“Blondes Have More Fun Than Brunettes Do”
Should we really judge a book by its cover?
People judge us every day by the writing on our clothes and on our bodies, which can often result to wrong perceptions and assumptions that really say nothing about our true personality.
Walking around my dorm, I noticed a girl wearing a shirt with the slogan “blondes have more fun than brunettes do.” When I asked her why she wore that shirt, she replied “Um, because it’s true! Haha. Honestly, I just thought it was funny. I got it a long time ago.” I asked a follow up question, “Well, you’re a blonde! Does your shirt say anything about you?” “No, not really. I mean I like to party and have fun but brunettes have just as much fun."
The first thing I wondered was why someone would wear a shirt with a statement that does not even make sense. Looking through my own wardrobe however, I found many shirts with irrelevant phrases as well, including “COLLEGE” and “Party Now. Study Later.” Sometimes, what we wear has nothing to do with our personality, but we wear it just for fun. However, people are bound to judge you based on the writing printed on your clothes. Writing is definitely the new form of communication that is used to get to know other people. Aside from writing on our clothes, things like tattoos, Facebook/MySpace profiles, and AIM our all used to create images of ourselves for the world to see. Unfortunately, forming quick judgments based on what we see is inevitable. Without even interacting with a person, we all make first impressions based on what we see. So is the writing on our clothes and body a true representation of our personality?
Our clothes and body art (tattoos, piercings, etc) both represent and create our personality at the same time. In “Speaking the Decorated Body”, John Soyland notes that “identity is both the consequence and the cause of the material” (220). It all comes down to self image and how we want to be portrayed. I agree that first impressions make a big difference. It is a shame that common stereotypes and misconceptions still exist. People with tattoos all over their bodies are commonly seen as punks and people are less likely to approach them. Personally, I would not feel comfortable approaching some of the individuals pictured on Graham Steffen’s website of “Cultural Bodies.” The tattoos and piercings create an image and people are bound to make assumptions and stereotypes without even getting to know the person personally.
We were all told at a very young age not to judge a book by its cover. But it is hard not to judge a person by the writing on their clothes, tattoos on their bodies, Facebook profiles, etc. I think there is a certain limit to using writing as a way to represent our identity. After a while, people will create your personality based on what you wear and the body art you have. It is inevitable. True identity will never be completely revealed based on the writing on our bodies. Lesson of the day: don’t judge the girl with the “Blondes have more fun than brunettes do” T shirt based on what she is wearing!
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