Cotton-mix, direct-to-film printed T-shirt
 
The Sri Lankan term godey is more than a casual insult; the word is a micro-archive of class, aspiration, and taste. ‘Godey’ essentially means tasteless and unsophisticated. The etymology of the word in both Sinhala and Tamil represents ‘of the land’, hinting at simplistic, pastoral origins, provinciality, or village. The term probably originated in the second half of the 20th century, when the exit of colonial forces and the beginnings of industrialization highlighted the newly ingrained divisions and anxieties about what’s novel and refined. Since then, godey has been used to describe poor, gaudy, or outdated taste in reference to style, objects, or clothing, while it’s also used more pejoratively to insult people seen as common, or lower class. 
 
Pictured here is the ‘Tulip bag’, a modern icon of godeyness. Tulip bags are inexpensive plastic carriers that can be purchased almost anywhere in Sri Lanka. Produced by Polydime since the 1990s, Tulip bags have gained a reputation for being godey for two reasons. First, Tulip bags were made and marketed as a durable plastic carrier to be reused, with sturdier-than-expected plastic. This idea of a plastic bag being actually considered as a reusable carrier resonated as cheap and tacky to many. Secondly, Tulip bags are inexpensive, but not free. They’re not given away by shopkeepers, so you don’t end up with one by accident. To possess a Tulip bag, it has to be intentionally purchased or gifted by someone who did; either you’re godey enough to buy it, or someone thought you were godey enough to appreciate it. This is what makes the Tulip bag so unequivocally godey. We find it a great piece from Sri Lanka’s pop anthropology; a meme in object form. A reminder that taste is always socially negotiated.
 
* These T-shirts are made from a cotton and polyester blend material and printed using direct-to-film (DTF) printing.