So I changed my style. People noticed. Why? I'm still the same person, right? So why did people react? Probably because they knew it wasn't 'normal.' Not for me at least. I'm a darker person. Then suddenly I come in wearing bright clothes, with make up on, and my hair completely different? Of course people notice. But, this is no excuse for stereotyping. Stereotypes hurt people. No one person should be judged solely on the fact that they look like someone else. It's stupid and ignorant. Just because a lot of terrorists happen to be Arab, does NOT mean that all Arabs are terrorists. Just because a lot of kids that hurt themselves are goth/emo, does NOT mean that all emos and goths hurt themselves. There's no correlation. Not all rich people are stuck up, not all preps are brats, and not all adults are responsible. Stereotypes can say things both good and bad, but they are inaccurate. They should not exist.
What I learned from this project was not really what I wanted to learn. All I learned was that people notice if something changes about you. Now that I have my data/reactions collected, I plan to go back to my old style. While this was fun, it's not who I am. I am myself and I feel more comfortable in the darker, baggy clothing that is my style. The only thing that's staying is my hair. Thankfully, the style I chose is one that I like and fits into both stereotypes. There may be a small reaction when i change back to my old style but I think it will be nothing notable.
I really had fun doing this project, but I'm not sure that I would do it again unless I had a good reason. I don't like pretending to be someone I'm not.
Friday, September 2, 2011
Other Shoes (Day 2)
Today is the second and final day to collect data/reactions for this project. Today wasn't really as successful. I didn't get NEARLY as many reactions. At the end of the day yesterday, my seventh hour teacher, said she really liked my hair and the only reactions I got today were when I was at the bus stop. 2 Girls said they liked the jean leggings I was wearing. I think I didn't get as big of a reaction today because most people saw it yesterday. There might be a bit of a reaction when I go back to my normal style, but there shouldn't be anything worth noting. All in all, today didn't really seem to do much for the project.
Thursday, September 1, 2011
Other Shoes (Day One)
Today is the first day of actively participating for the project noticeably. Last night, I got my hair cut, gathered up the rest of the clothes I needed, made sure I had everything I needed for make-up, and colored my hair.
Today, I had to get up a bit earlier to fix my hair and make-up, but it didn't take nearly as long as I'd have thought. My mom told my dad: "Look, it IS a girl!" Once I was ready, I left for the bus stop and immediately got a reaction. Dad said he liked everything except how tight my shirt is. A few people gave me odd looks, and one girl said she liked how I did my hair today. The bus ride here was uneventful, except for one girl on my bus commenting that she liked my hair, but when I came inside the school, more reactions were inevitable. My friends seemed to like it:
Poncho: You look like a birdie!
Shelbie: I love the jacket. (I borrowed it from her)
Nicole: I like your hair, lemme see your makeup. It's so cool.
Zoey: Nice hair. Then later on in art she commented again: You're scarin me with your awesome nest hair...Can I touch it?
Tori: It looks really good in the back.
Wayne just gave me an odd look, like he didn't know what was going on.
A guy by my locker turned around and said: whoah.
On the way to first hour, my friend Ellen exclaimed: What's wrong with your hair???
The girl that was with her turned to her and said: Nothing's wrong with it! It looks amazing.
On the way out of first hour, Cheyenne: You got purple in your hair. It looks pretty.
In third hour, Aryka said: It's just Bri being Bri.
In fifth hour, my friend, Kayla said: Bri did you dye your hair a different color? And you got it cut. Nice Sasuke hair.
This is Sasuke:
Other than that, I haven't really gotten any reactions so far. Wish me luck for day two.
Today, I had to get up a bit earlier to fix my hair and make-up, but it didn't take nearly as long as I'd have thought. My mom told my dad: "Look, it IS a girl!" Once I was ready, I left for the bus stop and immediately got a reaction. Dad said he liked everything except how tight my shirt is. A few people gave me odd looks, and one girl said she liked how I did my hair today. The bus ride here was uneventful, except for one girl on my bus commenting that she liked my hair, but when I came inside the school, more reactions were inevitable. My friends seemed to like it:
Poncho: You look like a birdie!
