The Other Shoes Final Project

Other Shoes…
The Plan and Prediction:
In our group which includes me, Leah Fortner, and Ashley Terry are all dressing up completely different from you guys are used to. Ashley will be much more outgoing than she usually is. Since she is usually conservative Ashley will dress the exact opposite. We plan to have her dress in my style since I'm outgoing and not-so-conservative. She will also be wearing bold makeup and her hair will be down. Her clothing will be bright, graphic t-shirt with dark jeans, checkered flats, and one of my famous, unusual belts.

Leah and I will look like two 'scene' girls. I'm not only scene but a lesbian. It will definitely get some reactions from friends, family, and strangers since I'm a preppy nerd who is not gay. The reactions probably will be rude comments against 'my sexuality', and some very strange looks. I plan to achieve my goal by wearing skinny jeans, converses, scarves, and a bright colored shirt. But my makeup will be completely different with black eyeliner. My eyes will be a Smokey color, and my hair will be teased like crazy!

Since me and Leah are going to be out in Springfield for our Art Trip on Friday, we decided to start our project tomorrow! On Wednesday, Ashley will be at school in her new outfit. We are going to use my cellphone for me and Leah's part of the project since we will look like we are texting. For Ashley, I'll be the recorder and use a notebook since we can't use cellphones at school and I won't stick out too much since we are going to be at school.

I hope to learn how homosexual people are judged on a day-by-day basis, and learn that homosexuality isn't to just one clique like preps or nerds.
The Scene Lesbians
Leah and I were the first to do our part of the project on September 4th, 2009. Our morning began very strange since both Leah and I are not used to dark makeup. We woke up at 5:30 in the morning to get ready, and our hair wasn’t teased since we ran out of time. Leah got her outfit at Gordmens, and then got our accessories at Hot Topic. After wearing our accessories and makeup, we were ready for the day. Most of the kids hardly reacted to us until we held hands for a long period of time. My mom, Song, was very upset at my outfit even though I told her ahead of time to not freak out. Mrs. Campbell reacted to Leah thinking something was wrong with her since Leah hardly wear’s dark clothing and makeup. Sam Mitro was also the same with Leah, but didn’t care what she wore. So overall the looks we got were mainly quizzical…and so our day at Springfield began!
At our first antique store, the lady behind the counter gave us a very strange look when we walked into the deserted store. The reason why is probably how I acted ‘manly’ when I stomped a huge spider after Leah pointed it out. Moreover, we also held hands when we walked past her. When we bought our stuff, she seemed mellow about our sexuality. The next store was at The Sangamon Antique Mall. Besides the people in our group, everyone at the store was very distant and wanted nothing to do with us. They made no eye contact with us….at all. When we were walking to a small bistro in downtown Springfield, a guy in a car was flirting with Leah and I. He acted weird while he was flirting at us, even though we swung our arms to prove that we were holding hands. After we got our lunch and sat with Mrs. Grimaldi, we continued to get rude glances at us.
The next stop after lunch was the museum, and surprisingly all of the older workers treated us as equally as everyone else. After walking around the museum, we headed to our bus. While we were walking, people driving or walking by us kept staring at me and Leah the entire time. When finally got to the bus and Cold Stone, we were further ignored.
A Less Conservative Ashley

I woke up around six in the morning to get ready for my first day. Doing my hair different was difficult so I ended up just wearing it in a hair tie. When I got done around 7:30 when my sister got up half asleep she looked at me and asked “is it picture day or something?” I responded no so she shrugged and went away to get ready for her day. Later at school I got a lot of compliments on my clothes and a few people who normally do not talk to me told me I look cute. Later at my house my boyfriend was over and told me that I looked really pretty, which he does everyday, but then he told me multiple times.

My parents noticed I was wearing new clothes, but didn’t say much about my wearing makeup and dressing up. They just acted as they usually do. My sister knew something was up, but she didn’t know what. At first she kept pushing and asking questions, but eventually she gave up. My parents’ only question was why I had friends come over around 9:30 at night, but left me alone again when I told them it was for school.

The next day I wore more professional looking clothes, which a lot more people noticed. At school people asked why I was dressed up and told me that I looked cute again. When I went out to the grocery store later I had more guys staring at me, which I didn’t really consider a good thing. My boyfriend was wondering why I was dressing different, but to keep getting his reactions I just told him I felt like it. Later his best friend came over and asked if I was going to work, which of course I wasn’t because I wear a uniform. When I went home later I saw my family and my parents reacted more to that clothing asking why I dressed so nicely. I told them the same thing I had told everyone.

