The Kingdom's young generation is finding new and expressive ways to rebel against authority and stamp out its identity, and what is more effective than to radically change the way you look? A recent new trend has swept the youth - starting at the tender age of 12 and last well until the mid-twenties: adopting the out-of-the-box fashion trends that have become a “nuisance” for everyone above the age of 25. The purpose? To look different, and as different as possible. This involves the “Afro” hairstyle and “skinny” jeans that hang so low, it's not possible for them to drop any further. The jeans at least, have also taken young girls by storm. Ala'a Mansoor is a 16-year old student in Jeddah who is one such fashionista but faces continued criticism from her parents for her adopted style. “I can't understand the reason for my parents' criticism; every new generation likes to adopt its own style, and one that is different from the past generation,” she says. “My mother and I are from two different generations and I like to wear clothes that suit my age and lifestyle.” Teenagers in particular, love to assert their individual personality and perhaps even flaunt it in the face of authority. Rayan Ahmed is an 18-year-old who claims that he likes wearing “skinny” jeans and has left his hair to grow into the “Afro” style so that he can “explain” his personality to the outside world, despite the rejection he faces because of it. Not just pertaining to parental objection, school authorities also don't tend to be sympathetic to teenage whims. “The school administration is forcing all students to cut their hair, although fashion has nothing to do with learning,” said a rather glum Rayan. Why do young people behave this way? Dr. Mansour Bin Askar, professor in Sociology at Riyadh's King Saud University, explained that one of the primary factors behind this trend is a need for attention. Teenagers crave love and admiration and can go to great heights to achieve that. Mazen, a 13-year-old from Jeddah confirms this theory. “I get a happy feeling when I see people around me noticing my ‘look',” he said. Instead of constant criticism, parents can achieve a great deal by trying to subtly influence their children through milder means, like giving sincere advice. Umm Tala is one such mother who certainly seems to find success in this method. “My son imitates his friends, but I don't accept that at all,” she said. “I explained to him that these clothes are against our tradition.” Dr. Askar similarly stressed the importance of building good relations between parents and children. “When a teenager trusts his parents, it will make it easier for them to influence him or her and therefore more likely to change the decision to dress like this,” he explained. Some parents, however, have had no choice but to use force. “Teens never notice that they often go beyond adopting a different style and instead, adopt an ugly look, but they never listen to our advice,” said Umm Waddah, whose 18-year-old son has been wearing low-slung jeans and an “Afro” hairstyle for three years now. “After so much time, we've tried to convince our son, but since he wasn't listening, his father forced him to change his appearance back to normal.” Force is never a good option though, and some parents go the opposite way by relieving their children of any pressure and giving them more freedom to express their individuality. “The teenage years are a sensitive period and we should be patient and try to understand our children,” stated another mother in Jeddah, Umm Fahad. However, Azza Amer, an academic in Jeddah's Effat University and mother of sons who haven't adopted such new fashions, claims that communication is key to resolve such issues. “Teenagers should be aware of what is acceptable and what is not in their family,” she said. “Family plays a huge role in controlling a teenager's behavior.” Another issue, and one that has been in the news rather recently, is the Islamic view of such clothing, and many Islamic scholars have called this wholesome adoption of non-Islamic clothing as unacceptable. Dr. Mansour asserts that there are two kinds of teenagers that adopt such fashion: the first group includes those who suffer from social and psychological problems arising from things like being orphaned, divorce, neglect and lack of confidence. The second group, he claims, is one that dresses differently to imitate friends or because of the “cool” factor and teenagers in this group find it much easier to be tamed if their family intercedes. “When a teenager trusts his parents, he will obey them,” he says. The actual problem lies with the first group, whose problems are much more difficult to understand and resolve.
