IMAGE OBSESSED
Why is it that humans so often lose sight of the
obvious? Our obsession with body image
or self-image is one of the prime examples.
We tend to forget that ordinary in the image department is the overwhelming
average. And yet we appear to purposely
focus on certain body types as ideal or preferred. Youth, beauty, strength and virility, all are
temporary attributes destined for inevitable decay and decline as we advance in
years. But we’re so desperate to make it
last! Most of us crave what isn’t there! No matter how hard we try.
We even glorify people who have given up on healthy diets and
lifestyles and we elevate obesity as something to embrace with understanding
and compassion as if the inner beauty comes shining through from within the
mass that surrounds it.
We’re either stuck in a rut or engaged in a race to appear
either in or out, with it or left behind.
We even judge people on whether they are cool or not. “You’re so not with it.” “That is so rad!” Since I don’t own a cellphone I don’t have to
participate in the stream of short-form texting people use to express their
opinion.
From top to toe, we’re obsessed. To hair or not to hair; partially shaved or completely bald, curly or straightened, gelled, colored, spiked or streaked.
Why can’t we be happy with who and what we are? Where does this push come from to look and
appear different? Does it accomplish
anything? From my mom’s side I inherited
droopy and baggy eyes and early male-patterned baldness from both sides. My slightly crooked nose is a bit of a
mystery which my older sister explained could have been avoided if I’d only
wiped my nose consistently from left to right, taking equal turns. I’ll let the medical establishment be the
judge on that one.
Plastic surgery might improve my looks somewhat, but it won’t
change who or what I am. Is there an
inherent sense of satisfaction in appearances, even if they are fake? And when it comes to attracting potentially
intimate prospects, would it really provide a more satisfying outcome?
Perfect white teeth appear high on the people’s list of
musts, along with a winning and engaging smile.
Got to show off those pearly whites.
No sense not smiling and keeping them hidden.
Some people change their looks on a daily basis, although
facial tattoos are hard to cover up.
Hair pieces and extensions, hair dyes, dressing up or down, covering up
or basically showing all. Spray-on tans
or skin bleaching, fake dots or proudly leaving existing skin tags, warts,
blotches, ageing spots or any other anomaly in place as a badge of
individuality. Extravagant or modest,
the world is your oyster and nearly anything goes.
Clothing is a big tell.
Fashion runways are all about image and making an impression. They feature clothes to be seen in as any
effort to turn them into working garments would lead to imminent equipment
failure. Likewise for the shoes worn by
women when they dress to the nines for special events. It turns into a live-to- tell-about-it
contest.
We also use clothing to highlight or indicate certain
professions, especially in the military and security forces. It clearly indicates who is in charge and it
distinguishes the men and women in uniform from the rabble of the masses. You want to know that you belong, what
particular tribe you are a part of. It
is all about identity.
You will never see a devout Muslim woman cavorting around in
a skimpy bikini or wearing mini skirts and hooker boots. Likewise you won’t find a Mennonite male
dressed in an Armani suit, wearing Gucci loafers, aviator sunglasses,
clean-shaven and with a fashionable haircut ready to take on the runways as a
male model.
For some people a certain dress code or appearance is all about indicating what particular tribe they belong to. They want to make sure that instant recognition is a given.
Hats are another dead giveaway. For a lot of young men it is all about
baseball caps and how you wear them.
Flipped back is for the young and for looking cool. Fedoras were a hit at one point in time and
dressing up like Italian gangsters. In
England, especially during horseraces attended by royalty, the wearing of
headgear, from dainty to outrageous, is all about getting noticed. Top hats and bowlers for the men. The men all dress like penguins so as not to
upstage the women.
Where do we take our cues from? Does it all hark back to our animalistic
origins? I mean, look at the animal
world. Color and shape, from simple to
absolutely fantastic. From camouflage to
utter brilliance. In many ways their appearance
mirrors that of the human world. A lot
of the large herds, like African Wildebeests, are rather drab and uniform in
looks. Kind of like our average factory
workers, dressed for work and comfort, rather than for fashion and style. Utilitarian.
How did it happen in the animal world?
The zebra insisting on stripes so that it wouldn’t be mistaken for a
horse? A leopard mandating spots because
it wants you know that it is not a lion?
And what about all those colorful parrots? Birds of a feather flock together.
I have a sneaky suspicion that we do take our cues from
nature. From colorful and distinct, to
brilliant and very specific to give a critter a distinct advantage, to either
hide or attract. We are the same, aren’t
we?
Is there even a pictorial compendium out there that celebrates
the evolution of fashion during the ages?
From dressing up to dressing down?
From the mundane to the totally bizarre?
On the island of Marken in the Netherlands someone came up with the
insane idea that women should walk around with a substantial peak of hair
sticking out from beneath their bonnets, lather it with sticky soap so that it
stands out like a stiff board. Have there
ever been penalties handed out, or prison sentences, to individuals concocting
some of these crazy notions and fashion styles?
In recent years the slashing of brand new jeans for instance
is but one fashion head scratcher.
Especially when I saw one young girl taking it to the ultimate level and
her jeans were literally hanging in tatters around her legs. Why do we do the things we do?
Asking you to change or moderate extravagance would be a
silly and totally useless thing to do.
You are going to do what you want to do anyway. The only thing I would like to propose is the
following: Let’s not take ourselves too seriously and that counts for
everything, not just looks.
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