Uniform

Rhona Canoy

SO… One would think that after a year of writing a weekly column I would run out of things to say, but I guess I was wrong. This stream of thought was born out of a Facebook post by Bruh Cong Corrales showing his princess’s senior high school uniform which re-ignited deeply harbored ill sentiments.

Even as a student, I abhorred the thought of wearing a school uniform, although many of my friends and classmates looked forward to high school for this very same reason. We were quite privileged to have gone to elementary school at a time when we were free to wear what we (or our mothers) chose to be worn. Many of today’s grade schoolers will never know the exhilaration of that.

The psychological message of uniforms has always intrigued me. It must be said that in my lifetime I have had to be extremely creative in finding excuses to break the uniform rule. And successfully, I might add. I don’t know if it is because of my nonconformist nature, or (as my mom describes it) my perverse rebelliousness, but the thought of being a fashion clone has always made me cringe. And yet here we are, a nation of uniform-obsessed Filipinos. And it starts young. When kids go to nursery school. That’s young.

Parents plant the seed for this obsession with the reason that it’s easier and more cost effective for children to wear uniforms. I’m going to shoot down this fallacy. If it’s a matter of laundry, we do it regardless. And most school uniforms are white which necessitates bleach, an additional expense of time and supplies. Most uniforms require high-heat ironing in order to laminate pleats, folds and what-have-you, which uses more electricity than necessary (or uling if you prefer to do it the old-fashioned way). Uniforms are cheaper in terms of clothing costs or so they say. I beg to differ since the ubiquitous ukay-ukay has leveled the fashion playing field. And that’s only a few reasons to start with.

I think the attachment to uniforms goes quite a lot deeper than the shallow reasons stated above. Sadly, parents function on the premise that their children’s fashion is somehow a reflection of their own. Children who start the day with decision-making activities (such as what to wear) are actually better equipped and warmed up because the brain has already been engaged even before they get to school. It is also the first lesson that children learn about self-determination and thinking for themselves. However, and a big however at that, parents are afraid of the sartorial choices their offspring may make, falsely believing that it will result in judgment on their parenting skills.

Admittedly, it is a bitter pill to swallow. I used to feel Dior pain watching my baby girl go off to school in mismatched (in my opinion) clothes which she chose as her OOTD. I’m not sure how many comments about my motherhood skills were made, but she eventually argued that SHE was the one wearing the clothes and couldn’t understand why it bothered me so much. To which, of course, I couldn’t find a reasonable answer. End of argument.

Why do you love uniforms as much as you do? Is it because, as Cong puts it, it’s an exercise in conformity? Do you relish the thought of being part of a collective and, as such, define yourself through your uniform? I’ve always thought there was something pretentious about them. People use uniforms to be identified with something glorious, and claim those attributes (whatever they may be) for themselves, whether they embody them or not. At least, I think so. And I still can’t find any joy in looking like everybody else.

There is also some degree of invisibility and anonymity in a uniform. One gets identified based on the uniform rather than on one’s merits. It calls attention to where you are connected, to what collective you belong. Wonderful advertising ploy for organizations and business, I must say. People pay to be advertising billboards instead of the other way around. It bothers me to wonder, though, if this uniformity includes behavior and way of thinking?

Filipinos as a rule don’t appreciate individuality. The oddballs. The sticker-outers. The strange ones in the bunch. We know this to be true. We find comfort in being part of a group. Behaving and thinking like everyone else, expecting everyone to be like us. We prefer conformity. To do what everyone does. Is it because we lack the courage of our convictions? Preferring to agree rather than think for ourselves? Finding comfort in not being responsible for our thoughts and actions by being hidden among many? Maybe that’s why we are so unforgiving of people who don’t agree with our ideas and politics. Why we can be so cruel.

Don’t come back at me with the argument about our military and our police. Yes, I do see the need for these people to be in uniform. So that we know who to run to for help. And doctors, I suppose, although I would hope that they wear their whites to give the impression of being germ-free rather than to arrogantly proclaim their demi-god status. Uniforms do have their place. But everyone? In uniform? That concept beleaguers me. And one last argument, by the way. Have you seen how much joy there is on people’s faces on wash day?

You may not like what I wear (and the word baduy comes to mind) but I do. And I’m not wearing it for your pleasure. So either look away or close your eyes and STFU. I promise to do the same for you.