Before I go on, just know I'm not dissing anyone by describing my own observations below. I'm just really curious about this topic and especially since many of us didn't get to grow up being treated as male/living as male in our earlier lives I often wonder if something like perceived notions of how to act, dress, talk, BE male in society might be slightly off and add to creation (or co-opting) of styles? Then again, what makes some cis guys choose a style like "douche" and run with it? lol I'm not taking a serious approach to this topic because I do think people should be able to express themselves however they want, but whenever one does that, they have to realize that the rest of society will most likely treat them a certain way because of it. That's just the way it is. I've been called emo before, even though I'm not just because people saw certain things about my style and applied those to previous things they've seen and associated with that term. If you really, really love wearing baggy pants half way off your ass that are 5 sizes to big for you, more power to you, but you're gonna catch some slack from somewhere because of it. In order to rock a style that you are seriously in-tune with and you don't even care if it's a stereotype then you have to be able to let comments roll off you too.
I followed some vid links recently that led me to a channel on youtube with a bunch of FTMs talking about certain topics of the week or something like that. Anyway, this one guy was doing the total "wigger" "gangster" schtick. I'm pretty sure it wasn't an act - like he literally wanted to be that way. Hey that's cool, I'm one of those people that is pretty open to whatever someone wants to do that isn't hurting someone else, but I just really wonder about super stylized (basically stereotypes) like that and why people decide to do that. Like they have a list they're checking off: sideways hat [check], air jordans [check], over sized b-ball attire [check], latest Lil' Wayne CD [check], signs with hands [check], lingo [check] ... you know what I mean? Now I'm not just picking on that dude in particular, this can be any style. Emo kid, punker, skater, whatever it is.
I once knew this (cis)guy that would change his whole persona about once every 6 months. First he was a redneck into guns and hunting, then it was a biker (biker gang type, then that morphed into the crotch-rocket type), then a wigger who wanted to play b-ball and rap all the time, then he got all into golf, and then diving ... the dude was just insane! I mean it just spun my head. The more I talked to him, the more it seemed he was so desperately trying to be "cool" in the eyes of some peer group that he was willing to do anything - throw himself 110% into the far end of whatever his latest kick was and then drop it as soon as people started making fun of him (which did happen because, yeah, when you try that hard and go that far off the deep end, they will). Much later on I discovered that he came from a family that never really paid attention to him at all - so he was always doing things to GET attention. Total correlation there imo!
With the proliferation of reality tv, it seems being a douche bag is the new "in" thing as well. Like why would you want to strive to be a douche bag?
People can say style is a very personal thing but I think a lot of times it actually isn't. People are often patterning their "personal" styles after other people they like/admire, etc. or the peer group they hang with (or want to hang with) in order to feel more accepted and gain approval ... to "be cool".
So having said all that, what's your style? And don't worry, like I said, I'm not out to diss anyone, just want to hear your own take on why it is you do what you do and look the way you do.
For me? I've been through a number of styles but none have strayed too far from the core style of what I like to call "eclectic". Yeah, it's just like the furniture people who have a mishmash of styles from contemporary to antique and can't decide on a specific thing so they call it eclectic and somehow make it work. I absolutely love my skinny jeans (the typical "emo" trademark), but I like argyle sweaters too. I like vintage stuff, buy I like uber contemporary modern stuff like Tokyo Flash watches. My goal has always been to be a little different. Even when I was in school I learned early on I was never going to be a part of the popular crowd or any other clique (couldn't even get in with the A/V kids or the band crowd! lol) so I was just kinda left to do my own thing. And you bet I've had some major influences along the way - people I've admired their style and "borrowed" one or two things to suit my own purposes and make me happy. But I think the end result is more uniquely me than if I had a check list for a "type" I was going for.
Thoughts?
