Leopard man

Aleksandra Ivanova Campos English 10, 5 May 19, 2014 Individuality.

Children grow up and move on to their dramatic teenage years. They make new friends and how they look in other people's eyes start to matter. Their hormones kick in, and they experience rapid changes in their minds, and bodies. They start to develop a mind of their own. This is where the question of individuality comes in. Is a person truly an individual or are they just going with the flow. Logan Feys discusses society and peer pressure in his article "The Sociology of Leopard Man". In his article he states that most of society conforms to the social norm. He also states that most of the people who do outrageous things or dramatically change their appearance are simply seeking for attention. Unlike most people, he recognizes leopard man as a true individual, seeking to find peace in isolation.

In my opinion, a true individual is a person who disregards the social norm and is true to

themselves. Feys states, "Conformity can be seen as the world's most common but dangerous

psychological disorder." I agree with him. Today, we are pressured everywhere to be uniform to our neighbor. Our society rejects individuals because they are the 'unknown'. If you are unique, you can't be predicted, you're not uniformed. Peer pressure is in our schools, homes, jobs, even

churches. Teenagers are discovering themselves, discovering their likes and dislikes, that's why

they are more susceptible to be affected peer pressure. When you don't know who you are,

it's easy to just go with the flow instead of taking a stand.

Ivanova,2

The people who go out of their way to change their appearance are also a product of conformity. People who try so hard to be different, and will do the opposite of normal just to be different are not truly individuals. They do not stand up for what they believe in, they are simply disagreeing to disagree. Logan Feys also discusses them in his article, but he points out that leopard man is different. Leopard man is known as the world's most tattooed man. He is tattooed from head to toe, in leopard print. Many people see him as a freak. Tom Leopard lives in solitude in the Scottish wilderness, and covers up his unique body when he goes into civilization for supplies. Leopard man is unique because he is not different to be noticed, he is different for himself. He is psychologically free and does not seek for acceptance but only inner peace.

We should all take an example from leopard man and be " physiologically free enough and strong enough to live independently." Although Tom Leopard is a great example of a true

individual, we do not have to go live in complete isolation to be free. Like in all things, there is a

balance. An individual is someone who is true to them-self. That means doing what makes them

comfortable disregarding society's social standards. An individual can still enjoy the company of

others and the benefits of society without becoming dependent on societies acceptance. Individuals are very simply put, themselves.