DEAR MISS MANNERS: I am writing about an etiquette problem common in historic re-enactment/living history groups, for any given historic era: people who are popularly known as "authenticity police."
Authenticity policing takes the form of walking up to another person, closely inspecting their clothing (even lifting up women's skirts to examine their underwear), then informing them that they "ought to" have used 100-percent natural fibers, or hand sewn their seams, or that they are "too old" to wear a given style, or that "you shouldn't wear vintage clothing because you're destroying a part of our history."
They feel authorized to personally evaluate the reproduction (or antique/vintage) clothing of fellow members and event attendees for "authenticity" or "accuracy." This is in addition to, and usually well beyond, any official standards or requirements that may be imposed by the organization the re-enactors belong to or are attending as nonmembers).
Authenticity police insist they are being "educational," "scholarly," even "helpful." Sometimes they are overtly nasty, sometimes merely condescending. Sometimes the information they give is correct; sometimes, in my opinion, it isn't. Either way, their unsolicited criticism is primarily one-upmanship and pressure toward social conformity. It is done in public and can cause considerable embarrassment.
People usually become defensive. If they plead that they don't have enough money to buy expensive fabrics, they are then told to buy on sale, or that "re-enactment isn't a cheap hobby." If they say they don't have enough time to hand sew, they are told, "Well, I work full time, too, and I hand sew all my outfits." If they insist that what they are wearing is indeed accurate, citing books, pictures, or other research sources, they are told that they "didn't use a primary source" or "this wasn't typical for the period; you need to provide me with at least three examples."
It is not uncommon for strangers, bombarded with criticism, to leave and never return. Some humbly ask what they are allowed to wear, how they should make it, what vendors they may buy from, and so forth, and once they have some seniority, may become authenticity police themselves.
People seldom have the gumption to assert that their own clothing (and other personal matters such as their finances and how they use their free time) is their own business. Nor do they commonly point out that they are in fact conforming to the official organizational standards; and that since re-enactment is a hobby, they are free to choose how "authentic" to be beyond official standards.
Because I am interested in history and historic costume, I enjoy re-enactment activities in concept (though not some of the re-enactors). I have not found a solution to this problem other than to tell the "authenticity police" to mind their own business -- more forcefully, I'm afraid, than Miss Manners would approve.
I do think modern etiquette should apply to this situation, because socially these are modern groups. Besides, Miss Manners might not approve of the etiquette that would have been used in some historic eras, for example, physically assaulting the criticizer.
GENTLE READER: No, but neither does she care for the modern assumption that it is acceptable to go around insulting people. Officious types who behave dreadfully to improve society have always been among us -- as have those who make self-righteous excuses for lifting women's skirts -- but their victims were not always so willing to stand still for them.
Miss Manners would advise responding with a nice old-fashioned statement from whichever period the group re-enacts, along the lines of "How dare you question my honor!"
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