It occurs to me that you could try clothing-based signaling. On further reflection I remembered one period where I did pretty regularly have people approaching me, which involved a particularly nice winter jacket, and ended when I took the (faux, I think) fur-lined hood off of it.
For the opposite effect, I assume one would aim for ‘frumpy’, or at least ‘generic’. My usual wardrobe is fairly boring; I actively avoid anything with a logo on it, and mostly wear plain single-color pants and shirts with uninteresting patterns (subtle all-over paisleys or florals, mostly; I’m not sure what the male equivalent would be). I also picked up a habit a few years ago of wearing a baseball cap whenever I’m out of the house; the incongruity (baseball caps are unusual for females to wear, and I make little to no effort to match my cap with my outfit) might be signaling something useful, but people were already approaching me infrequently enough before I picked the habit up that I can’t really tell if it’s made a difference.
I also seldom get bothered when I’m out and about. I wear single-color, logo-free shirts (though often bright red or green), with black or grey carhartt pants (which are pretty normal here), and a backpack. I often wear a jacket, even when it is warm, to hold my stuff and because I work in a climate-controlled room. Furthermore, I pay almost no attention to my head or facial hair. So about once a year, I shave off all my hair, and maybe thrice a year do I shave my beard. Needless to say, I exude “don’t bother me!” when I’m walking or shopping.
What is rather strange is that one of my closest friends dresses similarly, but is often harassed by strangers. Even to the point that he is sometimes stopped by cops to ask why he’s walking. The biggest difference between his and my dispositions is that I flatly don’t give a crap about most of the people I see, or what they think of me, whereas he is always thinking about how he is perceived. It seems that by worrying that he might look like a child molester sends off social cues that he is guilty about something, which then makes him a target for more harassment.
It is true that I don’t go walking as often as he does, so my sample size is smaller. Nor do I go to as weird places, because he would often stop at wifi hotspots to write emails. It could also be that my backpack sent social cues that being unencumbered doesn’t.
I am someone who generally throws a pair of whatever seems will be appropriate for the weather (pants or shorts) and a random t-shirt on. I am not even sure if i match most of the time. I have a beard which is quite uncommon for men in our society(which to me is mildly sad)
I am someone who generally throws a pair of whatever seems will be appropriate for the weather (pants or shorts) and a random t-shirt on. I am not even sure if i match most of the time. I have a beard which is quite umcommon for men in our society(which to me is mildly sad)
Are the t-shirts plain, or do they have designs (text, images) on them? What are the designs? Do they signal affiliation in any way? What’s your usual context?
It occurs to me that you could try clothing-based signaling. On further reflection I remembered one period where I did pretty regularly have people approaching me, which involved a particularly nice winter jacket, and ended when I took the (faux, I think) fur-lined hood off of it.
For the opposite effect, I assume one would aim for ‘frumpy’, or at least ‘generic’. My usual wardrobe is fairly boring; I actively avoid anything with a logo on it, and mostly wear plain single-color pants and shirts with uninteresting patterns (subtle all-over paisleys or florals, mostly; I’m not sure what the male equivalent would be). I also picked up a habit a few years ago of wearing a baseball cap whenever I’m out of the house; the incongruity (baseball caps are unusual for females to wear, and I make little to no effort to match my cap with my outfit) might be signaling something useful, but people were already approaching me infrequently enough before I picked the habit up that I can’t really tell if it’s made a difference.
I also seldom get bothered when I’m out and about. I wear single-color, logo-free shirts (though often bright red or green), with black or grey carhartt pants (which are pretty normal here), and a backpack. I often wear a jacket, even when it is warm, to hold my stuff and because I work in a climate-controlled room. Furthermore, I pay almost no attention to my head or facial hair. So about once a year, I shave off all my hair, and maybe thrice a year do I shave my beard. Needless to say, I exude “don’t bother me!” when I’m walking or shopping.
What is rather strange is that one of my closest friends dresses similarly, but is often harassed by strangers. Even to the point that he is sometimes stopped by cops to ask why he’s walking. The biggest difference between his and my dispositions is that I flatly don’t give a crap about most of the people I see, or what they think of me, whereas he is always thinking about how he is perceived. It seems that by worrying that he might look like a child molester sends off social cues that he is guilty about something, which then makes him a target for more harassment.
It is true that I don’t go walking as often as he does, so my sample size is smaller. Nor do I go to as weird places, because he would often stop at wifi hotspots to write emails. It could also be that my backpack sent social cues that being unencumbered doesn’t.
I am someone who generally throws a pair of whatever seems will be appropriate for the weather (pants or shorts) and a random t-shirt on. I am not even sure if i match most of the time. I have a beard which is quite uncommon for men in our society(which to me is mildly sad)
I am someone who generally throws a pair of whatever seems will be appropriate for the weather (pants or shorts) and a random t-shirt on. I am not even sure if i match most of the time. I have a beard which is quite umcommon for men in our society(which to me is mildly sad)
Are the t-shirts plain, or do they have designs (text, images) on them? What are the designs? Do they signal affiliation in any way? What’s your usual context?