Conformists Vs. the Non-Conformists It is heard throughout all of the elementary school classrooms, recited by teachers and parents alike. “Don’t judge a book by its cover” they say. However, most people chanting off that age-old saying fail to admit that they do, “judge a book by its cover” more than they recognize. And for the most part, first impressions can scream volumes about a person’s character and values. Some people choose not to conform to societal standards of appearance, and like to express themselves through physical means like tattoos, piercings, and crazy hair colors. Others choose to conform to society’s standards, relying on other modes of self-expression to stay true to themselves. It is well-known that elders view young …show more content…
The non-conformists modify their bodies oftentimes for shock value. They want society to do a double-take when they walk down the street. The non-conformists wish to appear as different and original. One of the main goals of those who do not conform is to an elicit an emotional response from others. Whether they get a positive or negative response, they tend not to mind either way as long as they are getting some amount of attention. Sometimes, the non-conformists modify themselves in such a way to intentionally elicit a negative response from someone else, such as getting a tattoo to upset and rebel against their more conservative parents or grandparents. On the other hand, the conformists’ motivation to appear how society wants them to is so they will be viewed as normal or average. Their goal in conforming to society’s standards of appearance is to be respected by everyone, whether they are young and liberal or old and conservative. They do not want to draw too much attention to their physical appearance, and would rather have the ability to make a statement in other ways, specifically what they say and how they act. Those who do conform to societal standards do so not necessarily because they do not want to express themselves, but because they believe that conforming to how society believes one should look is overall more beneficial than trying to express themselves physically, instead focusing on more
Parents need to share some of the blame when it comes to the issue of young adults making damaging personal choices, such as tattoos, piercing, and shocking hair styles that can have a negative impact on their future, and ability to land a job. Parents need to ensure that they are not enabling their children to make wrong personal choices by them giving the example that it is acceptable to look and act a certain way, nor send the wrong message. Parents of young adult’s need exhibit moral behavior, as well exhibit respectable personal choices themselves. In today’s generation, it is understandable that we live in a society where anything goes, nevertheless the parents cannot ignore or condone damaging personal appearance behavior their young adult children choose to
Someone with body modifications does not care if others do not have body modifications; however it seems that people without body modifications care a lot more about the people that do. According to the article “The Modern Primitives” by John Leo, Leo confirms my statement by saying that body modifications are a sign of a crisis. In reality, these are people's chosen lifestyles that have absolutely no effect on his everyday life. Within his commentary, Leo discusses the many different forms of body modification such as piercing, tattoos, corsetry, branding, scarring, and S&M. A nose piercing might be on the more “innocent” side of body modification, but scarring by a knife would be on the “more extreme” side, showing the various stages of adversity.
In the United States, a country created out of rebellion, society seemingly celebrates the idea of uniqueness, individuality, and nonconformity. However, in Brave New World and 1984 , conformity is strictly and, sometimes, brutally enforced. However, in reality, is nonconformity really respected or are there more structures in place than we are willing to acknowledge to encourage conformity, even in the United States of 2017? While we seemingly celebrate individuality, in reality, we do many things to discourage nonconformity.
To survive in society, one must fit in. There are many reasons that people always try to be like everyone else. Some are unsure and others are afraid of being different. Many people change themselves just to fit in. Although tattoos used to be a sign of rebellion, they are now common. In Tattoos were once a sign of rebellion – no...
The definition of conformity is the compliance with social standards and laws in a particular culture, environment, society and time. If this occurs the individual changes their attitudes, beliefs or actions to align more holistically with those in the surrounding groups and environment, as a result of real or perceived group pressure. This is ultimately a direct result of the power which a group has over the individual. There are two types of conformity, normative conformity, and informational conformity. The motivation behind normative conformity is the desire to be liked and accepted in society. This is most widely known as peer pressure. For example, a student begins smoking because their peers
The Conformist directed by Bernardo Bertolucci follows the rise and fall of Italian Fascism, but tells it through the perspective of one man, Marcello Clerici. The narrative of the film is told through several non-sequential flashbacks that take place while Clerici and his chauffeur are driving to assassinate Professor Luca Quadri, a former professor of Clerici who is an exiled fascist. Clerici is a man of a troubled past and an uncertain future. He joined the Fascist secret police even though he doesn’t seem to really believe in Fascism and he’s marrying a woman that he doesn’t necessarily seem to love. All to have a life that appears normal. Marcello Clerici is a man imprisoned by his need to fit in, to appear socially and politically normal.
