Do They Even Know What They Are Wearing?

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by Ronnie Tyler | on August 25th, 2008 | 3 comments

It’s that time again!! School starts today. On Friday, I took the two oldest kids school shopping. Our teenager and I got into a big argument in the store. I told him to go to the men’s section and pick out some things while I take his little sister to the girls section to shop. When he came back, he had a hand full of shirts and for the most part they all looked the same. They all had skulls on them. I told him no you can’t have any of them. No more skulls. I had just purchased him two shirts a few days before and they both had skulls on them. I told him I would not buy any more. He said but mom look around all of the good stuff has skulls on them. And he was right…. most of the brands had skulls on the shirts. But I did not give in. I told him I was not buying them any more. I told him I do not even know what it means to have a skull on your shirt. He said it doesn’t mean anything…it is just cool.

I should not have broken my own rule. The rule was…you can’t wear any shirts with skulls on them. But then he received a few of those shirts for Christmas and ever since then…he has been wearing them. It’s like I gave in to peer pressure and let him wear them…even though I did not feel comfortable with it. I told him that I was going to write a post about those shirts. And he said go ahead because our readers are a bunch on old folks and they are not going to know what it means either.

The Dad asked him did he know where wearing your pants really baggy and sagging down came from. And he said No. The Dad told him it came from jail culture. He did not believe The Dad and dismissed it as urban legend. The kids now-a-days are wearing things and they do not even know where it originated.

BMWK, what do you think about this?

About the author

Lamar and Ronnie Tyler are the creators of the award-winning blog BlackandMarriedWithKids.com . They also are behind the Amazon.com bestselling DVDs Happily Ever After: A Positive Image of Black Marriage, You Saved Me and their latest documentary Men Ain’t Boys that explores manhood in the African American community. The Tylers are also the proud parents of four children.

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Comments (3)

ruby128 Monday - 25 / 08 / 2008 Reply

HA! I had to chuckle at the "your readers are a bunch of old folks and they are not going to know what it means" comment! LOL!! If you google this topic there are various opinions --some of which are: evil/devil worship, nazi related, ancient religious rituals, heavy metal - rock images, etc, but most will agree that the "skulls" represent "death"….and because of my faith I don't view death as negative, BUT a skull on a t-shirt IMO is not to be glamorized - especially when it's on a motorcycle, smoking cigarettes, playing a guitar, etc. I too have a teenage son and we had a similar issue with symbols, rappers, various quotes, etc., some are acceptable and I try to let him express himself, but there are limits - no violence and no negative/crazy images -- so I can relate to you “bending your rules” as I’m sure you wouldn’t let him wear anything too crazy looking. These shirts are meant to express a certain attitude...and to a certain degree, your son is correct because some of these manufactures are putting out products they think are "cool", because that's exactly what they think will sell and appeal to our kids (and in some of these kids minds – no harm intended) while the parents just think some of this stuff is just stupid….like the baggy pants thing - that was an expression of ignorance at its finest. If you want to show, do, or wear something that you believe in that’s one thing, and if you don’t know that’s another, but ignorance to what you’re doing is misleading and that’s where the real issues comes in at. To answer your question I don’t think a lot of them know what they are wearing but let’s not forget when it comes to teenagers – they think they know everything, it’s the parents that don’t know nothing (remember we’re old) LOL!...but just think next year it’ll be something different.
Jaclynn Monday - 25 / 08 / 2008 Reply

I know ain't nobody callin' me old. I'm five minutes older than your son. And I still agree with the above comment. Jaclynns last blog post..Possession?
tina Tuesday - 26 / 08 / 2008 Reply

I know that boy didn't call me old! Don't he know who I am? I oughta.....like I don't know teenager stuff. Sure I may not know who this lupe fiasco is, and I thought Snoop Doggy Dog was saying "Pop it like a trunk" but that's not the point! I know teenagers and they can be so much fun it's crazy. And they can be so infuriating they'll drive you crazy. But the bottom line is they're always trying to figure out who they are and find their little niche in the world...even if that niche is wearing a skull shirt that he picked out all by himself and created an entire outfit around. Anyhow, the whole skull thing...he's a teenager and a boy. There's not too huge of a variety of designs on clothing for guys like there are for girls. Guys can wear different outfits all week and look like they've never changed clothes. Mainly because for the most part guys find a style they like and stick with it. And rarely deviate for a few years (or until their wives shop for them). His style right now is the skull thing. I see nothing wrong with the skulls so long as they're not like "I worship satan and kill people for fun, heil hitler" type skulls. But I feel that if you had banned the skulls and then gave in on it, then why get upset that he's going skull crazy now? Gifts are one thing, but if you felt that strongly, then why'd you even buy him any skull shirts? One compromise there could have been "If you get them for a present, okay, but don't expect me to shell out money for it!" Another compromise (at the shopping plaza) would have been "Okay, I'll get you 2 skull shirts, but the rest can't have any skulls on them period." Boy ends up partially happy, you end up partially happy. Insert blog about the art of compromise with your teenage son. You're in an interesting predicament. I'm documenting this for the future clothing battles I will probably have. Just be happy you're having this battle with a teenage boy...because the teenage girl clothing battles.....*ooooh wee!* Am I the only one who has issues with all that writing across the backside of girls aged 3-17 pants? tinas last blog post..Did I Mention That Pregnancy Sucks!?!?!??!