Isn’t it important as to how you dress and the way you portray yourself? It is indeniable that people are often perceived by their external appearance. But nevertheless, we percieve our surroundings, experience and communication differently for each and every one of us, and it can be influenced by social factors too such as the media.
“Perception is the process of selecting, organizing and interpreting information in order to give personal meaning to the communication we recieve.” Seiler & Beatl, Communication Making Connection, 1999:31
Taken from: http://www.12ghosts.com/support/awards/geeks.jpg
Take this picture for example. If someone were to wear big glasses with high pants, people would immediately jump to think that you’re a boring person and probably those who bury themselves in books all the time, commonly referred to as a geek. This is a typical example of a social stereotype represented by the media, showing a generalization of geeks in movies, to give people a perception on his character. But for all you know, he could be just a simple minded guy who just has bad fashion taste!
Now, if we look at this picture, most of us will think that this outfit is too revealing. This would be due to the religious differences all over the world. In most muslim and Chinese countries they will find this too revealing for ladies to wear as it is a taboo because women are supposed to cover every inch of their body except face, hands and feet in many cultures. Even those of Chinese culture, those who come from a reserved family background may perceive this model to be cheap. However if you come from a more open country such as the US, this scene would be common and accepted anywhere, especially at the beaches where even some females just go nude. We have all different scripts in our cognitive schemata for people. It is a basis for assessing how a person is supposed to act and what they would be like.
In this case, a rising number of modern women are starting to dress like this and its becoming more of a norm. In those laidback countries, this attire for women would be unacceptable as cowboy jeans and a jacket would deem fit for a male to wear instead. Women always had the prototype of wearing a skirt and blouse. However, for those who are more open to contemporary fashion, they would find this bold, and interesting.
Just like seeing seeing someone on the street carrying branded products from top to toe to someone driving past in a Ferrari, what would you think? Its an unavoidable human instinct to have personal stereotypes, idealized representations of certain types of people. These luxury items would only show wealth of a person. People will instantly perceive such a person to come from a well-to-do family background or maybe an important person in society with characteristics of a spendthrift. But people can fail to take into account other possibilities, such as this person could have just spent lavishly on the luxury goods and is currently in debt?
