Sunday, January 15, 2006

Pop Culture

Okay, so by request I will be diving back into the realms of my unknown: pop culture, specifically fashion.

I went down to New York city a few weeks ago to visit my friend Amber and while there I learned that images of skulls on clothing is fashionable now, so I bought a shirt with a creepy looking cat holding a skull and some skeletons dancing around. I really like the shirt because of its fairly original design as well as the pattern of dancing skeletons and Celtic knots made of vines that wrap from the front to the back. So far I have had nothing but complements about my shirt so I have to give Amber laud for picking it out for me.

Fashion is not my forte so maybe others will disagree with me, and by "others" I mean women/girls, but Ugg boots are the most hideous fashion trend for women since not wearing skirts that showed off more than the ankle. And I hear that longer skirts are becoming fashionable also... what the hell is going on!? Are girls starting a new revolution, similar to the feminist movement in the 60's and 70's but this time they are going for all out separation of females from males by making themselves as unattractive as humanly possible, thereby removing the male's urge to reproduce and hence the need for men to talk to women at all? Okay, so don't get me wrong, I like smart women, but I also like attractive women and if we can have both then that is ideal but how am I supposed to know if the girl is attractive if I can't see her legs, or if they are wearing what reminds me of disgusting sausages for shoes? Soon women around here will be claiming that muslims got it right in that women shouldn't show any skin at all when in public.

Oh and has anyone else noticed that celebrities are starting to look less and less attractive these days? Even Angolina Jolie was looking down right ugly in a few shots of her with her new prego belly. What's with the trend for celebrities to get pregnant? I mean it's one thing to say so-and-so is pregnant and make it news but to say that it is a "trend" to get pregnant is ridiculous. I can't stand hollywood sometimes.

18 comments:

Anonymous said...

women pluck, wax, tweeze, shave, tuck in, suck in, push up, paint our face and dye our hair with chemicals. and trust me, we don't do it because it makes us feel better. we do it because society has made insecure enough that we don't believe we can be attractive to the opposite sex unless we go through a series of rituals every morning to hide our flaws and flaunt our assets.
i'm sure there are some out there, but i have yet to meet any straight men that put themselves through that much prep time to attract others. i'd love to wake up in the morning and not have to spend a half hour shaving, blow drying my hair and putting on make-up.
i wear skirts because they are comfortable as all hell in the summer when it’s hot out. but do i want my ass hanging out of a mini? no. am i glad nylons are becoming less and less required in a casual atmosphere? yes. do i feel ridiculously self-conscious when i got out because my legs are covered in scars and bruises because i'm a complete klutz? well, sure. for a while i wore nothing but long skirts because i tried to hide those flaws.
but let me tell you, kiddo...the most attractive women are the ones who are comfortable in their body and don't waste their times stressing about these things. because these are the women who have sex with the lights on and enjoy themselves in bed, while the others are worried something is going to jiggle the wrong way and make them look fat.
i realize men are visual creatures, but women are over-analytical as is. when was the last time you worried about how your shoes made your calves look, or if you're shirt made your chest look appealing?
the smart women are the ones who date men who find them beautiful without make-up, with their hair in a ponytail and donning baggy jeans with a t-shirt. there are enough things in the world to be focused on without having self-obsessive tendencies towards what society deems to be beautiful.

Andrew said...

Of course if you saw a guy wearing red sweat pants, black shoes with white socks, a tie-dye shirt, and was unshaven walking down the street you would probably think to yourself, "oh God he is hideous." Finding a woman attractive without makeup and tight clothes is not hard if you know the woman already, but the chances for a guy to go up to a girl and initiate conversation is exponentially increased with every extra bit of skin showing. And believe me men are selfconcious also it's just that society has made us insecure enough that we don't think we should discuss our "feelings". I put feelings in quotes because I'm not sure if I've ever had one but you get the idea (you see I even had to fit the male stereotype even on my own fairly anonymous blog).

Anonymous said...

Andrew,

I agree with everything Marisa said, I just have one small thing to add. You are a fucking hypocritical idiot. In all of the years I have knowwn you, you constantly complain about how 'girls are bitches', and 'why can't I find a girl who isn't crazy'? Seriously!? Seriosly? Do you not see that maybe the rpoblem lies in your inability to get past a pair of fucking comfortable boots and warm skirts? Maybe the fashion industry for once in trying to instill a sense of comfort and pragmatism in women's clothing. I am going to kick your ass so hard with my ugg boots when I see you in 10 days.

Andrew said...

Whoa, Erin maybe you need to calm down. For one thing all women are crazy and I have said this from the beginning so I'm not sure how that is hypocritical of me? Secondly, G-sus, did you have a fall out with your boyfriend or something recently, wasn't that a bit harsh? I'm all for women feeling comfortable but Ugg boots are just plain disgusting. Also, according to Marisa women find men with less clothing on attractive, which of course I find hard to believe being that men are the most disgusting form of life on this planet, so it should come as no shock that men happen to find naked females attractive also and anything to get women closer to nakedness is great. Anything in the opposite direction is not great. Period. I mean seriously, calm down, everything I write about fashion should be taken with a grain of salt... I don't know what I am talking about.

