T-Shirts, Symbols and Assumptions

By Sally Raskoff

While waiting out thunderstorms in an airport recently, I spotted a rather large man wearing a big black t-shirt that stated in large bold pink letters: I  (heart) Boobs. It certainly got my attention.

My first reaction – that I kept to myself – was, “Wow, what chutzpah!” You have probably seen the reclining woman mud flaps on big trucks. This t-shirt elicited the same reaction I have when I see those mud flaps: “What a display of sexist attitudes and without any thought to the consequences of objectifying women as sex objects.”

This t-shirt made me think all the other displays of sexism in bumper stickers and other objects that many people use to broadcast their opinions and (supposed) sense of humor. The bumper stickers, “Get In, Sit Down, Shut Up” and “No Fat Chicks” come to mind as well.

When I see a bumper sticker like this, I wonder what happens when they visit their grandmothers and if their relatives, and whether their elders reacted negatively, positively, or not at all. (Maybe grandma bought it for them!)

I chuckled at this man’s shirt and his ability to walk around the airport broadcasting this message. Then he turned around. On the back of the shirt, it stated “Breast Cancer Awareness”. I realized that my assumptions of his sexism were way off base and changed my reaction immediately to one of empathy and respect. It’s not everyday you see a big macho man wearing a shirt that is to raise awareness of a disease that affects more women than men. My spouse has fought cancer twice, so I felt grateful that his shirt might raise awareness about cancer.

Later, I spotted him again with his family, waiting for their flight. His wife was wearing a kerchief on her head and it was obvious that she had new hair growing in. It was likely that she was fighting breast cancer and the shirt was his way of both supporting her and raising awareness about the disease.

So what does this have to do with sociology? I would like to focus on symbolic gestures and the ways in which we define ourselves to the world.

The symbols we use to define or express ourselves reside not only within such things as bumper stickers but in our clothing choices and many other things. What we wear and how we wear it tells people about us. For example our gender is displayed with our clothing choices as is our social class and culture.

Consider men in skirts. In Scotland and Polynesia seeing men in specific types of hip wrappings is not unusual. I used to teach at a small liberal arts college that designates one day a year for male students to wear skirts. In the U.S., this has not been a typical clothing option for men.

I was in elementary school when the Los Angeles schools allowed girls to wear pants. I remember wondering what the big deal was about controlling the clothing choices and I was quite happy to wear my pants to school, especially on cold days!

Baggy pants and large t-shirts and sweatshirts, especially those emblazoned with logos, broadcast another image that clearly tells people something about the person’s social class or racial/ethnic identity.

Tattoos tell people that a person feels strongly enough about something to ink it into their skin. Societal norms about tattoos have changed a great deal recently. Many (mostly younger) people define them as body art and an important part of their personal identity while others (mostly older) people define them as unprofessional, irresponsible, or sacrilegious.

What does the t-shirt I saw in the airport broadcast? If one only sees the front, it clearly states that this man is heterosexual and probably that he objectifies women as he is focusing on one particular body part. However, when one sees the back, one sees the entire context of the shirt’s message and thus it broadcasts that this man has been touched in some way by cancer. It broadcasts that he is thoughtful and caring about his loved ones and brings to mind the people, often families or on teams, who shave their heads to show compassion and solidarity when a family or team member is going through chemotherapy and loses their hair.

Let’s think about some other symbols that people use to identify them as aligned with various causes or issues. For example, many organizations have used the ribbons, ribbon pins, or bracelets/wristbands in various colors as fundraisers and awareness items. Yellow ribbons have long signified supporting soldiers; pink ribbon pins are linked with breast cancer; red with Aids awareness; sky blue with prostate cancer; purple with domestic violence; teal with ovarian cancer.

As for the bracelets, the Lance Armstrong Foundations has linked yellow to cancer awareness; pink signifies breast cancer; blue in the U.K. signifies the “Beat Bullying campaign (in football) while ocean blue is connected with Hurricane Katrina and light blue is for the East Asia Tsunami relief; purple is for cystic fibrosis or domestic violence; teal is ovarian cancer. Some colors are used for multiple issues such as black bracelets that have been used for Amish support, gang prevention, gun control, melanoma, mourning (Virginia Tech), POW/MIA, and sleep disorders.

The ribbons and bracelets can get confusing not only because different colors can mean different things but many people have no idea what they are in the first place! To use these symbols to raise awareness for specific causes, they need to be identified by more information. Most of them have words on them as well as the color schema although the words don’t often give direct information about the issue.

