Amy Bradberry
ENG316-3421
14 April 2017
MLA 8th
Title
Anya’s Ghost by Vera Brosgol hosts a number of clichéd adolescent issues within its pages: trouble fitting in with peers, exploration of deviant behavior, separation from family, and love complications. Out of all the overused teens angst topics, self-image reigns above all as the subject making the most prevalent appearance in young adult literature. For teenage girls, clothing becomes the main mode of communication with society and reflects the type of self-image they want to portray to the world. After all, it is a truth universally known that a teenage girl in possession of a crush must be in want of an entirely new wardrobe. Because of this unspoken language of adolescent females,
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cliques are often formed in which young ladies tend to dress the same. If a poor young soul cannot afford to keep up with the styles and trends of her peers, she is too often considered an outcast and undergoes teased. The real problem comes in with the teasing—seemingly harmless to the perpetrators, but the consequences of which tend to be severe to the victims. Even though school uniforms prevent social ostracism based on economic status, the private school Anya attends hinders the development of a healthy self-image. First of all, verisimilitude is established through the emphasis placed on clothing in Vera Brosgol’s graphic novel Anya’s Ghost, particularly in the scene where Anya is getting ready for the party.
Many teenage girls can relate to Anya’s experience of not knowing what to wear to her first party, and asking a friend over for help getting ready. Each girl in this situation dreams of having that perfect outfit, the one that will get her noticed by the guy she likes. Anya displays this behavior when she exclaims to Emily, “This feels kind of…slutty” and Emily retorts, “Do you want Sean to notice you or not?” to which Anya confirms she does want attention from him (Brosgol 114 panels 4-5, ellipses in original). According to Jeong-Ju Yoo, picking out an outfit goes beyond just putting on clothes; it is “a form of nonverbal communication that may play a role in establishing and maintaining self” (Yoo 355). Wearing an outfit to school or a party can be the equivalent of publishing a piece of a journal entry for all the world to see. To go one step further, psychologist R.B. Burns claims, “appraisals by peers of adolescents’ dress and appearance play a significant role in developing self-concepts” which interprets into the notion that a healthy self-image is reliant upon clothing choices. In Anya’s case, like many adolescent girls, she strives to dress to impress both herself and her peers. Now an idea about power through dressing will present itself to …show more content…
readers. In addition to selecting outfits based on what an adolescent wants to relay to her peers, a certain type of power abides in her decision process. After all, “Young Adult novels are about power” and Anya’s Ghost remains no exception (Trites 3). Using Weber’s definition of power when he says power is “the possibility of imposing one’s will upon the behavior of other persons” it is possible to conclude the influence clothing has over the interpretation of self makes the act of dressing a power in and of itself (3). Combining this thought with Foucault’s “domination-repression” model, scholars will conclude that power is in perpetual motion (4). When Anya turns to Emily for help getting dressed for the party, she is essentially relinquishing her power. Thus, Anya’s power over dress is transferred over to Emily, causing her to gain strength and change her own appearance in the mirror (113 panel 4). In the same sense, when adolescents attend a school with uniforms, they are transferring their power of self-image growth over to the school. Consequently, school uniforms take away the power individuals possess over their self-creation. Certainly, power can be abused, particularly when wielded by hormonal adolescent girls; teasing and bullying remain an ongoing problem in all schools, and its effects are seemingly never ending. Moreover, when power of dress is shifted from students to institutions, physical appearances become magnified, leading to teasing based on weight, skin, accent and any other un-changeable physical features. In Anya’s case, she was teased about weight, even from an early age ( 150 panel 7). According to Yoo, “targets of teasing are at risk of depression and thoughts of suicide” and when “combined with other problems, constant teasing by peers can push an adolescent to violence against others” and thus creates a recipe for mental and emotional disaster for adolescents (Yoo 353-354). After reading the questions for the author section at the end of Anya’s Ghost, a reader will discover Emily reflects the worst parts of Anya’s character. With this in mind, it is no wonder Emily exhibits such violent and controlling behavior towards Anya’s peers, authority, and even family (172). Furthermore, research by psychologists Berscheid, Walster, and Bohrnstedt reveals that the effects of teasing goes beyond childhood and well on into adulthood (354). This leaves Anya in a possible struggle for self-acceptance after high school and even early adulthood, all propelled due to uniforms. Uniform dress leaves doors open for teasing on a more personal level, be that as it may, the benefits of school uniforms can also fail to be ignored.
