How much should we reflect the real world in our writing?

@Orpheus: “want to” seems pretty reductive in this context. many “want to” because they believe that God will punish them if they do not. or to escape the shame of not wearing them. some genuinely do want to wear them, but I don’t think you can know.

circa 2000, I came to the idea that humans largely act as puppets of their social milieu. if people start wearing hats with bananas on their heads, they’ll start doing that.