Trinidad Week Three - Carnival Dress, Tradition and Body Love

Dancing and clothing work hand in hand not only in Trinidad, but throughout the globe. Performing a dance is quite a show, and clothing can make or break this type of performance. It only makes sense then that in Trinidad, their biggest “dance party” to let go, Carnival, has very eccentric costumes. These costumes are free to move your whole body in, while still leaving you flashy and ready to party.

During the two days of Carnival in Trinidad, women express their bodies with eccentric, revealing costumes to break away from their conservative lifestyle. Most women are clad in jewelled bikinis and feathered head dresses with loud colors (Trinidad and Tobago Carnival-2014). The Port of Spain perceives this type of minimal clothing as a way of freedom of expression, and most importantly to show pride and love for their bodies. From the viewpoint of the U.S. American population they might view their clothing preferences differently. In a survey conducted on “Women’s clothing in Music” it collected viewpoints of both male and female ideas of women and assumed “revealing” attire. In a survey we conducted over the weekend of October 30th to November 1st, our responders were asked why they believe women wear revealing clothing. 25% of them said they wanted attention whereas more than 45% of other responders said the clothes made the women feel good. Following this concept of women’s psychology when it comes to dressing up for a night of fun, the participants were then asked if the ideas of what is appropriate and inappropriate are largely influenced by society. 36% percent of them said “Yes” while 27% of other participants said “They are my own personal beliefs” (Women's Clothing in Music, SurveyMonkey, 2015). This survey demonstrates that society plays a big role on ideas of women’s clothing that shows self-expression but also some form of what is expected as appropriate attire. Most of American society believes that if women wear revealing clothing it means they are either seeking the attention of all genders or sexualizing themselves. On the other hand, some believe it’s self-expression and freedom dependending on the social context. It seems that the U.S. populace is starting to strive to promote women to show self-expression through clothing that shows off the body, but the old standards of American society continually enforce negative connotations and perhaps unintended social queues (ex. “She’s asking for it”). Trinidad’s society however, allows women to wear what they desire because their standards and the history of how Carnival came to be encourages freedom and appreciation of their bodies. Thus, the ideas of body love between Trinidad and the United States differ because society sets standards of appropriate/inappropriate attire, which affects specific meaning and social queues.

This “free” style of clothing and how it is viewed in society (both in Trinidad and the U.S.) can affect body image, both in men and women. In American society, there is a strict set of guidelines in terms of what people can wear without being “revealing” and without also being too “prude” in their clothing. If a woman wears clothes that show off her legs, shoulders or midriff, there is often slurs thrown at her and is told she needs to cover herself up, that she is asking for trouble due to her clothes. It is the same with a man if he wears a tight pant/shirt, he is told he is “asking for too much attention”. In this sense, it could show America’s preferred  style of clothing is more conservative that doesn’t show off the body, but that isn’t all. American clothing also is advertised to show off curves in a woman, and is an ideal way to express your body, in clothing for everyday wear and dancing. This becomes skewed and confusing to navigate through, which often can make self body image lower and self esteem lower in women and men across the U.S. However, in Trinidad and Tobago, there is a different viewpoint on how men and women dress. For most of the year, Trinidad is a more conservative area in dress and actions. During the time of Carnival, however, is a much more free environment. There is loud music and dancing and clothing that shows off the body, both for men and women. There isn’t anyone telling these women and men to change how they dress and that they are too “revealing”, but simply are participating with each other in their beloved tradition. While the clothing can be sexual, it isn’t perceived that way immediately. There is a definite “freedom” in the clothing through Carnival in Trinidad. There is no right or wrong though, so it really just ends up as what your culture and society says is okay.

Tradition carries great value across the globe. Keeping it alive is viewed as essential for some, while others feel tradition should be dynamic and fluid to follow changing times. Speaking in general terms, the old value the old, and the young value the new. This is especially true when it comes to music. Kids these days tend to listen to some sick beats called “dubstep”, but how would elders react  to this music? A little like this. Not all of the subjects look pleased with this type of music, and as one man states at 2:07, “It’s not exactly Sinatra, Dean Martin, or Sammy Davis”. Tradition often refers to something from the past, something that should be repeated unchanged for decades, or centuries. At least, that’s how elder folk see traditions. The young may view tradition as something to expand upon.

    In Trinidad, a popular style of music played during Carnival that has caught the eye of youngsters is “soca”,  because of its feel; the beat, the lyrics, and everything. It’s like going to a party with blasting popular tunes, what else is there to do but dance? This is music to dance to. Whereas some of the older folk value the importance of “calypso”, music that has a great meaning within the words, music that is meant to be digested and deciphered by the listener for its message. With Soca on the rise, many older folk fear the loss of the tradition of calypso being replaced something different to meet the changing times.

Citations:

Magik, Tony. Trinidad & Tobago Carnival 2014- “...absolutely EPIC”. YouTube. 2 Apr. 2014. Retrieved from: https://youtu.be/F74Jf7sqYkA.

Winter, Holly. Women’s Clothing in Music. SurveyMonkey.com. 30 Oct. 2015. Retrieved from: https://www.surveymonkey.com/analyze/EXPt_2FM3qrb10_2BrKH9X8bBP9wD0wqIQKfdM_2FbgW7Snq8_3D

Additional Credits

Nick De Los Santos: 3rd Body Paragraph, editing, links

Erika Query: Introduction, 2nd Body Paragraph, editing, links

Holly Winter: 1st Body Paragraph, editing, photos and links