One of the most influential artifacts a person has is his/her clothing, it is usually the first thing another person notices about another person; thus making appearance and one’s clothing very meaningful, even without intention. Most people use their clothing to display some part of their personality, lifestyle, culture or hobbies. A person can pick up on a person’s age, sex, and even socioeconomic status just by analyzing a person’s clothing; it can also give a person an impression of how similar or different you are from them and can even at times be representative of an authority figure and thus giving clothing a persuasive aspect. For instance businessmen and women wear business suits to display their status in society, much like the men among the Tuareg will wear veils around only certain persons because of his status in the culture, and the veil is a status symbol to these men. Also, most of those in the business world dress very similarly as if trying to avoid standing out; very few bright colors or variations in style, everyone seems to want to fit in and appear similar to one another.
Another way people use clothing to nonverbally express themselves is through particular styles of dress, for instance Punk fashion has made a very big impression. People use this “punk-rock” clothing style as a way to rebel and show that they live a lifestyle unlike the norm. Greg Graffin, front-man of a Bad Religion (a well known Punk band), explains “punk is a personal expression of uniqueness.” Those whom adopt this style of dress wear studded clothing often with patches for and supporting bands that promote living a more unique lifestyle. This group of people uses their clothing to demonstrate their ideas to society and in a way rebel against society. Often time you’ll see men, as well as women, with outlandish and colorful hairstyles, wearing rock band t-shirts, and plenty of leather & studs all of these are artifacts that they use to express their viewpoints on society without having to speak a word.
Another instance where you can see clothing used to nonverbally express something about a person is through sporting teams gear. During any sporting season you can easily identify those who are sports fans and which team they support by simply looking at the colors they are wearing or the mascot painted on the front of their t-shirts. Another impression this type of clothing leaves is school spirit; any fall semester you walk through any college campus and see plenty of gear supporting the school’s football team. This brings a sense of togetherness to the fans; they can all easily identify one another even at away games because of their choice of clothing. Often times fans will even paint their bodies and faces in support of their chosen teams to show support will in the stands.
Author: Michelle Swartz
Works Cited
"Artifacts." UofL: College of Business. Web. 29 Nov. 2011. <http://cobweb2.louisville.edu/faculty/regbruce/bruce//mgmtwebs/commun_f98/artifacts.htm>.
Knapp, Mark L. "Nonverbal Communication in Human ... - Mark L. Knapp, Judith A. Hall."Google Books. Web. 29 Nov. 2011. <http://books.google.com/books?id=j5HIIfRUPm0C>
Nanda, Serena. "Culture Counts: A Concise ... - Serena Nanda, Richard L. Warms." Google Books. Web. 29 Nov. 2011. <http://books.google.com/books?id=w2xhvhcsHmcC>.