For private schools that encounter every day battles with revealing clothing, uniforms give an easy solution to mandate modesty in the scholastic setting. Knowing exactly what to wear to school the next day also deletes the struggle for students to pick outfits in the morning, thus giving students more time devoted to waking up, eating, and focusing on the day ahead from the start. There is no more need to go shopping for new school clothes every year, because the students already have the outfit needed. Despite these perks, evidence still displays a negative correlation between school uniforms and test scores for the Long Beach United School District in 1996 (Brunsma 1). Siobhan illustrates the stereotypical rebellious teenager who skips class, avoids school activities, and partakes in smoking in the school bathrooms even though the school has mandated uniforms. The entire method of using uniforms to increase a healthy learning environment where students and teachers hold hands while singing kumbaya is utter bullshit. Evidence from Anya, Siobhan, and Emily proves that uniforms do nothing but promote teasing, and increase self-perception issues for
adolescents. All evidence considered, the likelihood not having a school uniform would have prevented many of Anya’s insecurities about her body weight, clothes, and overall self-concepts remains feasible. Works Cited Brosgol, Vera. Anya's ghost. New York, NY: Square Fish, 2014, pp. 113-228. Brunsma, David L. and Kerry Ann Rockquemore. "Statistics, Sound Bites, and School Uniforms: A Reply to Bodine." Journal of Educational Research, vol. 97, no. 2, Nov/Dec2003, pp. 72-77. EBSCOhost, fmarion.idm.oclc.org/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=pbh&AN=12103392&site=ehost-live&scope=site. Trites, Roberta Seelinger. Disturbing the universe power and repression in adolescent literature. Iowa City: U of Iowa Press, 2010. Print. Yoo, Jeong-Ju and Kim K. P. Johnson. "Effects of Appearance-Related Testing on Ethnically Diverse Adolescent Girls." Adolescence (San Diego): An International Quarterly Devoted to the Physiological, Psychological, Psychiatric, Sociological, and Educational Aspects of the Second Decade of Human Life, vol. 42, no. 166, 01 June 2007, p. 353. EBSCOhost, fmarion.idm.oclc.org/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=eric&AN=EJ778438&site=ehost-live&scope=site.
The world of young adults is a complicated landscape, with cliques and a desire to fit in. This push for conformity stretches not only through behavior, but more noticeably through the apparel worn by youths. At the beginning of the story, the narrator states that she and her friends are in “trouble,” but they “do not know what [they did], and [they are] sure [they] did not mean to do it” (103). This fear of the unknown continues throughout the entirety of the story, and readers can infer that the crime the girls have committed was simply dressing out of the norm for their age. The narrator also mentions that she is “white-skinned, ebony-haired, red-lipped, and ethereal,” far different than the expectation for her being “suntanned, golden-haired, peach-lipped, and earthbound” like her mother had been (103). As time repeats itself, so too do the fashion trends popular among the masses, and the look that the narrator’s mother portrayed was the same as the look her daughter is expected to adhere to. This is not the case, though, and because of her and her band’s choices in clothes, the narrator feels ostracized by not only her peers but her father as well, who “looks at [them] without moving his mouth or turning his head” as they leave the house (104). This reaction, or lack thereof, indicates that the father disapproves of the choices his daughter has made about how she dresses, but feels as though it is not his place to criticize her. The ending line does an excellent job at summarizing the angst felt by most teens as the narrator and her band feel as though “[they] are right to turn [themselves] in” to the pressures exerted by their peers to comply to what is expected of them (104). Just as women’s individuality is torn down by the pressures
Girls try to copy the clothes the celebrities wear because it is what’s considered cool. They wear makeup because if they don’t have the perfect complexion, the sexy eyes or the right lip color, they are considered ugly. Society has taken away our say in what is beautiful and attractive. Society controls what to wear and how to look. The short story, “The Girl Who Was Plugged In” by James Tiptree, shows how society can dominate the lives of the individual.
Ever wonder what it would look like to have all students wearing the same white polo shirt, black pants, and a district sweater walking in the hallway? Nowadays, public school and many districts are discussing the possibilities of enforcing the uniform policy. In most places, many private schools already require students to have their mandatory uniforms; however, there are only a few public schools adopting this mandatory school-uniform polices as one of their enrollment requirements. The reason why not all public schools participated was because people believe that they are violating the freedom of choice when enforcing this mandatory uniform policy; yet problems such as bullying and segregation, emerged in these schools. Some people still think uniforms have no benefits at all. However, all public school students should be required to wear uniforms because it would improve the academic performance, reduce the violent behaviors based on appearance judgment, and provide less stress for both parents and students.
One of the most controversial topics revolving around schooling is the weather students should or should not wear uniforms to improve academic and social behavior. Many sources say that school uniforms improve discipline, attendance, lower criminal activity, and increase academic achievement in students; Furthermore, this is due to less distraction and conforming to the idea that uniforms makes you smarter. This false ideology that is expected from school uniforms has not been proven in any way to work and is more of a waste of the tax-payers money than an improvement. There are more outlying factors that contribute to success or failure than just uniforms and pro-advocates do not get this big picture. The most outspoken reasons why to use
Brunsma, David L. "The Effects of School Uniforms and Dress Codes on Behavioral and Social
“The Manual on School Uniforms”, printed and issued by the United States Department of Education, noted that Long Beach, California, reported a decrease in crime, fights, sex offenses, weapons offenses, and vandalism after they adopted their uniform policy (4). Contrary to government findings, The National Educational Longitudinal Study of 1988 discovered that school uniforms have had no real effects on behavior, drug abuse or attendance; furthermore they also came to find that uniforms actually have negative effects on the academic achievement of the students (Brunsma and Rockquemore 54). If school A is emphasizing that school uniforms are conducive to the learning environment, yet school B down the road has higher testing scores but no uniform policy, then their stand is no longer valid. This proves that uniforms have no effect on the learning process.
