“Judge not, that ye be not judged.”
This commandment given by Jesus in the seventh chapter of the book of Matthew is one that billions of people, Christian or otherwise, have scratched their heads over. And why? Because it is absolutely impossible not to immediately assess everyone who crosses our paths! Luckily for us, scholars and priests agree that Jesus’ council applied more to hypocrisy or condemning those we do not know, otherwise we’d all be labeled sinners for people watching. We all have our own identities. Some of us prefer to blend in to the background and avoid being noticed while others strive to be unique and expressive, and we all accomplish our preference through our appearance. The clothes we wear, the jewelry, the car, even the way we choose to shape our mouths all contribute immensely to the way we will be seen, and judged by others. Such judgment is coined by those in the dress and humanities field as Implicit Bias, or the bias in judgment that results from subtle cognitive processes, caused in this case by dress and appearance.
While implicit bias is a social tool as well as an inescapable trait we all share, it can be very dangerous. The clothing we wear, the car we drive and the way we handle ourselves isn’t always a direct representation of our character. Indeed in this culture of consumerism and social media there is an incredible amount of pressure, specifically on young people, to dress and act a certain way in order to be accepted by society. This brings me to a very important topic the spring 2017 class of Dress and Humanity course is based around, and that is Intimate Assault by Means of Implicit Bias.
Sexual assault and harassment are huge problems on high school and college campuses all over the world, and those who dress and carry themselves a certain way are at greater risk due to implicit bias. We need to be aware of the problem and help educate and make others aware. No one deserves to be sexually assaulted or molested, no matter how they appear on the outside. We all need to protect each other. I am very pleased to be a part of this movement starting at USU and excited to see its results. Hopefully you too can help us on our quest.
