Creating Meaning and Identity through Consumption Essay

Erikson theorizes that in such a period, adolescents have certain tasks, one of which is identifying who they are. An individual successfully completes the task by staying true to his or her self, whereas when a person fails that stage, it leads to role confusion; consequently creating a weak sense of self. (Block 2011). The stage also entails a variety of personal challenges and limitations faced as well as a series of needs to be met, including: attention, guidance, independence, stability, and acceptance, among other needs. Meeting an adolescent’s needs is fundamental to their healthy development and personal growth. Nevertheless, adolescence remains as puzzling of a period in time for both the teens experiencing it, as well as for the individuals surrounding them, watching them as they navigate through the trials that adolescence brings them.

In the 1950s, the fashion industry was based mostly around teenagers and young adults. Before this time, adolescents were expected to follow in their parents’

Despite the large amount of people that feel confident and comfortable in expressing themselves freely, many adolescents have a deteriorating concept of self because of the belief that they should have to conform to their peer’s ideals. The identities of these children are being dictated by a need of acceptance from prominent social groups in their environment; however, teenagers must realize one’s own individuality as something beneficial and recognizing that conforming can become problematic in certain situations.

It outlines the struggle an individual faces in finding stability between developing a sense of forming a unique identity while still being accepted and “fitting in” with society. Erikson believed that when teenagers adequately navigated their way through this crisis, they would transpire into having a clear understanding of their individual identity and easily share this new ‘self’ with others. However, if an individual is unable to navigate their way through this crisis period, they may be uncertain of who they are which can result in a lack of understanding, leading to disconnection from society and the people around them. If youth become stuck at this stage they will be unable to become emotionally mature adults, according to Erikson’s theory. This period of an individual’s life allows them to investigate possibilities which will lead them to discovering their own identity based upon the result of their explorations.

According to Erikson’s theory, as the individual transits into adolescence, he or she begins to express the high interest in understanding and trying to make sense of the self and its qualities. This process includes self-awareness, self-conscious and self-examination ( Brinthaupt & Lipka, 2012). Porfeli, Lee & Vondracek (2013) believed that in the early to middle adolescence, the individuals are struggling to identify the balance between developing a unique individual identity while still being accept by the general society. Therefore, it explains the reason why individual may develop high consciousness towards to criticism in social environment. Simultaneously, Hoffnung, M., Hoffnung, R. J., Pause, Jeffrey, Burton, Hine (2013) stated that adolescences are able to evaluate self identity from multiple perspectives as well as able to take others opinions into

What teens wear identify them as belonging to specific cliques or groups who wear similar apparel. Having this confidence helps children try new things without a fear of rejection. It will give them a sense of belonging and togetherness with other students, and they will feel included and wanted which is essential to a teen’s self esteem (Faber & Media, 2014). In middle school and high school teens need a feeling of belonging and clothing with name brands helps bring them closer together. Teisha-Vonique Hood from SMU (2012) stated that when people associate themselves with a particular brand or branded image, they immediately assume a new identity that is in some sense, confined to the social points of that brand. When people wear a certain brand they are telling people they like that company and what it conveys. Children know that a certain brand could make them popular or

The Fashion Industry is affecting our body image in a huge way. They are the number one contributing factor in how we perceive ourselves and what is normal, especially in young girls. The following research shows some of the negative effects of the Fashion Industry. First, the negative effects of the media on body image and how it give countless an unrealistic views of what is normal. Second, how the Advertising and Magazines can affect our self-image in a negative way by using extremely thin models to promote sales. Eating Disorders will be looked at lastly, to reveal the high number of women and young girls suffering from anorexia and bulimia and how much responsibility falls on the Fashion Industry. The conclusion will end with the review of key factors and how the fashion industry has affected the self-esteem and body image of our society.

“BEFOR I CAN TALK TO YOU, PEOPLE SHOW THEIR SEX, AGE, CALSS, POSITION, WITH WHAT THEY ARE WEARING. ALL THIS IS REGISTERED UNCONCIOSLY“ Those words said by Alison Lurie in the language of clothes (1992), reflect perfectly the main point of my research. The society we are now living is an extremely conscious society regarding body image and the way we are presented to the exterior. We found an obsessive trend on wanting to look like celebrities by having certain items or looks and in relation to that a fear of not being percepted the tight way. This is where we found relation to how clothes are part of a conversation we haven 't started and are a form of expression. As there will be explained further on, we use clothes as a sign of our identity,as a way of representing ourselves and stand out from the crowd and also influence on how we appear in front of others making them (clothes) a huge part of our non verbal communication. This essay will discuss the ideas behind self -expression and the role of clothes has changed in that mater thought time.