There is something comforting about school children and teenagers dressed in pleats and plaid. Maybe it is a reminder of past times, or conjures up thoughts of order and safety. Whatever the reason, school uniforms are getting a lot of ?wear? these days, yet remain an unproven deterrent to school violence. No long-term, formal studies have been done with regards to the effectiveness of school uniforms, but many schools have kept their own informal statistics, such as the Long Beach School District. These statistics offered by Long Beach are often most cited as a proven deterrent to school violence, after adopting a mandatory uniform policy in 1994. According to Richard Van Der Laan, school crime has dropped over seventy-five percent, while attendance has reached an all-time high. One question we must ask ourselves is this, ?Is it the uniforms, or the induction of them that is solving the problem?? Maybe it is the school and parents showing some ?back-bone? which is affecting the students, not the clothing.
Uniforms in public schools are becoming more and more accepted around the world. “Over the last two decades, the debate over the implementation of school uniform policies in public schools has been a consistent presence in schools and districts around the United States.” (Sanchez, 345). Teachers, parents and school administrators feel the need for school uniforms as a positive way to increase school safety and increase academic performance. Even though school uniforms are not the most popular choice among students and parents, the positive impact school uniforms make on students and the school outweigh the negative opinions.
In society today, school-age children are under tremendous pressure to fit in with their peers and still perform well academically. I believe that school uniforms at pre-K through high school levels are an excellent way to help children succeed not only in school, but to prepare them for college and the “real world.” Three reasons why I believe school uniforms should be used in all schools is first, they are economic, next, they reduce distractions and finally, they help with social equality. To begin, school uniforms are economic. When schools have a uniform policy, it makes it easier on the children and parents.
School Uniforms eliminate freedom of expression among children and teens in school whilst also supporting conformity over individuality. The First
Worrying more about others, rather than themselves, students pay more attention to the appearance of their peers instead of their academics. To begin, if school uniforms became apart of the school policy, students’ academics would improve phenomenally. Hanley noted that “The reason for the policy [was] to further improve ascending test scores and provide a safe, comfortable learning environment” (A1+). Clearly, school administrators wanted to improve test scores, and they figured if students dressed the same, then they would have no other choice but to focus on their school work. If the students can concentrate on their school work, then they will have high self- esteem. Furthermore, Valdez believes that school uniforms, positively, will change student academics: “… [they] decrease self consciousness and increase self esteem...” (14). Reasonable and realistic, students who feel better about themselves will succeed in school rather than those who have poor self-esteem. Not only do school uniforms encourage students to have a better attitude about themselves, but they also change the environment in which students learn....
School uniforms are a boiling conversation point these days. There are so many well-built points of view about what route parents, students, and superintendents wish to go in. It has been disputed that school uniforms have the potential to make a school safer, that uniforms reduce harassment or self-esteem issues, and that uniforms return the focus to the students' learning. I disagree. I, in fact think that school uniforms do not help make our schools a more secure place, I think that they do not revisit the center of attention to student's education - they just shifted where the attention was previous, and that they won’t help cut down on harassment or self- esteem issues in school.
“We cannot forget that reinforcing economic differences drives students further apart when schools should be drawing them closer together.” There are many problems in public schools with no uniforms. The use of school uniforms could eliminate some of these problems. Although school uniforms may take away a child’s individuality, there are more benefits than disadvantages to having school uniforms in public schools because school uniforms lessen the money spent on the latest fashion trends and school uniforms provide a positive school climate.
Imagine going on a shopping trip with your mom, but you don’t get to pick out the clothes you like. This is what happens when kids are required to wear uniforms to school. These types of shopping trips are costing parents an average of $249 (Tucker). Knowing people that have had uniforms in school, they all have the same opinion. The popular belief is that wearing uniforms to school is restricting student’s individuality and the students themselves don’t like them. School uniforms are unnecessary because they violate students right of self-expression, don’t demonstrate real world scenarios, and are commonly uncomfortable and don’t fit right.
Introduction: The motion brought before the house today is “All schools should enforce the wearing of school uniforms from primary 1 to secondary 4.” This is a topic that is hot on the lips of educators, students and parents. School uniforms are a specific set or group of school-standardised clothing. If we look at America, only private and non-government run schools that institute the wearing of school uniforms. In Hong Kong, most schools require their students to wear school uniforms. My team is definitely in favour of schools having their students wear school uniforms. My teammates and I will demonstrate to you that the benefits brought by the wearing of school uniforms far outweigh any perceived disadvantages. Our first main argument, which will be explained by Brian, is that enforcing school uniforms in all schools will lift school spirit greatly. Justine will discuss our second argument, being that school uniforms reduce the amount of bullying. The fourth speaker, Ray, will debate about casual clothing distracting students. Finally, Joyce will summarise our arguments, convincing you,without a doubt, that school uniforms MUST be enforced in all schools.