Who would have thought that the hoodie - an everyday garment - was the reason why colored people were murdered? “The politics of the Hoodie”, which was written by Troy Patterson in The New York Times, discussed how a regularly-worn garment in today’s society was once a ‘moving target’. Hoodies were originally made for athletes, cold construction workers, and farmers; however, it was converted later into a street style. When people started wearing hoodies to commit crimes, especially since they hid their faces, hoodies started being associated with hoodlums and criminals. It determined whether or not that person will return home just by wearing a simple hoodie. Although clothing can unite people from all different backgrounds and perspectives with its creative influence, it has been the cause of great turmoil and strife between people, even causing widespread violence amongst many communities around the world.
One of the biggest repeating debates that this world undergoes is how an individual is generally treated, which is controlled by their skin shading and even their habiliments. Clothing is extremely crucial because individuals establish a fast judgment and impression about other individuals from what they are wearing. For example, if a manager is searching for a laborer he or she will typically pick the individual with the most professional outfit on, as opposed to somebody who is wearing casual jeans and a shirt. The person wearing the dress or the suit will look more fruitful, confident, and wealthier than the person with the jeans on, which is the reason why they are more likely bound to land the position. In the view of a study distributed in the Journal of Social Psychology, it stated “Participants rated the same group of Black student-athletes dressed either in swagger, formal clothing, or wearing championship t-shirts. Again, the men in formal clothes were rated significantly higher on characteristics such as intelligence, trustworthiness, and warmth.” The results demonstrated that participants judged the models to be more hardworking and more bright when wearing formal attire rather than easygoing. Not only can pieces of clothing give good stereotypes, but they can likewise give negative stereotypes. Clothing can also cause bigotry and racism. A piece of clothing that exploded and got one of the greatest and most incredible images of social unfairness is the hoodie. If an African-American wears a dark hoodie to feel comfortable, they will be viewed as “hoodlums”, “a prison garb”, and “gangsters.” However, if anyone else wears it, they will be considered unharmful and comfy. It is extremely unfair for people to feel the need to be cautious and mindful of what they can wear or not. Attire should be a route for people to express themselves, not a reason they might get murdered. Now clothing can determine if you return home safely or not return home at all. In “The Politics of the Hoodie”, Troy Patterson refers to the story of Trayvon Martin. He states
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“It is impossible that the production designers were ignorant of the ghost of Trayvon Martin, the unarmed 17-year-old fatally shot four years ago while wearing much the same thing.” This innocent seventeen-year-old African-American boy didn't encounter the maximum capacity of life when he was killed for wearing a gray hoodie. Troy was murdered because of how the hoodie portrays a specific bad stereotype. A dim hoodie was associated with criminals because of people hiding their faces while wearing them, but this boy had no intention of being a criminal and had no purpose in losing his life. People like Trayvon Martin simply wore hoodies because it kept them warm and comfy and to be like the other teens, not so that it can turn into a political statement. Since the demise of Trayvon Martin, the spotlight has been put on the awareness of “The Hoodie”.
The hoodie transformed from carrying numerous upsetting beliefs to bringing incredible victories. With the assistance of many protesters and influencers African- Americans would now be able to wear Hoodies freely. After numerous long stretches of brutality individuals rose all together to ban any bad perceptions of the hooded sweatshirt. After the death of Trayvon Martin, millions of people of all races walked the streets and protested in the “I am Trayvon Martin” march. People had enough and just wanted to stop worrying about what their kids can or can not put on. All around the world people were talking about “The Hoodie” after the death of Trayvon Martin. Famous influencers used their platforms to stand up and protested for “The Hoodie”. Katherine Boyle emphasized in her article that “On Friday, LeBron James of the Miami Heat tweeted a photo of the basketball team, wearing hoodies and with heads bowed, alongside the hashtag “WeWantJustice”. Famous people were helping by indicating that dark hoodies are typical and shouldn't be viewed as bad. Another way that the hoodie sweatshirt stopped having a bad perception and was turned into street fashion is by changing the shade of hoodies. As expressed by Troy Patterson “You must have seen a sitcom or TV commercial in which black actors wear hoodies in new millennial colors — mustard, maroon — to portray coders” (133). Presently anyone can wear a hoodie without the consequences that accompany a dim hoodie. Now the Hoodie is streetwear and everyone can enjoy it.
Although “the hoodie” helped stop clothing bad stereotypes, it did not stop it completely. Coronavirus -a worldwide pandemic that if people face together can be defeated- now drives a wedge between people. There are still many cases of violence brought by garments like a face masks. A mask is vital for the stopping of coronavirus because the mask stops the virus from spreading from one human being to another. When an individual sees another individual not wearing a mask they usually tell them to put on a mask and that can cause a conflict. In an article, Sherri Gordon states “For people who are afraid of getting COVID-19, they may resort to shaming others online or in public in an attempt to get everyone to take precautions. And for people opposed to mask-wearing, they are shaming other people because of a fear of losing their freedoms or being controlled”. We now have to deal with something called mask shaming. People are mask-shaming people because they are frightened to get sick and having the virus. This pandemic has brought nothing, but sad news: nearly one million poor citizens lost their lives due to this tragic virus. There are many cases in today's world of mask shaming and people getting into fights for not wanting to wear a mask. Based on 4 CBS Miami “Miami police are looking for four people seen attacking an elderly man in an argument over a mask outside a restaurant”. This elder man was worried about his health so he told four boys to wear a mask, but they disagreed and attacked him. Although the number of cases went down since the protest of Trayvon Martin there are still many cases of people having bad impressions of people by what they are wearing. For instance, a bandana can be seen as a cute accessory or a garment associated with gangsters. People assume if it is a sign of trouble or not by the color of the skin of who is wearing it. Bandanas can lead to big suspicions and can cause atlertful problems. Clothing will never be something we can all do without any problems
Garments will never be something we as a whole can wear with no issues. Your outfit is supposed to be a way to express yourself and have fun, but instead, it shreds people. The main thing that attire does is cause prejudice and stereotypes, and it makes you be viewed contrastingly in the public eye. One of the major conflicts America faced was “The Hoodie” which left a major effect on the world. Even though cases of making stereotypes of people of their clothes went down, it did not go away completely. There are still many cases of people getting into conflicts for not wearing or wearing specific types of garments including face masks and bandanas.
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