Analysis:


Ashley’s Analysis: At the end I thought about it and I learned a lot. I’m glad people liked the way I was dressing, but I definitely don’t think it’s worth waking up so early to get ready. I have more respect for people who wake up that early to work on their look. On the other hand I didn’t really like getting all those reactions. I don’t think that I look bad when I dress normal so I don’t understand why I had so many compliments just because I was wearing more expensive clothing.
Hana’s Analysis: Overall, it was an uncomfortable experience since both of us were not used to that kind of attention. I felt like scum the entire day and extremely awkward when we talked to strangers. “Scene” kids really have to go through a lot to get the look they want, and I understand how much work it takes to get ready in the morning! People who are homosexuals should have more respect than they actually get in real life. It is so rude to stare at someone just for how they look and act. I also felt like utter trash by the end of the day. Both groups really do deserve a bit more respect than they actually get. Before the project, I used to make fun of scene kids for being the rich emo kids. Now I never will after our experience. Both of us had nothing against homosexuals, but I will never stare at a gay couple again! It was a huge slap in the face for me.

Leah’s Analysis: It was a long and tedious experience. I never want to do that again. I do have respect for scene and emo kids, just like everybody else. I really don't have much sympathy for how long it takes them to get ready in the morning because that's their choice. However, I do sympathize with how it must feel to have everybody judging them just because they choose a certain style. I feel as though some of them do it just to stand out and I don’t sympathize with them. But it also isn’t right for people to judge a person just based on their appearance.

Results of Other Shoes.....

Project was done on September 4^th, 2009

Our morning began very strange since both Leah and I are not used to dark makeup. We woke up at 5:30 in the morning to get ready, and our hair wasn’t teased since we ran out of time. Leah got her outfit at Gordmens, and then got our accessories at Hot Topic. After wearing our accessories and makeup, we were ready for the day. Most of the kids hardly reacted to us until we held hands for a long period of time. My mom, Song, was very upset at my outfit even though I told her ahead of time to not freak out. Mrs. Campbell reacted to Leah thinking something was wrong with her since Leah hardly wear’s dark clothing and makeup. Sam Mitro was also the same with Leah, but didn’t care what she wore. So overall the looks we got were mainly quizzical…and so our day at Springfield began!

At our first antique store, the lady behind the counter gave us a very strange look when we walked into the deserted store. The reason why is probably how I acted ‘manly’ when I stomped a huge spider after Leah pointed it out. Moreover, we also held hands when we walked past her. When we bought our stuff, she seemed mellow about our sexuality. The next store was at The Sangamon Antique Mall. Besides the people in our group, everyone at the store was very distant and wanted nothing to do with us. They made no eye contact with us….at all. When we were walking to a small bistro in downtown Springfield, a guy in a car was flirting with Leah and I. He acted weird while he was flirting at us, even though we swung our arms to prove that we were holding hands. After we got our lunch and sat with Mrs. Grimaldi, we continued to get rude glances at us.

The next stop after lunch was the museum, and surprisingly all of the older workers treated us as equally as everyone else. After walking around the museum, we headed to our bus. While we were walking, people driving or walking by us kept staring at me and Leah the entire time. When finally got to the bus and Cold Stone, we were further ignored.

Overall, it was an uncomfortable experience since both of us were not used to that kind of attention. I felt like scum the entire day and extremely awkward when we talked to strangers. “Scene” kids really have to go through a lot to get the look they want, and I understand how much work it takes to get ready in the morning! People who are homosexuals should have more respect than they actually get in real life. It is so rude to stare at someone just for how they look and act. I also felt like utter trash by the end of the day. Both groups really do deserve a bit more respect than they actually get. Before the project, I used to make fun of scene kids for being the rich emo kids. Now I never will after our experience. Both of us had nothing against homosexuals, but I will never stare at a gay couple again! It was a huge slap in the face for me.

Other Shoes...

In our group which includes me, Leah Fortner, and Ashely Terry are all dressing up completely different from you guys are used to. Ashely will be much more outgoing than she usually is. Since she is usually conservative Ashely will dress the exact opposite. We plan to have her dress in my style since I'm outgoing and not-so-conservative. She will also be wearing bold makeup and her hair will be down. Her clothing will be bright, graphic t-shirt with dark jeans, checkered flats (if they match the shirt), and one of my famous, unusual belts.

Leah and I will look like two 'scene' girls (google it if you don't know what they look like...). I'm not only scene but a lesbian. It will definitely get some reactions from friends, family, and strangers since I'm a preppy nerd who is not gay. The reactions probably will be rude comments against 'my sexuality', and some very strange looks. I plan to acheive my goal by wearing skinny jeans, converses, scarfs, and a bright colored shirt. But my makeup will be completely diffent with black eyeliner. My eyes will be a smokey color, and my hair will be teased like crazy!

Since me and Leah are going to be out in Springfield for our Art Trip onf Friday, we decided to start our project tomorrow! On Wensday, Ashely will be at school in her new outfit. We are going to use my cellphone for me and Leah's part of the project since we will look like we are texting. For Ashely, I'll be the recorder and use a notebook since we can't use cellphones at school and I won't stick out too much since we are going to be at school.

I hope to learn how homosexual people are juged on a day-by-day basis, and learn that homosexuality isn't to just one clique like preps or nerds.

Well...I hope this goes well!