Editor:

I learned in The Chronicle today (“A must-have for this season’s fashion,” Feb. 17) that I do not celebrate my individuality, and that I am not a unique individual, and that I am just a part of “the norm.”

According to Cara Wieser’s column, people in Utah are “encouraged to dress alike, talk similarly and practice the same religion.”

Evidently, because I am a member of the dominant religion of the state, and shop at the same stores as most people (you’d be hard pressed to find someone who DOESN’T shop at the same store as someone else), I am not expressing my individuality.

I was always taught to believe that what matters about a person is on the inside-how they act and how they treat other people. THAT is what makes them an individual.

Why, according to Wieser, do I need to have piercings and tattoos to express my individuality? Why does it matter if a hit movie has “a gay or lesbian lead actor?” I fail to see what someone’s sexual orientation has to do with him or her being a good actor or not.

Why do the reporters on FOX 13 need to “show up with a new eyebrow piercing?” Does that make them better individuals, or maybe better reporters? I have absolutely nothing against anyone with piercings or tattoos, I have plenty of good friends who have them, but to me, neither their piercings and tattoos nor their sexual orientation makes them more of an individual.

Scott Halladay

Sophomore, Business