435
25.14 Cii)
TABLE 45
Comparison of Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal response to
Statements 60 and 23 - physical appearance as an idential ∙
r∣ ’ ɪɔ
Statement
Agree
Strongly Agree
Not Disagree
sure Disagree strongly
Maj ority
support
60. I often feel self-conscious
about my looks *
Aboriginal response (N=93)
Non-Aboriginal response (N=289)
30.6 (disagree)
7.1 23.5 36.5 22.4 10.6 33.0
17.0 37.7 24.9 17.3 3.1 54.7
(agree)
23. I think people like me for
myself and don’t worry about
looks or clothing or the sort
of houses we have
Aboriginal response
Non-Aboriginal response
10.0 54.4 24.4 10.0
13.0 43.5 26.4 12.7
1.1
4.5
(agree)
64.4
56.5
25.14 (iii) Discussion
The hypothesis was not supported. Aborigines showed Zess support
for 'being conscious about their Zooks’than non-Aborigines.
Item 60, self-consciousness about looks,is a ’normal' feeling in
young people. One might expect, however, with the extra element of
colour, that there would be strong degree of self-consciousness about
looks among Aborigines. In fact there was a relatively even distribution
30.6 per cent, 36.5 per cent, 33.0 per cent in the Aboriginal response.
In the case of non-Aborigines there was marked agreement about
feeling self-conscious about their looks. Fifty-four point seven
*
per cent agreed with this. Aboriginal physical characteristics,
which were the criteria for being relegated to reserves and relegated
to negative identity, were not seen as a negative idential.
Aborigines were less self-conscious about their looks than non-
Aborigines.