expression and individuality.