When we see other people, unconsciously or not we look at them and interpret everything on their body as a clued about their identity. Sometimes, we misinterpret these clues. For example, when walking by the volunteer table at a health center with my daughter and her friend when they were about twelve, a woman gestured to my daughter’s friend to come over and talk. The woman asked her what temple she attended and if she had had her bat-mitzvah yet. This girl was flustered not only because some unknown older adult was talking to her but because she had no idea what the woman was asking and why. The woman explained that she saw the necklace she was wearing, a Jewish star pendant, and assumed she was Jewish, observant, and could bond with her about their common faith. It turns out she wore the necklace because it was pretty, not because she went to temple or had much interest in the religion.

We try to identify people based on what we see, yet these assumptions may not be accurate! When we make assumptions about people based on erroneous assumptions about and partial knowledge of their symbolic gestures, we may miss opportunities to get to really know them.

Comments

[Kelsey R.]

I think that Sally Raskoff’s blog entry helps teach a very important lesson, and especially one that we tend to forget about. The article made a good point and gave a great example of how people can be mislead by their own judgments without even realizing it. The man with the shirt is just one occurrence of many that surround us.
At my work (I’m an intern at an advertising agency), we designed t-shirts that were also for breast cancer awareness, made to be given out at a charity function in my hometown. The shirts said “Saving Second Base”, reffering to the terms often used by people to describe the extent of “sexual activity” with another person. The choice to make the slogan so provocative was a difficult one, because we were scared that some people would think it was too sexual sounding, or they would think it was inappropriate for a charity event. The shirts were designed to catch people’s attention, and make them laugh, while also advertising the severity of breast cancer. Needless to say, our shirts sold out, and people wear them around town all the time.
Overall, I think that the article primarily is to make us think about double meanings and alternative intentions. Raskoff successfully made me consider how I may judge things before I know what they are completely, and I think next time I see a strange shirt, I will definitely think of her article, and wonder what it may really mean.

[Victoria Sweet]

As I was reading your article, it reminded me of a time someone took an article of clothing I was wearing as sacreligous. I had my peace sign hat, and as I walking out of Safeway, an old man stopped me and asked me what it meant. I knew there are different meanings to this symbol, but for me I took the meaning of peace. Imediately he began accusing me of being a satan worshipper, and that my soul was going to be damned hell. I found it very interesting and confusing that he had the courage to say those things to me, before even knowing anything about me.

[Lindsey Hughes]

Sally Raskoff's blog really does impact me a great amount. Every person is different and wears what they want to their liking. I don't know how many times I've been somewhere where I have scrolled someone down and judged them on what they were wearing and predicted what kind of person they were from that. We do it all the time, you may not even realize it. My roommates do it. It is just normal.

But, the problem is, is that it is becoming too normal. We miss these chances to meet people who could very well be into the same things we are or just someone that could end up a friend. Taking a step back to think that there are double meanings to things and people have their own reasons for doing and wearing the things they do. We may just not understand them.

Everyone should have the same chances and be treated equally to others and when we misconstrue someone and what kind of person they are we put up this label for them and they are treated differently.

[Lisa Kenny]

I agree with Sally Raskoff's blog because what people wear really does express their personality. Like Sally, I've frequently seen something that someone has worn or had, like t-shirts or tattoos, that at first i thought were disturbing or inappropriate but after I learned the meaning behind it, it made more sense. On the other hand, I have seen these types of things and there is no meaning behind it and it is just inappropriate.

Most people judge strangers on their appearance and with a society like this, why would you want to portray yourself in any kind of negative way? I believe that your first impression of other people decides what you think of them. This is a flaw of society because it prevents you from giving some people a chance to change your mind because your mind has already been made up.

From reading this article I think that I will be less likely to judge others based on something as superficial as a t-shirt or bumper sticker.

[Dulce Sikes]

I think that the Internet as much as cell phones have had an impact on parents and their relationship with their children. Not only do kids find it easier to text mom or dad but they are doing it from the comfort of their own home, when their parents are also at home. Rather than walking to the kitchen or living room to find the parents kids are becoming lazy and texting and emailing. Not only does this distance the relationship between teens and parents but it also puts a distance between the relationships that kids have with their own friends. Teens and even adults are turning to texting to end relationships, talk to their bosses, and communicate conversations that would normally be more heartfelt through a phone call. It definitely matters for parents to know who their kids are talking with on the phone. There are cases of child abductions and maybe even killings where kids are unprepared to deal with some of the people that are out to attack children. They become so use to talking with any one that it is difficult to see a dangerous situation approaching. I feel that some of these technologies such as GPS and being able to limit the account on certain lines make it easy for the parent to be in control and for the child to know that their parent is still in control.

