Why is it that when a teen wears all black clothes, black lipstick, mascara, or has many piercings it is sometimes called self-expression and when an adult does the same it might be called "unprofessional"?
Perhaps growing up is so hard because we let our young people slide by with "self-expression". How does this prepare them for a world in which conformity seems to be necessary, especially in the working world?
Of course, there are jobs where you can wear all-black and have a lot of piercings.
I suppose sometimes it seems we have certain expectations of different age-groups. This is acceptable and developmentally we need those expectations, but shouldn't our expectations of teenagers be more closely aligned with those of adults?
I can't wear whatever I want to my job, but I could wear whatever I wanted to my college classes. I could wear almost anything I wanted to wear in high school. Shouldn't we have higher expectations of our young people and people in general? Perhaps if we treated them like the young adults they are, they would act like young adults. They wouldn't feel the need to get everyone's attention by wearing "different clothes" or by being "goth" or anything. Maybe.
I guess sometimes I get frustrated by the gap between young adulthood and adulthood. People have all sorts of expectations for you once you are an "adult" and suddenly how you were or who you were is no longer good enough. Your jeans and t-shirts must be put away and only worn on Saturdays. (PS I'm mostly talking about the professional world). Suddenly I "should" (though I don't) blow-dry my hair every morning to look professional. Sometimes it irks me because no one told me these things in high school. We could be whoever we wanted to be and mostly everyone just called it "self-expression" or "identity". I don't mind looking professional, I just wish sometimes that I didn't feel like I was playing someone else's role in these clothes. I'm just not that kinda girly girl.
Sigh. Just my soapbox for the day.
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2 comments:
I had a comment to this:
I think that exploring and self-expression are the keys to unlocking love and acceptance within ourselves. I think if anything needs to change--it is not our teens and their freedom of expression--it is the workplace and professionalism. They stifle who we are... be mad at them.
ha i like that plan. gr.
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