For this week’s activity we were tasked with exploring a counterfactual identity. To me, this meant wearing something out of the ordinary to present myself in a different way. My name is Yazmin, and I am a Computer Science major. My normal day-to-day dress is probably indicative of my major or at least steers people in the right path. I normally wear all black or all dark colors. My closet consists of mostly black shirts and black pants, with the occasional dark blue jean. In general, my type of style is associated with more introverted people. I do not consider myself an introvert. I enjoy interacting with people and can have a very bubbly or open personality. On the other hand, I prioritize comfort and convenience, which comes across in the way I dress. Aside from the space buns, the first picture above is what I wear almost every day. I normally leave my hair down, again for convenience, or tie it back when working on a project. This look may not indicate my personality, but it happens to be how I look because nothing comes before comfort and convenience on a day to day basis.
For this activity, I wanted my look to be something I wouldn’t do on a day to day basis. The dress I wore is something I own and occasionally wear. However, I do not wear this dress for any normal or even slightly more dressed up occasion. Also, I only wear this dress in hotter weather. The dress is very light-colored, especially compared to my normal outfits. In addition, the dress has a very busy print, which I also tend to steer clear of. So, the dress was perfect for trying to present myself in a different manner. For my hair, I decided to go with something I obviously wouldn’t do every day. I am not very good with hair-dos, as I have not necessarily practiced very often. The space buns were definitely a bit of a challenge, and something that is a tell-tale sign that someone has put effort into their look. For the shoes, I went for some light colored ones, although I did choose those sandals for comfort when I bought them. All in all, I felt the look was definitely different from something I would do on a normal day.
As a busy person who works when I am not in school, I had to perform this activity while running errands. I went to a few stores and went to eat at a Chick-fil-a with my partner. While we were out, I would ask people who didn’t look too busy what they thought my name and major were. For names, I got some variety, including Jessica, Alyssa, Liz/Elizabeth, and Kim/Kimberly. I wasn’t very surprised that no one guessed my name, because of the endless amount of names, and an uncommon name like mine. When I asked people what they though my major was, they answered with majors like Psychology, Biology, English, and Art. As a Hispanic female, I normally don’t expect people to know that I am a computer science major, so this was no different. However, I felt as though people did lean less toward STEM majors because of how I was dressed. As an experience, it was definitely a thoughtful one.
The way we present ourselves is just about as unimportant as the way people perceive us. Through this activity, I experienced what I kind of already experience. No matter how I dress, in today’s society, I am not the typical embodiment of a computer science major. I am female and Hispanic, and in many of my computer science classes, I am one of few, if not the only one. In normal conversations, when I tell people I am a computer science major, I can see the small shock in their faces. Mostly, I am proud to be the person to change people’s conceptions of what a computer science major looks like and to be hopefully paving the way for more diverse students to take this path. This activity may have been different for someone who more embodies their major in the way they dress or look, but this was not very different for me. In the end, I confirmed to myself that people perceive others in so many ways and may often be wrong, but that is okay. What matters is who you are to yourself.
Yazmin's Blog 