Social fear

A hoodie (sometimes also spelled hoody) is a sweatshirt with a hood. Some pullover hoodies also have a large pocket across the front called a kangaroo pocket, and many feature a logo. Some hoodies also have strings that can be pulled to tighten or loosen the hood. Other common hoodie styles are the zip-up, which cannot feature a kangaroo pocket, as the pocket would be bifurcated by the zip, and the half-zip which can feature a kangaroo pocket as the zip starts above the pocket. Typical materials are cotton, polyester or a blend of the two.

Hoodies are often adorned with designer labels, corporate logos or message, often in a foreign language (English speakers may wear hoodies with Japanese messages, and vice-versa). An example of an unusual design is the "Pink Kitty" hoody which is pink, with triangular "ears" on the hood, and comes with matching pink gloves designed to resemble a cat's paws.

Also, many hoodies feature logos/designs of a specific rock band. Hoodies can be any colour, but the most popular colours are black or dark blue. Many teenagers or 20-somethings wear hoodies as a fashion statement, and many wear them even when it's not cold outside, partly because they are extremely comfortable. In California, at least, it is not uncommon to see a large segment of a college campus' population clad in hooded sweatshirts.

Particularly fashionable in the UK, hoodies have recently been the subject of much criticism: some wearers have committed criminal acts such as shoplifting using the hood to conceal their identity from CCTV cameras in shopping centres. 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. 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.

Groups of young people (often in their mid teens) who loiter in their hoodies in public places are sometimes known as "hood rats" or just "hoodies" in the south of England. In the north of England hoodies are not seen as a separate group of youths but are grouped in with charvers. They will often hassle other teens and the elderly (those who they believe pose no threat).

It is not the first time in history that specific clothing has been associated with crime. The Sicilian minister of Charles III of Spain, Esquilache, banned wide-rim hats and cloaks on the grounds that criminals hid their identities and weapons under them. He introduced the French fashion of three-beaked hats and coats. The Spanish populace, however, protested this and other measures of Enlightened Absolutism in the Esquilache Riot.

Hoodie is also a record released by Lady Sovereign to back up the Save The Hoodie Campaign.

servido por eoic05 1 comentario compártelo