Hey now. There is nothing wrong with going to the gym. At any age. Sheesh, just because you reach a certain age doesn't mean you have to let yourself go to seed. For my own part, I'm playing catch-up from a nerdy and undisciplined youth.
Otherwise: I have read numerous essays lamenting the culture of perpetual adolescence, but this isn't one of the better ones.
I guess I'm too much a product of this generation. I don't see the problem.
No, let me restate: I don't see the attraction of a suit, tie, and hat. It doesn't make you smarter. It doesn't make you better. It doesn't LOOK better (to me). It doesn't project confidence in anyone's ability to perform in many professions. I don't see the attraction with making yourself look older, feel older, or otherwise age.
I'm not impressed when I see the old man who can barely walk down the tree. He's just old. I'm impressed when I see the old man who can run me into the ground and benchpress a bus. He aged well.
Hats are no more essential to man's estate than codpieces, so leave that off to the side. The point is, dress is one of the ways in which people recognize societal roles. In some societies, unmarried girls wear their hair down, and married women wear it up; and so on.
Back in Sinatra's day, grown-ups dressed one way and kids dressed another. Along about age 15 or so, boys (especially boys) began to adopt adult dress codes, because they wanted to appear more mature. They didn't want to be thought of as old, but they didn't want to be seen as kids anymore.
With my generation (the Boomers), the social goal was reversed: youth didn't want to appear more mature; rather, age wanted to appear younger. Adults began to adopt the styles of teenagers. The result is not freedom and empowerment (set your own style), but perpetual adolescence. The reason for that is, people act the way they are dressed.
When I was teaching the Intro to Secondary Edjumacation Course at ISU, I had to prepare 19- to 20-year-olds to go out and do twenty hours of field observations in the classroom. This was their first experience of what it felt like to be on the other side of the desk.
I had to teach these young adults how to dress, because if they dressed in their visits to Junior High the way they dressed in college, they'd be mistaken for peers by the kids they needed to relate to. College co-eds regularly got asked out on dates (and more) by their students; college "men" who dressed like kids couldn't control their classrooms; and so on.
We no longer have a "mature" category of dress, especially for men. You either dress "young" or you dress "old." The problem then is, everybody wants to act like they're dressed -- shallow, irresponsible, whiny.
Again, I guess I'm just a product of that generation. I don't recognize the link between dressing comfortably (how I want to dress) and acting shallow, irresponsible, or whiny.
In direct response to your example, yes. When you have to distinguish yourself from a population, a uniform of some sort is important. For a teacher, that uniform is probably a collared shirt, slacks, and maybe a tie. I don't have a problem with a uniform in that sense.
I do have a problem with the idea that my general demeanor and bearing is affected by how I dress (if that was the case, phone tech support [to pick an example] would be more effective in suits and ties vs casual dress. I believe I've read that studies have shown the opposite).
I do have a problem with the idea that I'm expected to wear a 'uniform' every day to reflect my job as a mature adult. From your standpoint, and the standpoint of the original writer, that makes me immature. I say that how I live my life argues otherwise. I suspect we're not going to agree since the base premise is radically different.
I'm getting to the point of TLDR. Let me go back to your first line and start over. When you've got a role to present, dress for it. If that role is 'teacher', 'policeman', or 'student', dress == uniform for all practical intents. My ROLE to present when I'm walking through the supermarket, or waiting for a buss, or holding a door open for someone is not 'mature adult'. It's just me.
I don't recognize the value of a uniform for that role, because I don't really recognize the value of that being a 'role' that we fill.
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timeasmymeasure
no subject
Date: 2009-01-28 12:49 pm (UTC)Also, in response to article, yes. I could rant, but I am too tired. -_-
no subject
Date: 2009-01-28 01:38 pm (UTC)Otherwise: I have read numerous essays lamenting the culture of perpetual adolescence, but this isn't one of the better ones.
no subject
Date: 2009-01-28 04:57 pm (UTC)No, let me restate: I don't see the attraction of a suit, tie, and hat. It doesn't make you smarter. It doesn't make you better. It doesn't LOOK better (to me). It doesn't project confidence in anyone's ability to perform in many professions. I don't see the attraction with making yourself look older, feel older, or otherwise age.
I'm not impressed when I see the old man who can barely walk down the tree. He's just old. I'm impressed when I see the old man who can run me into the ground and benchpress a bus. He aged well.
I just don't get it.
no subject
Date: 2009-01-28 05:13 pm (UTC)Back in Sinatra's day, grown-ups dressed one way and kids dressed another. Along about age 15 or so, boys (especially boys) began to adopt adult dress codes, because they wanted to appear more mature. They didn't want to be thought of as old, but they didn't want to be seen as kids anymore.
With my generation (the Boomers), the social goal was reversed: youth didn't want to appear more mature; rather, age wanted to appear younger. Adults began to adopt the styles of teenagers. The result is not freedom and empowerment (set your own style), but perpetual adolescence. The reason for that is, people act the way they are dressed.
When I was teaching the Intro to Secondary Edjumacation Course at ISU, I had to prepare 19- to 20-year-olds to go out and do twenty hours of field observations in the classroom. This was their first experience of what it felt like to be on the other side of the desk.
I had to teach these young adults how to dress, because if they dressed in their visits to Junior High the way they dressed in college, they'd be mistaken for peers by the kids they needed to relate to. College co-eds regularly got asked out on dates (and more) by their students; college "men" who dressed like kids couldn't control their classrooms; and so on.
We no longer have a "mature" category of dress, especially for men. You either dress "young" or you dress "old." The problem then is, everybody wants to act like they're dressed -- shallow, irresponsible, whiny.
no subject
Date: 2009-01-28 06:09 pm (UTC)In direct response to your example, yes. When you have to distinguish yourself from a population, a uniform of some sort is important. For a teacher, that uniform is probably a collared shirt, slacks, and maybe a tie. I don't have a problem with a uniform in that sense.
I do have a problem with the idea that my general demeanor and bearing is affected by how I dress (if that was the case, phone tech support [to pick an example] would be more effective in suits and ties vs casual dress. I believe I've read that studies have shown the opposite).
I do have a problem with the idea that I'm expected to wear a 'uniform' every day to reflect my job as a mature adult. From your standpoint, and the standpoint of the original writer, that makes me immature. I say that how I live my life argues otherwise. I suspect we're not going to agree since the base premise is radically different.
I'm getting to the point of TLDR. Let me go back to your first line and start over. When you've got a role to present, dress for it. If that role is 'teacher', 'policeman', or 'student', dress == uniform for all practical intents. My ROLE to present when I'm walking through the supermarket, or waiting for a buss, or holding a door open for someone is not 'mature adult'. It's just me.
I don't recognize the value of a uniform for that role, because I don't really recognize the value of that being a 'role' that we fill.