Clothing as a Language

Alison Lurie states in her book The Language of Clothes that “if clothing is a language, it must have a vocabulary and a grammar.” Lurie is making the point that people can read a message from the clothes you wear, whether it be about where you are from or what you believe in. Hamilton College is a very secular place, and I think that has a very large impact in the way in which people express religion in clothing, which makes it hard to understand peoples’ religious beliefs solely through their clothing. I think at Hamilton, we have very little choice in terms of what we can wear because of the secularity. Although people may show their style, whether it is preppy, or artsy, or athletic, religious dress is something that is seen pretty rarely around our campus. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a Hijab at Hamilton and I’ve definitely never seen a boy walking around with a yarmulke. The main things that I’ve seen that display religion is a Cross necklace or a Star of David necklace. I think that the secularity has a negative effect on many students here because I don’t think that all the students express as much religion as they would like. Becoming isolated or an outcast, like many of the girls in Shabana Mir’s research, is something that many people fear, so they will try to look as secular as possible in order to fit in. As a Jewish student on campus, I will say that I don’t think my clothes can identify me, and I think I can say the same for my non-Jewish friends as well.

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.