Where’s the line – fashion or offense?

I’ll admit it. This summer, I went to TJ Maxx and bought a keffiyeh. Popularized in my world by Nashville’s hipster kids, I thought it would look cute paired with worn in jeans and a white ribbed tank. So I did it. I bought it. I wore it. And now I’m admitting to my bandwagon ways.

My friend Aaron Martin was not so impressed with my scarf as I was, so I did a little research as to the history behind this fashionable accessory. Turns out what I saw to be a cute way to appear fashion forward held much more history – history that may preclude a girl of my specific background to be wearing one.

So what’s the line? Do we play the “freedom” card and say we’re wearing it without those intentions? Or do we choose to be socially responsible and not wear something that may represent a level of intolerance to various people groups?

And here’s the question Aaron raised – If it became popular to wear a KKK hood or swastika in sundry colors, would it be okay to wear it?

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This entry was posted on Tuesday, December 9th, 2008 at 4:09 pm and is filed under Social Awareness. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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3 Responses to “Where’s the line – fashion or offense?”

  1. On December 9th, 2008 at 5:01 pm, Aaron Martin said:

    I think we have to decide what hills we want to die on and take our stands there, regardless of what’s cool or trendy.

  2. On December 26th, 2008 at 2:46 pm, calaismarie said:

    on a slightly humorous note, my uncle joey works with inmates on road construction projects in south georgia. he’s worked with them for years and mentioned last night that it was in the 80s that men started “sagging” their pants. and why? the inmates who sagged their pants were letting everyone know that they were homosexual. i wonder if any of the gangsters who do it now know that.

    i just wonder how many traditions, fashions, etc can be traced back to origins that were different. not to say that makes everything ok, but i guess my point (if i had a point) is that things ‘evolve’ and shift meanings, so which definition do we use? i mean, the swastika was originally a perfectly wonderful symbol used by numerous cultures around the world to represent power, good, the sun, etc. literally, “swastika” actually means ‘to be good’. i’m certainly not saying that we should start wearing swastikas, but i guess i’m asking where’s the line.

  3. On February 4th, 2009 at 10:48 am, Jay said:

    You can buy one of these at TJ Maxx? Who knew?

    What would Steve think of you taking your fashion tips from Yasser Arafat?

    I’m not saying…I’m just saying…

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