ALTERNATIVE USES OF T-SHIRTS : COMMUNICATION AND IDENTITY

Abstract

This academic exercise aims to examine the meanings behind the wearing of the T-shirts. The T-shirt is being seen as having a communicative facility. It is a form of nonverbal communication whereby information about self can be transmitted. Some of the uses of the T-shirts as found out by this study include the use of T-shirts as a medium of expression, to express individual moods, values and ideas, and societal values and as a form of identity. Since there is a wide range of T-shirts that are available in the market today, there is a possibility that different types of T-shirts are being used to portray different identities. The T-shirt can be used to reflect one's identity, as well as, to create a 'wished-for' identity. It was also found that our selection of T-shirts are not totally dependent on individual's taste and desire, but are often constrained by certain factors such as our peers, gender, religion and government sanction.