Fitting Out -> Fitting In (pt. 2)
Part 1 brought us to the concept of a sheep saying moo…so this blogpost will unravel the idea of fitting out in order to, in fact, fit in with the crowd, and see where this leaves us.
Having established that we actively wish to perpetuate our individuality and sense of self as unique, we next come to the ways in which we go about distinguishing ourselves. These can sometimes be, rather ironically, ways in which we end up identifying with others – our methods of fitting out help us to fit in.
Firstly, we single out things that we feel make us special. Our taste in music – the more obscure the better – similarly, our preference in film, in literature, our interests, we dress a certain way…
In a bid of self-indulgence, I’ll reveal to you, avid reader, that I’m massively guilty in attempting to achieve superior fashion uniqueness. Friends have told me I have a “weird but good” dress sense. (Doesn’t everyone enjoy the ambiguous compliment?) I’m aware I make an effort to appear different in the way I dress. I’m a fan of aesthetics. I enjoy beautiful clothes, I relish wearing them. I pick out clothes that are edgier, crazier, customise them even – these were plain before I attacked them…
I have fun browsing fashion blogs like thesartorialist and am conscious of the fact that my “individual” fashion sense is greatly influenced by other people or current trends – you go against the grain, but only a little bit, not completely. To think that you are a free spirit, unattached or influenced by any convention or trend, is either incredibly naive or inconceivably arrogant.
One friend even labelled my sense of style as “the Urban Gypsy” .. and indeed, labels is what it comes down to.
Being the intellectual beings we are, there is discontentment in too obviously following trends, being one of many thousand sheep in the world. As long as it’s not obvious, if we’re all sheep saying “moo”, rather than “baa”, our conformity hidden behind layers of distortion, then we’re comfortable. The distinction is in our perception. Balancing the sense of self perceived as individual or, contrarily, as a collective, is to realise that we can in fact be both simultaneously. A rather obvious paradox? On the face of it, yes. But its the underlying contradictions that the OxygenChameleon’s here to sell ya…
More on the confirmation of conform-ation, – lists, labels and fastracking friendships – in Part 3. x
[...] to be explored in Part2… Aren’t you excited? [HellYes! would be the preferred response here] [...]
Fitting Out -> Fitting In (pt. 1) « The marble index of the mind… said this on February 18, 2008 at 8:08 pm |
The reason people stop liking bands when they become famous is because they lose the privileged position of being ‘the only one that likes them’.
Personally, I continue liking bands when they become famous (except when becoming famous means they become crap), but I still have to have one or two albums on my iPod (baa!) that no one has ever heard of, so that when people in drainpipes with piercings and dyed streaks in their hair ask me who I’m into, I can try and hold my own against their howling winds of cool.
Do I have “howling winds of cool”? … is it purchasable? I wants me some of that! x
I’ve got to say, I hate it when I grow to like things that no-one else likes, because you can’t talk about it with anyone. Then you can’t revel in the sense of shared identity and feel like an outsider instead. It’s good for the ego, but it still sucks a bit. It’s all about balance I suppose.
Of course you have the cool! (Though this compliment is filtered through the perceptions of a 21-year-old who owns a corduroy jacket.)
[...] Baseless Optimism tells me I have the cool. Thus my geekness is [...]
Firefox Vs. IE « The marble index of the mind… said this on November 11, 2009 at 8:11 pm |