[Josh Lorencz]

Wow ok yes it is just society now we have gone from a very conservative to more laid back. It is normal for people to see those shirts now. people where those shirts just to get a laugh. They do not do it to show women as sex symbols. This brings me to dress codes we have them in schools why. They say it will become a distraction. What you don't think we will encounter distractions in life that is the stupidest thing i have ever heard. Dress codes are a way that the school can still have power it is an ego boost for them when they catch someone.

[Nicole]

Sally Roskoff’s blog, “T-shirt, Symbols and Assumptions” hits the spot when it refers to they way people use symbols to represent themselves now and days. We expect people from certain cultures and races to dress one way, and if we see them in a different manner, we are quick to judge them based on their appearance. People will identify us based on a certain logo or image we may have on our clothing or body, and that will then be used as their first impression without really getting to know the person. The reasoning on how we judge someone in this society is definitely an imperfection on us.
Roskoff has without doubt made me think more about how I am so fast to judge people everywhere I go. I’m going to be more cautious about the comments I may make with friends because the person I’m criticizing could be doing the same exact thing to me too without me even knowing it. I’m missing the opportunity to make fun of them because of the way they dress or look, instead of taking the time out of my day to get to know them on a more personal level instead of a superficial one. This society, as well as I, needs to think more about our actions and react to them in a better, uplifted way.

[Amanda Chino]

The reason why I chose this article was because I think that it relates to myself in everyday life because I am making assumptions everyday. For instance when I first met the guy that is now my boyfriend was on a random weekend night. All of his friends were wearing normal clothes, but he was wearing spandex gold pants and a little shirt. I automatically thought he was a strange and didn’t talk to him, but it turned out to be a dare and that’s why he was wearing it. I also think that people make false assumptions about me, obviously. Sometimes I wear reading glasses and when walking around campus I think that maybe people think that I look nerdy that day, but I think that I also make that assumption about other people wearing glasses.
In the article Raskoff talks about how certain people chose to get tattoos and that generally older people (such as parents) think that it is, “unprofessional, irresponsible, or sacrilegious.” (Raskoff). I do not personally have a tattoo and I don’t think I will ever get one, but I don’t think that people who chose to get them
Chino 3
should be judged because they are using it to define an emotion or a statement that means something to them.
Overall I really liked this article, I think that it is completely true that people are constantly making false assumptions about people just through what they see. I think that the man wearing the shirt for the fight against breast cancer is the cutest thing ever. If I were ever ill I would hope that my husband would support me just as much.

[Carina Sarbeck]

I chose the article T-Shirts, Symbols, and Assumptions by Sally Raskoff because I can relate 100% to the message that she brings attention to. Raskoff’s main message states that we identify people based on what we see, particularly symbolic gestures or symbols. We then make assumptions of who people are based on these gestures. I loved learning about how society affects the individual’s life (and vice versa) in our sociology class so when I found this article, it extremely interested me!
I didn’t necessarily have any questions on Raskoff’s article, but I did however reflect a great deal on my life and how I view people personally. For example, just yesterday I was at my gym, 24 Hour Fitness, running on the treadmill and there was a lady in front of my roommate and I that was on one of the incliners and the pants she was working out in were unusually low. As she continued to work out the pants got so low they almost fell off her buttocks. The whole time I was thinking, “Oh my gosh what is this woman thinking! Can’t she feel her pants falling off?” I considered it very inappropriate and I was completely shocked by what she was wearing. Then, today I read this article and thought specifically about this situation I encountered yesterday. I thought, “What if this woman was mentally handicap and didn’t know her pants were falling inappropriately low?” This symbol of her clothing led to my own assumptions, which could most definitely be false. When I judged this woman for being a little crazy, she could be someone that is perhaps handicapped who is the sweetest person in the world. This particular situation really showed me how much I really agree with what Sally Raskoff is saying in T-Shirts, Symbols, and Assumptions. I am completely guilty of making my own beliefs on who I think a person is by judging their symbolic gestures. The symbolic gestures that society chooses to portray have a huge effect on what people think, including myself.

[Jakaria Knight]

T-shirts were originally link worn as undershirts, but are now worn frequently as the only piece of clothing on the top half of the body, other than possibly a brassiere or, rarely, a waistcoat (vest). T-shirts have also become a medium for self-expression and advertising, with any imaginable combination of words, art and photographs on display