We began to talk about the human body and how it relates to its cultural environment. We talked about cultural ideals, stigmas, and the motivations behind how we dress. We talked about tatooing, piercing, branding and scarification, besides other relatively permanent body alterations.
I am particularly fascinated by the motivations behind our choices of dress and body alterations. One of the concepts which I see is dress choices as a form of expressing self-control. The professor brought up a point, with which I tend to agree. That is, a young person is encouraged to obey parents, teachers, etc. The young person may feel that he or she has little or no control over his/her own life. Therefore, dress becomes one of the only means of self-control.
I look at myself, my endless quest for a style of my own. My religion encourages conformity, obedience and conservativism. Members of my church (not church doctrine, nor church leaders) tend to eschew non-conformative behavior and independent thinking (outside the box). I see this as a cultural response, a non-doctrinal response, not one that is based on whether the person is good or evil. It's just a natural consequence of being conservative. ...Something for all of us to work on.
I recently shaved my head (I was nearly bald, anyway -- just the hair around the sides of my head), and shaped my beard into a goatee (no mustache, just the chin). This may be seen as an extreme style, and, in fact, I noticed a few eyebrows go up when I walked into church on Sunday. One of the men (who is also a professor on campus), made a comment that the "hair keeps moving around."
So, why did I do this? What was my real motivation? Was it a way of rebelling? Of stating that I have seized control over myself? Was it simply a step in learning what I can do in making my appearance more aesthetically pleasing? Was it a way of resisting the onward march of time (by taking on a more youthful style)? Good question -- and one which I cannot, at this time, answer.
Yes, it is a bit more extreme than leaving my hair intact, but I still wore the conservative black suit and white shirt (though I have to admit that my tie was a bit splashy in electric blue and purple).
Now, when I was 40, I got my ear pierced (that was before I knew that my church frowns upon that in men). I know the motivations for that. I did it out of a need for adventure (mine is a relatively boring life), a statement of control over my own body, and a bit of rebellion thrown in (mid-life crisis -- I needed to feel alive and young -- I still do).
Would I get a tatoo? No, though I like some of them, like the tribal designs. Would I submit myself to branding or scarification? Never. Not esthetically pleasing in my culture. Do I hold with piercing? On a VERY conservative level, I think that ear-piercing is attractive in both men and women, but would never do multiple piercings. My son is multiply pierced. It bothers me. I don't feel that it is the least bit attractive, and neither do I feel that it demonstrates his manhood, either. I see his manhood in the way he treats my daughter-in-law, the way he cares for his baby daughter, the way he treats other people around him, and the way he takes responsibility in his job and for his own actions.
I am not the male body ideal. I consider myself to be marginally attractive (the pictures of me on my homepage do not look the same as what I see in the mirror). I'm trying to manage my weight, I'm trying to build muscle (though getting to the gym when I'm in school is difficult, at best), and I'm trying to keep myself neat and well-groomed (per my cultural environment, of course), except for my occasional foray into the twilight zone for a new look.
All in all, this is part of the exploration of who I am and what I am about. I strive to be wise in my behavior and dress, but those little excursions into the twilight zone mildly bother some others around me. I'll get there -- I'll figure it out. So will my son.