Shelbie: I love the jacket. (I borrowed it from her)
Nicole: I like your hair, lemme see your makeup. It's so cool.
Zoey: Nice hair. Then later on in art she commented again: You're scarin me with your awesome nest hair...Can I touch it?
Tori: It looks really good in the back.
Wayne just gave me an odd look, like he didn't know what was going on.
A guy by my locker turned around and said: whoah.
On the way to first hour, my friend Ellen exclaimed: What's wrong with your hair???
The girl that was with her turned to her and said: Nothing's wrong with it! It looks amazing.
On the way out of first hour, Cheyenne: You got purple in your hair. It looks pretty.
In third hour, Aryka said: It's just Bri being Bri.
In fifth hour, my friend, Kayla said: Bri did you dye your hair a different color? And you got it cut. Nice Sasuke hair.
This is Sasuke:
Other than that, I haven't really gotten any reactions so far. Wish me luck for day two.
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
Other Shoes 2011
My name is Briana Reckamp and working with Blake Livingston, I will be doing a project in English class to dissuade people from using stereotypes and labels.
Normally, people see me and they think: goth, emo, loner, etc. I tend to wear darker clothing, I'm usually quiet, and I tend to keep to myself. I've even been called creepy, weird, odd, and freakish. Though this does not really bother me, it would really hurt some people. Labels and stereotypes are too often used. People need to stop being ignorant and learn that just because someone looks one way, does not mean they are the same as everyone else with the same style.
To make people see this, I will be completely changing my outer look with Blake's help for a few days. I will go from my Gothic, dark look to a more upbeat, colorful, look. Scene.
Blake and I have a hypothesis. What will happen when we do this? How will people react? Well, we think that if I change my style, we will get both positive and negative reactions. The people that know me and are my close friends, probably won't react too much. They'll think it's just 'Bri being Bri.' Although the people that don't know me as well, but still see me every day (teachers, classmates, neighbors) may react largely.
In order to pull this off, what am I gonna do? Well, I'm going to dye my hair, use a make up suited to the stereotype, wear different clothing, and maybe even act a bit different. I should be able to pull this off by Thursday and Friday to collect data. To get a big reaction, I'll be doing this at school, since people in public places like the mall won't notice any 'difference.' You may be wondering how exactly I'm going to actually record my data. Well, I'll be carrying around a small notebook and writing down what people say or how they react. I hope to learn just how ignorant some people really can be when it comes to stereotyping and how exactly they really see me.
Normally, people see me and they think: goth, emo, loner, etc. I tend to wear darker clothing, I'm usually quiet, and I tend to keep to myself. I've even been called creepy, weird, odd, and freakish. Though this does not really bother me, it would really hurt some people. Labels and stereotypes are too often used. People need to stop being ignorant and learn that just because someone looks one way, does not mean they are the same as everyone else with the same style.
To make people see this, I will be completely changing my outer look with Blake's help for a few days. I will go from my Gothic, dark look to a more upbeat, colorful, look. Scene.
Blake and I have a hypothesis. What will happen when we do this? How will people react? Well, we think that if I change my style, we will get both positive and negative reactions. The people that know me and are my close friends, probably won't react too much. They'll think it's just 'Bri being Bri.' Although the people that don't know me as well, but still see me every day (teachers, classmates, neighbors) may react largely.
In order to pull this off, what am I gonna do? Well, I'm going to dye my hair, use a make up suited to the stereotype, wear different clothing, and maybe even act a bit different. I should be able to pull this off by Thursday and Friday to collect data. To get a big reaction, I'll be doing this at school, since people in public places like the mall won't notice any 'difference.' You may be wondering how exactly I'm going to actually record my data. Well, I'll be carrying around a small notebook and writing down what people say or how they react. I hope to learn just how ignorant some people really can be when it comes to stereotyping and how exactly they really see me.
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