The Politics of Fashion

Punk Or $!@*head? – Or Judging People By What They Wear

"Melbourne punks harass on city streets." "Punk thugs cause mayhem." "Serial pests." "Punks looking pretty nasty." "Unsavoury characters."

In a recent published article, these phrases and more are just about every other line. One after the other about these two men's demeanour. They were found to be causing disturbances in the CBD and harassing innocent passerbys. Their actions were atrocious; in no way how a person should act or treat another. But why is it that all the articles and news casts speak primarily about what these men LOOK like, and what they are WEARING; as opposed to their behaviour and what they DID? Since when does the threads that drape someone's body overtake who we are as human beings? Shouldn't our actions be speaking louder then anything else? Not according to most news castings! Most of them go on to describe these men in their leather jackets, their hairstyles, and studs adorning their clothes-which suddenly because of these exterior articles, boxes them automatically into a group of "misfits".

 

Back in the day the label "punk" wasn't what it seems to be today. Then, it belonged to groups of people who stood up for something, believed in justice, and didn't conform to society's pressing rules and restrictions. Being a punk was cool! But in this day and age, it doesn't seem to matter what you believe in, where you come from, or what kind of person you are. Now it is all about what you look like it seems. It's as if there is a giant magnifying glass upon us all. We are judged by our appearances before we even open our mouths to speak. We toss these labels around about the kind of person we think someone may be because of the way they choose to express themselves through fashion.

These "unfit looking characters are hopefully going to be banned from certain areas of our cities". How in any respect is that fair? By no means is what they did right. Yes, they should be punished! Yes, of course they should face legal actions. But it has gone to the point of inspecting fashion so closely, and placing blame and accusations based solely on that. There could easily be two men out there that look and dress strikingly similar to these so called "punks", but could very well be the most genuine, kind and caring individuals one might ever meet.

Instead of focusing on what they were wearing, we should be focusing on the issues at hand. Let us look at the bigger picture and pay more attention to what kind of a person someone is and what they can offer this world. We need to stop judging one another and dig deep to the real pressing matters at hand. The news needs to stop painting this picture of what "good members of society", and "bad members of society" look like. We need to drop the negative labels we place on each other, and dress accordingly to what makes us feel good and lets us express our creativity in all forms if we so choose. Dress your body not how society wants you to, but dress it in a way that makes you, YOU! In things you are comfortable in, showcase your personality and are truly proud to wear!