Andrew said...

Oh man I am laughing right now. Maybe I can trigger your anger response even faster by saying, is it that time of the month?

Anonymous said...

Andrew,

you are the most stereotypical boy I have ever met. You should try and step outside of the easy male response and if you are going to insult me, try using your imagination.

Andrew said...

Erin,
Maybe you shouldn't say completely erroneous statements, interlaced with profanity as a way of describing the “me” that you think you know but are, apparently, completely in the dark about. What got you so upset in the first place? The fact that I would prefer to have women with less clothing if possible (stereotypic maybe but not upsetting) or is it just the fact that I am not a female talking about my preferences for female fashion? What I said was neither bigotry nor insolent, so, again, I ask: what got you so mad? Mad enough to write that I was a “fucking hypocritical idiot”. I’m not even sure you know what the word hypocritical means because you tend to use it fairly often in completely the wrong context. Because I think all women, with no exceptions, are crazy (although I also believe that all human beings are insane) as well as enjoying a healthy looking female figure is not an example of hypocrisy. I could have accepted “narrow-minded” due to my statement that women are trying to segregate themselves from men by wearing hideous clothing, but hypocrite does not work. Not to mention that statement was what I considered to be obviously sarcastic, maybe I was wrong in assuming that. Also, if you want imaginative insults, then try posting an intelligent response originally. I thought Marisa’s response was well thought out and did not directly attack me but yours was quickly typed without any explanation for what you said and for some reason you felt the need to try and belittle me. When you get out here to Boston I am going to have to give you a big hug and try to calm you down, but be careful I might use the close encounter to steal your Ugg boots and throw them into the Charles River.

Anonymous said...

I think Uggs are really fucking ugly but who really cares? Last time I checked not all men dressed so great. I look good for me, not all the lame ass guys that can't see past my tits. I think its a lot more accepted for men to dress down and for themselves and not be judged. Its high time that women get to do the same and not be written off as homely and frumpy. Its all very hypocritical as Erin said. What do you do in the morning to impress women, Andrew? Probably not much and thats good. But maybe you should fucking let it go if a girl didn't put on makeup for you. Its her life. Maybe she'll impress you with what she says. And maybe if you don't say anything as asanine as your blog, you'll impress her. Sorry if its harsh, but you did want comments. And were we ever the ones to back down from a disagreement. Hell no!

Andrew said...

Again, I am quite fine with the idea that a girl may not want to spend a lot of time getting dressed up every morning but a girl that does is probably going to draw attention a lot easier. The same goes for men just not always to the same extent. It is not however hypocritical of me to have said that. Stop using that word in relation to me. If you see it as hypocrisy that men expect women to get dressed up but don't see it necessary to get dressed up themselves then that is one thing but to call me a "fucking hypocritical idiot" is another because I don't actually hold that belief. I do, however, like to see attractive females. I think your whole argument is hypocritical: women also prefer men who look nice and spend time taking care of themselves. As for my blog being asinine, that is your opinion, and I am hoping that it was directed at this post and not the entire blog in general. Why is it the posts that I also consider asinine, i.e. fashion, are the only ones that get you riled up and those posts that I consider a good seed for intellectual discussion you never respond to? Please lets leave this discussion and head towards something slightly more interesting... tell me your thoughts on democratic socialism, maybe explain to me what you think about domestic spying, or even send me some pictures to post up for everyone, but trying to tear me apart for commenting on women's fashion is asinine in itself.

Anonymous said...

OK Andrew here it is. Girls don't want male attention, we want female attention. I can't tell you how hard it is to get a group of hot topless co-eds together for a late night pillow fight these days (what with memory foam pillows...no feathers, no fun, right?). So basically, all these late-night romps usally leave women (especially us 9-5ers) too tired to properly dress in the mornings. The real sign of a hot slut is usually the woman too spent for couture; these are the women worthy of a man's attention.

I'm pretty sure your hot and bothered female readers know what I'm talking about. So instead of getting irrationaly distraught over some Aussie sheepskin boots, instead imagine that woman wielding an intense blow to a hot 18-yr-old.

Anonymous said...

Oh sorry, I was googling for "Hot 18-year olds," and I think I took a wrong turn. Carry on.

Andrew said...

Amber that is such a good idea I can't believe it. From now on when I see an ultra tired girl, with dark bags under her eyes, Ugg boots with sweat pants tucked into them, and a college sweatshirt with ketchup stains, I am going to think, "wow that girl must have had an extremely hot, amazonian, oil-dripping, girl-fight, earlier with her hot 18 year old friends and is just way too tired to look good for the likes of a meger man like myself. Ahhh, this makes life so much better. Your the best.

Anonymous said...

