Visual Identity

Does clothing truly reveal our identity? In today’s world, as Alison Lurie argues, clothing reveals a lot about the sex, age and socio-economic status of an individual. The things we wear act as a language that communicates to the rest of the world some information about ourselves. When a woman wears a hijab, we identify her as a conservative Muslim who is obliged to fully cover her face and her body from the eyes of the strangers. Moreover, the hijab makes Muslim women seem oppressed and shy to western societies.

As Shabana Mir argues in her article, it is unfair to make such statements because it creates false stereotypes. The wearing of the hijab is not an essential part of Islam. Just because a woman wears the hijab, it does not mean that she is subjugated or timid. I’m not sure if this is the case at Hamilton, but there are plenty of Muslim women like Latifa on other campuses, that wear the hijab and are sociable and broad-minded. One of my friends at Hamilton does not wear the hijab and is not identified by the majority as a Muslim because she dresses and acts “normally”. Therefore, the form of identity that is suggested by clothing can be deceiving in many ways. On one hand, clothing does reveal the sex, age and socio-economic status of an individual, but on the other, it doesn’t fully reveal his or her character. What is shown on the outside is just a visual identity, an abridged projection of our individuality to the outer world.

Religious expression through dress

In her book and talk, Shabana Mir discusses stigmas from forms of religious expression through clothing. The discomfort the female Muslim college students she discusses demonstrate the assumptions people make about hijabs. People constantly jump to conclusions about others based off their appearance, and when that appearance is outwardly religious, certain stereotypes or assumed standards follow. It is part of human nature to make assessments of people based off appearance, as is explained in Alison Lurie’s article, “The Language of Clothes.” When religion is added to the mix, the assumptions get more complex and often more judgmental.

On Hamilton’s campus, outward religious expression through clothing is minimal. Some people wear Crosses or Stars of David around their necks, but beyond that, students tend to have a very secular appearance. That is not to say people do not make judgments based off appearance, though. The secular culture makes religious expression all the more daring and potentially important to the person choosing to express their religion through dress. In a campus culture where religious expression is rarely seen, to break the mold and display one's beliefs takes great courage and commitment. Therefore, a person wearing a hijab, yamaka, or the like is opening himself or herself up to the impressions of people who are unfamiliar with this type of religious expression.

Religious Dress and the Desire for Conformity on the Hamilton Campus

Despite the predominantly secular attitudes of students at Hamilton College, there is a religious presence here. The Muslim Student Association, Hillel, and Inter Varsity Christian Fellowship are all active organizations on campus. However, very few students actively present a religious identity through their clothing. For the most part, students seem to dress within the norms of American youth culture. It is possible to make certain assumptions about people through what they wear, but for the most part gleaning some sort of religious identity without a marker is difficult. Shabana Mir’s lecture and chapter provided me with some insight on why that is the case. In her lecture she discussed how someone's  peers are the biggest influence on a person at college. In her chapter she writes “hijab facilitated personal piety precisely by limiting assimilation within mainstream culture.”

Here at Hamilton “mainstream culture” means the party scene. This kind of highly secular environment tends not to match the kind of behavior that is expected of prototypically ‘religious’ students. Visible crosses, yarmulkes, or hijabs do not conform to the secular culture at Hamilton. People who do publicly display their religious affiliation, and choose not to participate in leisure culture, come across as more religious than students who do conform to secular ways of dress, even if that is not the case. Religious students can either downplay their religious identity to fit in or choose to embrace that part of themselves at the risk of alienating their peers.

Power of Perception

        As Shabana Mir discussed in both her lecture and article, “You Can’t Really Look Normal and Dress Modestly”, appearance is a crucial part of our identity. Although we may hope and believe that we’re in control of our first impressions, there is something that always gets the chance to speak first – our clothes. Despite our best efforts to reserve judgment until actually getting to know someone, it’s incredibly difficult to not categorize an individual at first glance. Later on, we may be able to look past this initial judgment but nonetheless a first assessment has already been made. It’s hard to deny this aspect of ourselves. It’s how we work to make sense of our surroundings and generally function on a day-to-day basis. The issue to discuss here is the disconnect that occurs between the message we put out and the message that is received.

        What I hope to convey is not always what others pick up on. As such, a fair amount of control lies with the observer. As I was sitting down to consider how religious clothing or paraphernalia factors into identity on campus, I realized that I couldn’t come up with many examples. This may be attributed to the fact that there just simply isn’t a lot of religious clothing worn around campus. Or perhaps it’s because I’m not looking for it. The most common example I could think of was cross necklaces. Do I notice these because they’re most common or because, as a Catholic, this is a symbol I am most attuned to pick up? The answers to the commonality of religious paraphernalia on campus are not ones that I know. However, thinking about this issue drew my attention to the power of perception. It highlighted the fact that while we may like to believe our identity is in our hands, the beliefs and perceptions of our peers in fact play a significant role in our identities. Thus, bringing forth the question of how private is the formation of our identities? Do we internalize the perceptions of self that society throws back at us?

The Hostility Invoked by a Cross

There are a variety of fanatics and supporters of different causes on Hamilton's campus. Avid fans come together to watch soccer games and people proudly sport LGBTQ alliance stickers on their Nalgenes. Hamilton students are often proud to support their unique affiliations and "groups. But still, individuals are apprehensive to publicly display their religions or faiths through dress. 

Shabana Mir acknowledges how religious attire or symbols can lead people to preconceived conclusions: a "[hijab]...has these connotations for American people...maybe terrorist-related things." A dictionary definition of the word hijab solely indicates a head covering worn by some Muslim women; there is nothing about terrorism or oppression. As Alison Lurie writes, these ideas come about through "the language of dress", where upon first sight individuals "register the information unconsciously" about someone's appearance and form associations about the type of dress and the consequential type of person.

As a Catholic on this campus, I often find unreceptive sentiments when confronted over my religion. I think peers have formed negative associations between Catholicism and pressing social rights issues such as gay and female reproductive rights. I am made conscious of these ill-assuming views when I wear a cross around my neck. Students can be quick to assume one-dimensional facets of religion to be true and the same for everyone without any real acknowledgment of the individual.