What Role Does Everyday Uniform Play in Peoples Lives - Essay Example

Olympic teams, national hockey league, international soccer, fast food chains, airlines, express cargo delivery services, postal services, etc all seem to obtain their identities in the unique and colorful uniform schemes that their respective organizations have prescribed for them. In fact, for most of our official and working hours, quite a few of us seem to be preoccupied with our uniforms. A uniformed person acquires an attitude to life that is reflected in his dressing code and general behavior in his nonuniformed hours as well.

In everyday life every one wears different outfits and they style themselves differently, according to their profession and what they do in their work. For example, a doctor wears a very smart and clean outfit and a scientist normally wears very simple clothes and does not pay attention to how he looks. These examples help to establish how important uniforms become in our lives at any point in time. In fact, the dress code seems to talk to us. Dresses reflect the sociological behavior and personal characteristic of a person.

Has it ever happened that you don't feel like ironing your clothes and go to work with squashy clothes Have you ever noticed that people's reaction is different from a day that you look really smart Some how appearance is very important and people judge you by looking at your clothes? Uniforms work as very powerful symbols of membership, status, and power within any official and societal setting. As some authoritative works have stated in this respect in the following words," Perhaps the greatest change is in the relationship of the uniform wearers to their groups.

As detached individuals, they are representative of their organization whose existence is implicit behind the uniform and is one of the reasons for the very use of the uniform. In a massed formation, individuals no longer function as representatives but instead are submerged components of the organization. The structure of a massed group is explicitly stated. We are now aware of the relationship between the police officer and his platoon and no longer need to question the legitimacy of the detached representative and his right to act on behalf of the group.

In a group formation, the uniform is not necessary as a certificate of legitimacy for any individual." (please cite Chap 5 The Uniform and Control) Thus societal roles are so clearly determined by the dress we seem to wear. Thus the styling of people's dress can reveal substantially about them and which may not be restricted to just their broad appearances but may also include minute and helpful details. Apart from the above examples, we are intrigued by the reasons for the origin of say, the practice of some people wearing different clothing just because of membership of a specific religion or a denomination of it. Similarly in the past people wore clothes according to their wealth or their jobs.