You bet. You're a real peach.

Anonymous said...

Ok. Alright. Here we go. No swear words. Calm cool collected Erin. It is funny hearing you say that you were going to try and give ma hug when I got to Boston, cause most of the time you were too drunk to even stand up, but I suppose that is just a petty insult, so let's get to the subject at hand.
1) I agree that Marisa's response was well thought out and smart. But, that does not mean that mine wasn't. You are making assumptions here, Andrew, and that is not very nice.
2)You are being very insulting by saying that this subject is asinine. This obviously hit a nerve with a lot of your female readers, and I think that although the subject of Ugg boots itself may be asinine, the way women are viewed by not only men, but more importantly by themselves is a hugely important issue. And maybe being a man, you do not understand this, but it affects all women a huge majority of the time. We are inandated with images on tv and magazines of the ideal female look. We have to hear it from 'men like you' that things we feel good in are unattractive, and that our sense of comfort is far less important than our sense of self. And that is why I got so "riled up'. How many men do you know that have eating disorders, or constantly worry about wether or not they look fat or ugle or bloated or tired or if there hair is frizzy or are they too hairy, etc. It is hard to be a women in this world, and now that we are older we are trying to find a way to balance our self worth with all of the piles of BS (that doesn't count as a swear word), that have been shoveled on us by men, society, other women.
3)Saying that I must be on my period is just awful. And dumb, I cannot help but calling you names when you make awful comments about my mood related to my period.
4) I used the word hypocritical very accurately in my previous comments. I know you and aside from this rant of yours, I belive that you honeslty want to be with a woman who is confident and heppy with who she is rather than how she looks, so this whole complaint seems trite and hypocritcal to me. I know, I know it is just about the ugg boots, but really when you makes comments like this it makes me question who you really are. And I wonder which Andrew is being hypocritcal, the one who wrote this offensive article, or the one who really respects about peoples self confidence. I just feel, and have always felt, that your insides and outside do not match. you say one thing and do another, and I think that is the definition of hypocracy, isn't it?

Anonymous said...

Sorry I am an awful speller.

Andrew said...

Okay Erin, I like this explnation much better than your previous comments. And I will try and tackle these issues that you bring up with my own personal beliefs.

1. I am more than happy for you if you want to wear Ugg boots to stay comfotable and warm. My only issue is that I personaly do not like them as a fashion. I also don't really like long pointy high-heeled shoes and would much prefer plain old white canvas tennis shoes, but you aren't going to scream at me for that because those are more comfortable than high-heels. I never made the statement that I think all women should be forced to wear whatever I think looks good on them at all times, that would be trite, ridiculous, and bigoted. And I truely think women should be able to feel comfortable wearing whatever they feel like. However, if a female wants to attract a man, and I'm only talking about first meetings or even just to draw stares, then there are a few things that help: less clothing, tighter clothing, or fashionable clothing.

2. You are correct, I do want to be with a woman who is confident and happy, I'd add intelligent too, I also would like her to be attractive. If you think that is somehow hypocritical then you need to rethink somethings. Also, everyone is allowed to be more than just the person that you happen to know. I know for a fact that you don't really know all that much about me, about who I really am, and how I really feel about things. As far as insides and outsides not matching, maybe you are a little correct, sometimes I like to play off this idea of being a real man's man, I think it is fun and and a lot of the time funny. But again, am I not allowed to have a more than one side? Or more importantly how can you expect anyone to have only one side, even if sometimes they seem to contradict one another? Have you never had a hard time deciding what to do, what to say? What makes it hard is that there are multiple sides to the story and you feel you have to pick the one that will either look the best in context or will best reflect how you are feeling at that particular moment.

3. As for the "time of the month" comment it was meant as a joke that I had already riled you up enough and the only way I could have done more so would to have been to comment on whether or not you were having a period, but alas you did not get it. It was not a good joke anyway.

4. I did not say the subject of women in society was asinine I simply said that me trying to discuss fashion is asinine and that everyone should try and focus on other topics for which I consider more intellectually stimulating. However, Hillary also used the word asinine in relation to this topic so pick her apart too if you really want to get into it.

5. The article wasn't offensive... you concocted it to be that way. Of course that is my opinion but I think most people, if they simply read the post and not try to read into it as a woman bashing post, would agree. It was seriously just about my preference in female fashion, I didn't mean to get into inequality between men and women. I simply mentioned I did not like Ugg boots. Period.

Unknown said...

I agree with marisa ( go girl!!!) but sometimes i like to put make up and look nice and not becouse of others but becouse it feels alright with me.(Thank God I don't have to blow dry my hair though, and that getting ready in the morning never takes more then 15 min- make up included!.
About Uggs: I have pair of those and have to admit that they can save your feet in the winter.
PS Erin has some good points too, and Andrew don't worry, Uggs are soft so your ass is not in big trouble whatever happens!

Unknown said...

OH and very important!

GIRLS ARE NOT CRAZY!!!!!!