In our society, appearance and its importance might not look like a problem because of how much it is present in our lives and how it has been presented to us but it is important because we face problems like bullying at every level from child to adult and lower self-esteem that are highly correlated to suicide. The problems that we face today related to appearances are important so this topic deserve attention. Because it affects children, parents, models, teenagers and everybody, we s...
Often in my life I have felt trapped by the boundaries and expectations that those around me have set for how I ought to behave, think, and feel. Here in suburban America, these boundaries are often set by peers and family, as well as by the media and celebrity figures. The expectations that they have set often dictate ideas that, deep down, I greatly disagree with. One of the most prominent of the ideas is that my worth is reflected in my outward physical appearance. In this world which has declared war on th...
Imagine a world where everyone had a tattoo on their four head saying who they were, kinda like a title on a book. Society as a whole tends to judge someone by the way they appear on the outside instead of how getting to know how the person is on the inside. This is why I admire the book Wonder by R.J Palacio.
People always say never judged a person by their cover, yet some of us still do it without even trying sometimes. I have done this on multiple occasions without really trying to judge a person. I once had an experience where I was trying out for a new club team and I saw this girl who looked really mean and scary because of the expression on her face. I always thought if I ever talk to her she would be mean, but one practice we started to talk and she wasn’t at all the person I thought she ways. It turns out that she is a nice person who just takes soccer very seriously. This just shows that we can have a certain opinion on someone by their looks, but they may be completely opposite from the way they appear.There’s this book call “Freak the Mighty” which has a good way of showing the theme of not judging a person
A study performed by Daily Mail in 2010 displayed that over 60% of school students have been bullied because of their appearance and how they look. This piece of evidence shows that there is a lack of diversity in most schools, and it also presents that looking different has caused severe cases of bullying. Furthermore, it suggests that you shouldn’t judge someone by the way they appear, as it can erupt many relentless issues. I agree with this belief, as contemplating the way how someone acts by the way they look at first glance, is a certain type of behaviour and habit you should not develop. Plus, I myself would not like to be judged by the way I look.
Even though tattoos are becoming part of culture and socially acceptable, the negative and prejudiced attitudes towards those with body art are still present. Not all tattoos are gang related, and one must note that they have historically been a symbol of someone’s culture or religion. Other tattoos may have just a personal meaning to its owner and was not intended to be offensive. People also do not understand that a tattoo may impede them from pursuing a professional career, regardless of their qualifications. Employers realize that the need to recruit workers from different backgrounds are important in such a competitive workforce, so they provide accommodation by having reasonable dress code policies.
Many people may argue that conformity is necessary to better society but others also argue that nonconformity is needed to let people think for themselves. It’s not surprising to go to a Target or a Starbucks and see that everybody looks “normal” but it’s surprising when somebody has crazy hair or a bunch of tattoos or wears “weird” clothes. Even though conformity is in human nature, we need nonconformity to stand out from others. How much should we really support conformity, though? It’s not surprising to go to a Target or a Starbucks and see that everybody looks “normal” but it’s surprising when somebody has crazy hair or a bunch of tattoos or wears “weird” clothes. Even though conformity is in human nature, we need nonconformity to stand out from others. How much should we really support conformity, though? Society
In every society, there is conformity and nonconformity, although we may not notice it. Conformity is when someone is doing the same thing as others because they do not want to be the only one doing differently. Example, if there was a whole class raising their hands would you want to be the only one with your hand down, no so you would raise it with the rest of the class to not look like you don't know anything. This is called social pressures it when a large group is doing something and you're the only one not then you want to be doing whatever that large group is doing.
“Do not judge the book by its cover”. This is a very famous quote. But is really personal appearance not essential? (Elmer, n.d.).