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| No | 19% | 184 votes | Total: 954 votes | |
| Yes | 81% | 770 votes |
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Add to FavoritesGOTHS SHOULD NOT BE ALLOWED TO WEAR WHAT THEY WANT WITHOUT BEING JUDGED.
The way in which this question is posed confuses the meaning of any answer that can be given by either side of this debate. Because of that confusion, I have little choice but to respond by answering that Goths should not wear what they want without being judged. Were I to agree that the Goths could wear what they want, I would by default force upon their detractors the prohibition against thinking their own thoughts. Thought police do not support the rights of either group. Why not agree to arrive at a balanced discussion of what the questions really are.
A better way to frame this question is to illuminate what is fair to both. If Goths can wear what they want, thinkers can think their own judgements. If Goths cannot wear what they want, then thinkers will have no thoughts to think by which to judge. Pick one.
Where questions of what constitutes proper attire enters into the public discourse, the setting itself has a bearing on the logical response. An example of this might demonstrate what is meant by considering an employer who is hiring someone for a job. Whatever business is involved, most likely that business is supporting more employees than just one. If the success of the business is, as most business are, dependent upon an image that brands a product, how employees dress can effect everyone if sales are effected.
When imagining the business as one whose target buyer is a Goth culture, then employees might be paid to dress Goth style. Gothwear is welcomed and will yield favorable results for Goths and non-Goths alike if they are. If the busines is Hooters, that just won't work. In the private sector, the reasonableness of not allowing certain dress is reasonable and practical too.
Even in government venues, uniforms have been required. It is critical to public safety that employees be identified as representing a government interest. It would not be fair, even to Goths. if someone called the police on them. What of the follow up to that call was to have Goths approached and pulled over by un-uniformed police officers trying to question them about the report. Nurses and doctors are even more obvious when it comes to uniforms. It assists Goths too, if they need health assistance and they can see who to approach by seeing that uniform.
Where clothing is an issue in an educational setting, the general rule is that schools and their administrative boards, when dealing with minors, can set rules that restrict the rights of minors. This rule is applied across the board and not limited to Goths.
However, in the sites deemed accessible to the public at large, Goths can wear whatever they would like. But, it can not be legislated that those who see them can't think and judge what they see anyway they want to. This is life. Even the teen in the mall in her Bannana Republic garb is subject to judgement. I see no reason why Goths would, coiuld or should be insulated from what everyone else endures.
Learn more about this author, Judy Joyce.
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Yes
Everyone is entitled to dress the way they want and be creative in doing so. Take a look around yourself the next time your are at the mall. No one ever asks the question should preppy girls dress in mini skirts and knee high boots? Should cowboys be judged based on their belt buckles and boots?
Everyone during their younger years do things in order to separate themselves from everyone else, it's called diversity. And for someone to judge you based only on your appearance is something that should have ended as soon as the seventies rolled around. You can see it all, from Mohawks, to leather everyone has the right to choose and express themselves in anyway they damn well please.
Goths are harder for people to comprehend, partly due to the stigma surrounding the colors that are involved. There are actual articles out there warning parents that if their child starts to wear all black they could be suicidal, or part of some demonic cult. Black is nothing more than a color, or lack of color, or all colors mixed together depending on how you view it. People who dress as goths do so because they like the look, its different and they know that people will notice them. And that should go without saying. Anyone who dresses in a black flowing lacy dress, that is ripped on one side, blood red on the other with chokers of crosses certainly will draw attention. But it should not be drawing bad attention.
When you choose to put on an outfit that is out of the everyday norm, you know that people are going to see you, they are going to watch you. Most of the time it's out of curiosity and the majority of the time its out of hate or disgust. My question is, what gives people the right to determine what someone can and cannot wear? There was a time when you couldn't even get a job if you had a tattoo that was showing. Now days you are hard pressed to find someone that does not have one or more and they are not always in a place that can be hidden. So the company had to decide, do we not hire based on that and risk not filling that position, or do we change our view on body art?
The same changes need to be done with clothing and all the many styles that people embrace. Just because you wear black does not mean you are a bad and evil person. It means simply that you like that color. It amazes me that in this day and age, with all the diversity in this country that people can still be so close minded when it comes to certain things. What you wear does not make you who you are. It's simply a part of you, and nothing more. It does not change who you are or what you are capable of, it expands on your traits and allows people to see another side of you.
Learn more about this author, Melissa Crossley.
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