Steampunk, 2012

[Judo]

People who use fancy dress to express themselves are socially inadequate.

Most people use dress and accessories to express themselves.  The fanciness of it is just a matter of degree.

Tru dat. Is there a difference between having fun and expressing yer sel'? X

[JamesC]

People who use fancy dress to express themselves are socially inadequate.

Most people use dress and accessories to express themselves.  The fanciness of it is just a matter of degree.

Yes but one of the criteria for social adequacy is knowing where to draw the line.

People who use fancy dress to express themselves are socially inadequate.

Most people use dress and accessories to express themselves.  The fanciness of it is just a matter of degree.

Tru dat. Is there a difference between having fun and expressing yer sel'? X

Yes. For example, white people with dreadlocks are expressing themselves but having hair is not the same as having fun. Also, the thing they're expressing is that they're a twat.

[Roger Godpleton]

STOP TRYING TO CHANGE WHO I AM, MOM AND DAD.

[TordelBack]

.... having hair is not the same as having fun...

And yet I'm sure I had more fun when I had more hair on my head and less on my back...

[CrazyFoxMachine]

.... having hair is not the same as having fun...

And yet I'm sure I had more fun when I had more hair on my head and less on my back...

Yeah I'm in a state of constant fun actually. So, the two things are directly equated.

[Judo]

having clothes or hair (for most tordlol) is a necessity but having hair and clothes you like isn't. I'm not a fan of the term 'expressing yourself' as I find it a bit arsey. I'm not having fun I'm 'expressing myself' and I'm not reading comics this is a 'graphic novel' LOL get over yer sel's peoples x

[TordelBack]

While I do specifically agree with the point about dreadlocks (personal bias), I don't agree that there is anything inherently tragic or needy about dressing against prevailing social conventions.  You should however be aware that you are corresponding with a man who has not bought an item of clothing in over 3 years. 

Leaving aside unmentionables, I am currently wearing: a pair of jeans I bought for a weekend trip that my wife and I took when we discovered she was pregnant with our second sprog more than 3 years ago; an ugly purple short-sleeved floppy collar thing the name of which I don't know but which I bought 7 years ago for €3 prior to a trip to Greece; a zipless light fleece top (logoed 'Peter Storm') which I claimed as salvage while cleaning up filthy camping sites in a protected dune system last year; a pair of black shoes with worn out soles that I bought for my wedding nearly 4 years ago. 

Now, I plainly am expressing myself with this get-up:  I'm saying 'I don't really give a shit what I wear as long as it doesn't smell and doesn't get me chucked off the bus, and I don't have the money to spend on something I don't care about: sneer all you like, wankers'.  It's certainly running contrary to social norms for a 40 year old man to wander about like this, and just because I'm doing it for reasons other than fun and belonging doesn't make it any less expressive of my personality, social grouping and/or aspirations. 

[I, Cosh]

Hmm. I was confused enough when I discovered that Steampunk was more than just an obscure sci-fi sub-genre. Are you now telling me it's more than a specific type of dressing up?

[Satanist]

I imagine steampunk are like furries but with less fuzz and more brass valves.

I dress because it's the law.

[Emperor]

If you start dressing like a bygone era of the British Empire, you start adopting its attitude

That said there is a movement that suggests Steampunk can be more radical and be a useful tool for examining some of the late 19th Century problems that still persist today (racism, neo-Imperialism, etc.). See for example:

http://beyondvictoriana.com
www.steampunkmagazine.com

Nothing wrong with that..now where's my Pith..

You're taking the pith?

[JamesC]

While I do specifically agree with the point about dreadlocks (personal bias), I don't agree that there is anything inherently tragic or needy about dressing against prevailing social conventions.

I realise I'm generalising massively but the problem I have is that, more often than not in my experience, the people who crow the loudest about expressing themselves are actually just getting themselves more deeply embroiled in a pre-existing sub-culture.

I grew up by the seaside and if you're a Goth who goes to the beach in black jeans, a leather jacket and big leather boots on a sunny day then you only have yourself to blame if people think you're a silly twat.

And why would you go to the beach dressed like that other than the fact that you think that's what Goth's do so, as a Goth, you think that's what you should do? At this point you're no longer expressing yourself you're just a fashion victim constrained by the shackles of the subculture you've alligned yourself with.
 

[TordelBack]

 
[/quote]

...there is a movement that suggests Steampunk can be more radical and be a useful tool for examining some of the late 19th Century problems that still persist today ...

Yeah, my bowel sometimes has movements like that.

Steampunk/cyberpunk/medieval fantasy etc... they're just flavours of amusement.  Now that's not to say anything bad about them, I like 'em all, and like all entertainment they can offer perspectives and insights and feelings of belonging.  But to elevate them beyond 'fun with a certain focus' is seriously pushing it.

And why would you go to the beach dressed like that other than the fact that you think that's what Goth's do so, as a Goth, you think that's what you should do? At this point you're no longer expressing yourself you're just a fashion victim constrained by the shackles of the subculture you've alligned yourself with.

Good points, but why do we dress as anything if not to conform to culture, sub- or otherwise?  I, for example, find the idea of wearing tiny pieces of stretchy cloth while swimming or at the beach in hot weather utterly ridiculous - they conceal nothing, and seem based on arbitrary ideas about public and private areas of the body (separate from the sun-protection issue).  But I do it to (or at least where it will) conform to the dominant culture.  I don't see myself substantially more shackled than the goth of your example.

[JamesC]

 

Good points, but why do we dress as anything if not to conform to culture, sub- or otherwise?  I, for example, find the idea of wearing tiny pieces of stretchy cloth while swimming or at the beach in hot weather utterly ridiculous - they conceal nothing, and seem based on arbitrary ideas about public and private areas of the body (separate from the sun-protection issue).  But I do it to (or at least where it will) conform to the dominant culture.  I don't see myself substantially more shackled than the goth of your example.

Point taken, but as beach wear is desgned specifically to allow most beach related activities - ie tanning, swimming and playing rounders (which isn't something I'd want to do in the nude - too much flapping)with a minimum need for getting changed then at least it can be considered appropriate clothing - even at a fairly objective level. It allows you to enjoy your beach experience.

The poor old goths on the other hand go to the beach wanting to enjoy the weather but when they get there they don't know how. Shackled.

[M.I.K.]

Most people use dress and accessories to express themselves.  The fanciness of it is just a matter of degree.

Not sure I'd go along with that. I'd say most folk, (including the fancier looking ones), choose their clothing in the same way they'd choose wallpaper. A lot of them aren't saying anything deeper than "I really like these shoes".

The poor old goths on the other hand go to the beach wanting to enjoy the weather but when they get there they don't know how. Shackled.

http://youtu.be/t5Dny-s27Dk

[House of Usher]

People who use fancy dress to express themselves are socially inadequate.

If it's just for a laugh or a sex thing it's ok though.

^ in a nutshell.