What if everyone dressed the same?
In Deborah Tannen's "There is no Unmarked Woman", the idea that a woman cannot get ready in the morning without marking herself a certain way was written in a negative light. However, the idea that women cannot be unmarked is an artifact of our progressivism. The freedom to wear whatever we want was not always granted. Now we can express ourselves through fashion, and create an identity that makes us proud.
How we dress, how we carry ourselves, and how we act are all great ways to first showcase ourselves to others we meet. How boring would the world be if everyone presented themselves as the men in the conference did?
Knowing that this essay was written in 1993, we can see how even men have started to mark themselves. It is more common today for men to be individualistic in their choice of dress, proving that being marked is not a terrible thing.
Of course one could argue that the negative judgments made about women simply based on their physical appearance are unfair. But these assumptions are rare. More important are the judgments that allow others to understand someone better, spark a conversation, or start a friendship. The decisions a woman makes in the morning reflect the type of person she is. This is a fair statement, considering it is a choice as to how someone wishes to present themselves to others.
Living in fear of how others will view us is not a good way to live. We should be proud to be unmarked, because we should be proud of ourselves.
In Deborah Tannen's "There is no Unmarked Woman", the idea that a woman cannot get ready in the morning without marking herself a certain way was written in a negative light. However, the idea that women cannot be unmarked is an artifact of our progressivism. The freedom to wear whatever we want was not always granted. Now we can express ourselves through fashion, and create an identity that makes us proud.
How we dress, how we carry ourselves, and how we act are all great ways to first showcase ourselves to others we meet. How boring would the world be if everyone presented themselves as the men in the conference did?
Of course one could argue that the negative judgments made about women simply based on their physical appearance are unfair. But these assumptions are rare. More important are the judgments that allow others to understand someone better, spark a conversation, or start a friendship. The decisions a woman makes in the morning reflect the type of person she is. This is a fair statement, considering it is a choice as to how someone wishes to present themselves to others.
Living in fear of how others will view us is not a good way to live. We should be proud to be unmarked, because we should be proud of ourselves.
Hi Sophie! I totally agree with your point that Tannen wrote ‘marked’ with a negative connotation behind the word and how people will always take being marked as a negative thing. While in reality, it’s important to be your own person and express yourself through your appearance. I do think however that this was just because of the time she wrote it in, and now being 2020 we have proved that being your own individual and being marked can be a positive thing and should be encouraged.
ReplyDelete