Dressing down criminals, deviants and other undesirabless

Dietmar Neufeld

doi:10.4102/hts.v70i1.2698

Abstract

Fear of just censure and the sense of shame it produced kept Roman citizens from doing wrong (Cic. Rep. 5.6). Invective functioned socially as a strategy of social sanction. One amongst a number of commonly identified topics of accusation in the Roman tradition of ridicule was unusual appearance, clothing or demeanour. Not surprisingly, John the Baptist emerges from the desert attired distinctly, demoniacs come out of the tombs so fierce that no one would pass by them (Mt 8:28), a man with an unclean spirit lives amongst the tombs and, even though adorned with fetters and chains, cannot be controlled (Mk 5:15–20). Herod pretentiously puts on the royal robes and is eaten by worms and dies (Ac 12:21). A woman uninvited enters a rich man’s dinner party with an alabaster flask of perfume and anoints the feet of Jesus (Lk 7:38). Clearly, in each case, unusual appearance, clothing, and demeanour suggest a lapse from the appropriate, socially acceptable style of deportment and clothing. Oddities in dress and demeanour were equated with oddities in behaviour and provided a powerful rhetorical means of excluding undesirables from society.

Highlights

Attracting attention: The dress of mockery and the mockery of dressIn her article on women living in Orthodox Israel, Zamkanei reports that in current Israel a new kind of war is being waged between conservative men who believe that women have no place in the public domain and women who disagree – this war of gender values is focused symbolically on the attire of women
In a culture of mockery and visibility and the potential loss of honour, an appropriate sense of shame went a long way in mitigating the danger of being made a spectacle in the eyes of the beholders
The body was the medium of communication because of the astonishing ways the body could be managed and manipulated through outer adornment and bodily mannerisms

Summary

Introduction

Attracting attention: The dress of mockery and the mockery of dressIn her article on women living in Orthodox Israel, Zamkanei reports that in current Israel a new kind of war is being waged between conservative men who believe that women have no place in the public domain and women who disagree – this war of gender values is focused symbolically on the attire of women. For both men and women with an appropriate sense of honour in a culture of visibility, the temptation to play it safe in terms of adornment and bodily demeanour to escape the withering eye of scrutiny was great.

Results

Conclusion