On Ripped Jeans and Poverty Appropriation
By Pushpa Iyer
In March 2021, a newly elected Bharatiya Janata Party chief minister, Tirath Singh Rawat of Uttarakhand in India, made comments about women who wore ripped jeans. This came after he met the head of an NGO on a plane who was wearing ripped jeans. Referring to his interaction with her, he lamented on the horrors of women showing their knees and wondered how someone trying to save the world could be effective, given her apparent lack of moral values.
Women all over the country immediately responded in protest. Here was another man telling women what not to wear and challenging their individuality and their freedom. Not surprisingly, people posted selfies in ripped jeans all over social media. Some deliberately cut their jeans and posed for photos to showcase their outrage at Rawat’s statements. Hashtags such as #RippedJeans, #RippedJeansTwitter, and #GirlsWhoWearRippedJeans began trending on Twitter and Instagram. News stories on the protest movement spread around the world. The power of this women’s movement was starkly visible, and I cheered. I am in complete solidarity with the women who said they would not be shamed for what they chose to wear.
However, I found it hard to protest Rawat in the same manner as many women on social media. Let me start by saying that I am very grateful for my choices in life that allow me to accept or reject the type of clothing that interests me. I do not wear ripped jeans; I have never worn them. I am of a generation and from an economic class where my mother insisted that, at the first sign of wear and tear (the smallest hole), we needed to discard our old clothes because we did not want people to think of us as ‘poor.’ Maybe this sunk in on a deep level (a very middle-class view that I find very troublesome now and one I must explore further at some other time) because ripped jeans do not appeal to me. There is, however, another reason I do not want to wear them; I am troubled by the parallels between the privilege (choice) of wearing ripped jeans and engaging in poverty appropriation.
Judy Westhale explains ‘poverty appropriation’ as similar to cultural appropriation. It is about power and privilege, about a dominant group that co-opts mannerisms, culture, behaviour, clothing, and more from marginalized groups for some benefit, profit, or entertainment. Ripped jeans are more expensive than regular jeans, and not everyone can afford them. There is a whole industry, a very profitable one, behind the production and commercialization of ripped jeans. I see the trend of wearing ripped jeans as being in stark contrast to the judgement received by the poor for their lack of choices and opportunities lost because of their ripped, torn, or distressed clothing. Our ripped jeans may give us entry into posh restaurants while the sight of a poor person in ripped clothes prompts us to hand them our leftovers, should we be so kindly inclined. Worse, we are taught to fear people who “look” poor when walking down the street because they might rob us of our possessions, and if we are feeling charitable towards them, we will cluck under our breath that they steal because they are desperate, even as we scurry away from them. Our ripped jeans take us to spaces that are warm and heated while the poor’s ripped clothes leave them at the mercy of nature’s vagaries. For those of us who have worked very closely with the poor, this contrast leads to much discomfort. Unless the poor are given access to shared spaces and are not judged for what they wear, it is hard for me to celebrate our choices, the ones that seem to mock their misfortunes. Westhale’s article shows us that poverty appropriation happens globally and in many different forms, but, I am making a connection to wearing ripped jeans.
In a country like India, where many live below the poverty line, ripped jeans are a very jarring choice. The commercial aspects of ripped jeans are what I call designed-to-look-poor while thinking-rich. However ironically, the movement to wear ripped jeans initially was meant to challenge some of those very middle class, elite, capitalist and establishment backed values. Rohan Agarwal, says the origins of ripped jeans are in British Punk ideology “to fight against status quo and conservative form of government. The early punk movement tore apart consumer goods as a symbol of revolt and expression of anger towards society. The denim then became one of the main targets for the politically fuelled deconstruction. Especially with both men and women wearing torn jackets and jeans adorned with pins and slogans.” Deepali Dewan opines that women in India reclaimed this ‘protest power’ when they responded to Rawat’s statement with their selfies.
I am with women in their fight for freedom from “toxic patriarchy.” I do support their choice to protest. However, as a woman, I am asking if we could acknowledge our privilege in wearing ripped jeans even as we fight the lack of privilege we feel to choose our own clothing and not be judged for what we wear. Challenge ourselves even as we challenge those who threaten us? Now, wouldn’t that be real courage?