Clothes maketh the man: Clothes and expression
By Miranda Cossar.
You probably have the misfortune of going to a school which has a uniform. Of course you feel hard done by! They’ve taken away your rights to have piercings, tattoos, jewellery and certain hairstyles, as well as the right to wear the clothing of your choice.
They claim to have done all this to provide a ‘safe environment’, but from where you’re standing that’s utter crap. You feel the need to wear your own clothing for a number of legitimate reasons: to feel comfortable, to look good, and to express your own sense of individuality. After all, what’s on the outside is what catches people’s attention.
But when you arrive home after school, the first thing on your mind isn’t always stripping off that completely hideous school uniform. No, your main concern is stuffing your face with food and maybe watching a bit of TV before attempting your homework. In fact, you may be so absorbed in your after school schedule that you don’t change into anything other than your uniform throughout the whole day.
Suddenly being stripped of your clothing rights doesn’t bother you all that much. And it shouldn’t, for millions of people around the world suffer a great deal more than the average New Zealand teenager.
More than a uniform
Imagine being forced to wear a Burqa (long veil) that covers a woman head to toe, or being whipped in public for having non-covered ankles, or having several fingers amputated because you were wearing nail polish.
This kind of treatment has been a reality for some women living in Afganistan under the Taliban regime. Needless to say, freedom of expression through clothing was non-existent under the Taliban.
In the western world, the hijab and burqa (coverings) have come to symbolise the oppression of women in Islamic countries. This stereotype is mostly not true. Muslim women in New Zealand, other western countries and Islamic countries where hijab is not compulsory continue to wear burqa even though they are not under an oppressive fundamentalist regime. Wearing a burqa is less about oppression and more about expression of religious freedom. Sometimes in New Zealand women are deprived of their freedom of expression – not by being forced to wear burqa but by being judged by the public for doing so.
A matter of faith
In France, no religious symbols or messages of any sort are allowed to be expressed through clothing in schools. Why? Because students have a constitutional right to communicate through clothing or jewellery out of class, but in class, some say this might pose as a distraction and lead to conflict. As France is secular, the government believes religion should be kept out of the classroom, including any symbols which might promote it.
In New Zealand, a school cannot stop their students from wearing religious symbols, taonga or faith crucial clothing. Unfortunately, some schools don’t follow this law. There are certain schools which confiscate greenstone and crosses from their students.
In the US, certain restrictions are allowed on what clothing can be worn in the classroom. But if a school allows clothing and jewellery which has secular (non-religious) messages, they can’t prohibit clothing with religious messages. For example, if you’re allowed to wear a tshirt with a Nike symbol or slogan, you should be able to wear a tshirt saying ‘Jesus loves you’.
Fair’s fair, right?
This article was written as part of the Global Focus a collaborative project of Tearaway Magazine and the Global Education Centre. It was first published in Tearaway magazine and is reprinted here with their permission
Illustrator: Toby Morris