Media has a major influence in shaping our identity. It brain washes us by telling us what to do and because we are constantly surrounded by it, we allow it to create stereotypes, and change the way we act and think. Popular TV shows such as the Simpsons are constantly making us use and believe stereotypes. Mainstream media create images of perfect girls on magazines, to brainwash young girls into believing that they have to be as thin and perfect, as the ‘Photoshoped’ images of the girls in magazines to be accepted and to fit in groups and be happy and loved. The pressure to fit in and to be perfect leaves a psychological effect on young girls which influences and changes their original identity. Half of our identities today are completely based on what we see in the media. Although our names, cultures and religions determine otherwise, Mainstream media determines our dress, behaviour, hobbies and interests. What we see in magazines and on television dictate the way we run our

Today, fashion choices plays a major role in influencing the self-perception of different people. In order to understand how this happens, it is a good idea first to ascertain what self-perception is. This is the view of an individual about themselves as well as the physical and mental attributes that make up the individual. The theory of self-perception holds that individuals tend to develop certain attitudes through making observations of their own behavior as well as making conclusions of the attitudes that have led to them. One of the elements that influences self-perception is fashion choices. This is what this research paper will be based on. The paper will examine in details how fashion choices influences the self-perception of different people.

During our life we construct many different identities of who we want to portray ourselves as to the rest of society; fashion plays a vital role in generating who we are. With the ideas from Storry and Childs they state that “the way that we dress can either serve to confirm or to subvert various facets of our identities, such as our gender,

For Erikson (1950) adolescence is a period during which individuals seek to avoid dangers of role diffusion and identity confusion by establishing a sense of personal identity. Individuals have to find answers for two major questions “who am I?” and “what is my place in society?” Identity is a “conscious sense of individual uniqueness” and an “unconscious striving for a continuity of experience” (Erikson, 1968, p. 208).

In “ The Name of the Wind” Patrick Rothfuss once said, “ It’s like everyone tells a story themselves inside their own head. Always. All the time. That story makes you what you are. We build ourselves out of that story.” Our identity is what we know ourselves by how others view us in the world. Their many identities that we have some examples are race, gender, fashion, class, sexuality, etc. All these identities shape the way we think, act, and view the world. We may not know it, but our identities impact one another either in a negative or positive way. Either we make our identities by our interests or what we feel like we should be viewed as. Some let others make their identity for them, they’re influenced by what they see on T.V. mainly by what celebrities are wearing. I know for me when I was younger I would watch all these NBA games and see these players wear Jordans. Jordan 's back when I was a youngin and still today where cool shoes you had popularity if you had Jordans. All the cool kids had Jordan 's and I wanted to be like that a cool kid. So I acted like someone I wasn 't, buying many pairs of Jordan’s (which are expensive) so I can fit in and so everyone can know me as a cool kid because as a little boy at Colonia Middle School I wanted to have recognition as the kid with the expensive shoes and the showy clothes. Also, I was pressured by my surroundings to buy these items because I saw a lot of kids being bullied for wearing inexpensive clothes and I didn 't

“It’s where it all starts, from the ground up; street is the seed to all other fashion” says Kenta Goto from Brknhome, a now defunct Canadian t-shirt brand (Vogel 37). There are many voices that speak of the streetwear culture: what it is or once was, how it all started and where it is heading. Streetwear is not just some fad or a passing trend. It is nothing but pure talent and passion, and the vision to stand out from the rest. It is a fashion movement, primarily for the youth who roam the streets expressing their interests, cultural identity, and common scenarios that take place in their urban catwalks. For the youth, streetwear can be the most effective form of self-expression.

While childhood seemed like a breeze, my adolescent years were anything but that. Adolescence, the transition between childhood and adulthood beginning with puberty, is a time full of physical and psychological changes both positive and negative. During this time individuals are in search of their identity, a task that can yield a lot of confusion. The question of who am I lingers in the back of adolescent minds and the answer anything but simple. This struggle for an identity and one’s place in society can lead to stress. Through exploration and soul searching, however, one might find their identity. For me, this question seemed impossible to answer, however, I always had a strong desire to fit in and be liked by others. Reading through the different developmental theories in the text, I started to compare them to events in my own life and noticed many significant similarities.