Psychology: why people wear hairbands with ears

Self-tutoring about psychology: the tutor reflects about a modern custom.

As a kid, I never saw hairbands with animal-like ears. Perhaps they came into being sometime in the 90s, though I can’t confirm I saw any before 2000, except perhaps with Halloween costumes. Now, they’re fairly common.

Today, people have a great affinity with animals. In the 70s and 80s, people did have pets, of course, but animals were seen as different from people – separate from them.

Since the 2000s, however, it seems that people explore their similarity with animals. I’ve seen at least one ad in which a person was enjoying a pet’s snacks. Many people simply won’t have kids – their pets are their children. Animals have sweaters, rain gear, and beds.

Animal rights constitute a serious issue. People are increasingly becoming vegan for ethical reasons as well as health. People empathize with animals perhaps more than with humans, sometimes.

I’d say the reason behind people’s growing connection with animals is that colonization is outmoded. In the days of empires and colonies, colonizing powers saw a place as either “wild” or “civilized”. Civilization was only attainable by humans and legitimized their power.

Today, people don’t so much see themselves as “more legitimate” than animals. In a post-colonial world, people look for commonality. They don’t feel the need to dominate animals or separate themselves from them; rather, they emulate them. Being charming is how pets have always survived, and probably humans as well.