“At the moment, the considered altering my trend fashion simply to safe a job by no means crossed my thoughts,” Cuong, 23, from Hanoi mentioned.
Cuong, a hip-hop fanatic, embraces a grungy aesthetic, together with dyed blonde hair, nostril rings, earrings, and arm tattoos. “Ripped denims are a staple for me, although they usually draw criticism for making me seem like a delinquent,” he shared.
Regardless of others regularly disapproving of his trend decisions, Cuong remained unfazed till his distinctive fashion started to hinder his job search.
Final yr, Cuong interviewed for a tech firm position, dealing with a feminine division head in her 40s.
“Proper from the second she noticed me, her demeanor turned unwelcoming, regardless of me carrying a polo shirt and foregoing my ordinary ripped denims,” Cuong remembered.
Because the interview progressed with a number of questions and exams, the interviewer warmed as much as Cuong after observing his sturdy efficiency. Nonetheless, she stipulated that she would solely lengthen a proposal if Cuong toned down his hair colour and eliminated his piercings. After considering for 2 days, Cuong finally selected to say no the supply.
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College college students in Hanoi interact in dialog on campus, March 23, 2024. Photograph by VnExpress/ Pham Nga |
Psychologist Hong Huong from the Kids’s Rights Safety Affiliation famous that whereas society is changing into extra accepting of younger folks’s trend and life-style decisions, generational gaps nonetheless current challenges.
“Many younger people are unfairly labeled as spoiled merely for showcasing their uniqueness by means of their look,” Huong remarked.
A VnExpress survey involving almost 2,000 individuals revealed that roughly half of the respondents have been hesitant to work alongside people with tattoos.
Thanh Nga, now 28, vividly remembers a distressing incident from six years in the past throughout her early educating profession. She was confronted on the faculty entrance by the vice principal, who sharply criticized her apparel, demanding, “How will you educate dressed like that? Go house and alter into one thing else.”
Shocked and in tears, Nga felt her pleasure shattered, unable to reconcile her fashion with the vice principal’s calls for. In response, she selected to keep up her self-respect and dignity by resigning from her place.
Nga, a international languages pupil from Hanoi, is understood for her distinctive fashion, together with a creative neck tattoo, coloured hair, and a choice for female sundresses. After spending two years working within the metropolis, she returned to her hometown to be nearer to her household and began her personal night English class.
“I’ve free mornings, so to construct connections, I used to be suggested to seek out work, main me to use to a close-by secondary faculty,” she defined.
Nonetheless, Nga’s presence on the faculty persistently provoked adverse reactions from the vice principal because of her look. Regardless of her efforts to decorate conservatively, she was commonly reprimanded for her apparel being both too saggy or too vibrant.
“Maybe his preliminary harshness in direction of me was influenced by my tattoo and dyed hair,” Nga speculated.
‘Household’ gangster
Le Nhu Quynh, residing in Ho Chi Minh Metropolis, discovered herself at odds along with her dad and mom over her tattoos and trend decisions. Marking her coming of age at 18, Quynh Nhu selected a tattoo that includes a sunflower, a sleeping child, and an infinity signal emblazoned with the phrase “Household”, stretching longer than a finger.
“When my mom noticed the tattoo, she stored scolding me, asking me if I used to be in a gang, and why did not I take away it? Is it as a result of if I erase it, I will be killed?” recounted Nhu, a Gen Z particular person with educator dad and mom in HCMC.
Pushed by frustration, her mom took her to a tattoo removing clinic, solely to be greatly surprised by the excessive price. Her father intervened, suggesting, “Let her make her personal choice. It is her life, and her job prospects are her concern.”
Nhu selected to maintain her tattoo.
Nhu has been enhancing her confidence by means of gymnasium coaching and dealing as a health coach in recent times. Her wardrobe developed to incorporate crop tops and sports activities bras paired with saggy or sports activities pants, embodying a sporty-chic aesthetic. Nonetheless, her alternative of apparel drew warning from her mom, who expressed concern that such revealing garments may tarnish her status.
Past familial worries, Nhu confronted skepticism from others about her tattoo, with some immediately accusing her of aspiring to a gangster picture. Echoing her father’s warning, she encountered warnings that her look may restrict her employment prospects.
Regardless of these challenges, Nhu continues to specific her id proudly, as seen in a photograph of her carrying an off-shoulder costume that showcases a modest arm tattoo, a testomony to her self-assurance and private fashion.
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Quynh Nhu in an off-shoulder costume highlights a petite tattoo on her arm. Photograph courtesy of Nhu |
Professional Hong Huong notes that whereas look could replicate an individual’s persona, fashion, or feelings, it doesn’t present a full measure of their character. “Social norms evolve, very like water flowing in a stream. We won’t apply one technology’s requirements to a different,” she explains.
Psychologist Dao Le Tam An, a PhD pupil in Psychology at Ho Chi Minh Metropolis College of Training, discusses the tendency to label younger people who dye their hair, get tattoos, or piercings as grasping and spoiled. He suggests it is a psychological shortcut to avoid wasting power, favoring conformity to societal norms and inflicting shock or annoyance in direction of those that deviate.
This mindset is commonly amplified by media portrayals of rebellious youth, reinforcing stereotypes and overlooking the variety and complexity of particular person id.
An argues that such simplistic considering fosters prejudice, restraint, and unfairness. Particularly for younger people nearing maturity, being subjected to labels could cause them to understand their household atmosphere as unsupportive and alien, thereby exacerbating the generational divide.
An cautions: “This sort of restriction can provoke rebellious actions that will escalate to dangerous behaviors.
Problematic issues
In accordance with Hong Huong, office judgment, as skilled by people like Cuong or Nga, can harm younger folks’s shallowness and hinder their potential to acclimate to new settings. “Judging others by their look not solely deprives you of the possibility to really perceive them but in addition of probably precious relationships with buddies, colleagues, or workers,” she notes.
Dr. Pham Thi Thuy, a sociologist on the Nationwide Academy of Public Administration in Ho Chi Minh Metropolis department, emphasizes the numerous position younger folks play in shaping the way forward for society. She argues that older generations ought to neither impose their requirements on the youth nor will such makes an attempt achieve success in the long term.
Initially dedicated to his grungy trend, Cuong confronted office discrimination, prompting a short lived change. He hid his piercings for interviews and the preliminary section of his employment.
Over time, as he established rapport and demonstrated his expertise, Cuong regularly reintroduced his private fashion, beginning with dyeing his hair and ultimately carrying his earrings and nostril ring once more. “A couple of weeks into the job, I began to indicate my true fashion once more. Now, everybody has accepted me for who I’m,” he shared.
Nga, after leaving a job because of criticism over her look, acknowledged that the issue wasn’t her or her garments, however a mismatch with the vice principal’s conservative views. She sought an atmosphere that valued her freedom and individuality, main her to relocate to Singapore, the place she enjoys a judgment-free life and work.
Quynh continues to embrace her tattoos and distinctive fashion regardless of being labeled as “spoiled.” She discovered employment in a contemporary, accepting office the place her tattoos, piercings, and dyed hair will not be solely accepted however shared amongst colleagues and superiors, underscoring a broader acceptance of particular person expression.