More Wiggin'
The subject of British judicial wigs and gowns comes up here more often than you might imagine. (My most recent post on it might be here, if this happens to be one of those rare moments when blogger's archives are working: otherwise, you could scroll down to "organdy snood," believe it or not.)
Gary Farber has a good, lengthy post on the general wigginess of British judicial custom, with several interesting links.
What I find most interesting is the cultural divide here. Most of the British discussion of this question that I've seen, pro-wig as well as anti-wig, focuses on the assertion that these foppish, floppy, flouncy, frilly, effeminate-on-men/extra-ludicrous-on-women, theatrical, costume-party get-ups are "intimidating" and inspire "respect and solemnity." I'm sure it's true, but for an American (this American, anyway) it's pretty hard to fathom.
Granted, being given a stiff sentence for shooting a burglar who has busted in to your home, say, must be pretty unsettling even if the judge looks a bit like Liberace. Especially if, I guess. But I assume they're not intentionally seeking a De Chirico effect, trying to disorient the defendant with surreal-ness. Or are they? ("Order! Order in this court! The defendant will cease giggling this instant!")
My wife is British, with no great personal experience of the law, and her take on it is perhaps the most surprising. To her, all this foppery is neither intimidating, nor solemn, nor risible. To her, it's "normal." Unless you think about it, she adds. It all turns on what you're used to, of course, but this is a pretty, er, inclusive definition of normality if you ask me.
Clearly, these archaic, outlandish customs are so familiar that they blend into the background and are hardly even noticed. It makes me wonder, though, if there are any American traditions like this, i.e., customs, habits, institutions, costumes that seem completely normal to us, but that are overwhelmingly bizarre to outsiders. There must be some, though I can't think of any right now. (Kind of demonstrating the point, I think.)
Posted by Dr. Frank at May 18, 2003 07:23 AM | TrackBack