Hoodie
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A hoodie (also spelled hoody) is a shirt or sweatshirt with a hood. They are also known to have large frontal pockets, zippers, and strings to adjust the hood tightness.
Hoodies can be any colour and represent very different subcultures in different locales. In California, Australia and New Zealand, hoodies are often worn by surfers and skateboarders. Many male 20-somethings in the Northern Hemisphere wear hoodies as a fashion statement even when the weather is not cold outside, partly because they are considered comfortable. The hoodie has become a durable fashion staple, especially amongst younger generations. Its popularity has increased in recent years, mostly through their association with other trends like surfing and skateboarding.[citation needed]
In Saskatchewan, Canada, a hoodie is commonly known as a "bunnyhug".
Variation in Hoodies
Hoodies vary greatly, not just in colour, size, and emblem, but also in how they are built.
It is very common for hoodies to have a large pocket over the lower chest area extending across the entire chest. The edges of the pocket curve upward to help keep objects inside - while at the same time easily accessible to the wearer.
Some hoodies also have zippers to improve the efficiency of taking them off or on. Since, the zipper and frontal pocket cannot exist on the same hoodie, some hoodies have two frontal pockets on either side of the zipper.
Another handy feature of many hoodies are strings to tighten and loosen the hood - allowing more control over body temperature.
Moral Panic in the United Kingdom
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In the U.K., hoodies have recently been the subject of much criticism: some shoplifters have used the hood to conceal their identities from CCTV cameras in shopping centres. The hat has become a trademark of "chavs", in fact it has been called the 'chav-style' in an Oxfam report.[1]
Angela McRobbie, professor of communications at Goldsmiths College in the UK, says the appeal of the hoodie is because of its promise of anonymity and mystery and anxiety. "The point of origin is obviously black American hip-hop culture, now thoroughly mainstream and a key part of the global economy of music through Eminem and others. Leisure- and sportswear adopted for everyday wear suggests a distance from the world of office suit or school uniform. Rap culture celebrates defiance, as it narrates the experience of social exclusion. Musically and stylistically, it projects menace and danger as well as anger and rage. The hooded top is one in a long line of garments chosen by young people, usually boys, and inscribed with meanings suggesting that they are 'up to no good.' In the past, such appropriation was usually restricted to membership of specific youth cultures - leather jackets, bondage trousers - but nowadays it is the norm among young people to flag up their music and cultural preferences in this way, hence the adoption of the hoodie by boys across the boundaries of age, ethnicity and class."[2]
In May 2005, the largest shopping centre in the UK, Bluewater in Kent, caused outrage by launching a Code of Conduct which bans its shoppers from sporting hoodies or baseball caps. Hoodies and baseball caps are still on sale there, however. John Prescott welcomed the move, citing that he had felt threatened by the presence of hooded teenagers at a motorway service station.[2] Prime Minister Tony Blair has openly supported this stance and vowed to clamp down on the anti-social behaviour with which hoody wearers are sometimes associated. In February 2006, a 58-year-old teacher who was wearing a hooded top was asked to remove it when entering a Tesco store in Swindon. According to the teacher, he was wearing the hood because "my hair's a mess". The shop apologised and said it was taking action to "make sure this doesn't happen again."[3]
However, in 2005, Coombeshead College in the south-west of England, allowed the hoodie to become part of the boys school uniform. The principal, Richard Haigh stated that the move would help to calm some of what he called the 'hysteria', surrounding the issue of hoodie wearing.[4]
Hoodie is also a record released by Lady Sovereign to back the Save The Hoodie Campaign.
In July 2006, David Cameron, leader of the Conservative Party, made a speech suggesting that the hoodie was worn more for defensive than offensive purposes.[5] The speech was referred to as "hug a hoodie" by the Labour Party.[6]
See also
References
- ^ "Oxfam survey points to the end of the 'chav'" (Press release). Oxfam. 2005-05-31.
{{cite press release}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ a b "In the hood". The Guardian. 2005-05-13.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ "Shop regrets 'hoodie' humiliation". BBC. 2006-02-21.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ "School adopts 'hoodie' as uniform". BBC. 2005-05-19.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ "Cameron 'hoodie' speech in full". BBC. 2006-07-10.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ "Cameron defends 'hoodie' speech". BBC. 2006-07-10.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help)