I had a few ideas come into my mind about what I wanted to talk about this week when reading the article by Bordo, Beauty (Re)discovers the Male Body. One of those ideas was to relate some of the components of the past to the lifestyles I see today. For some reason when I was reading pages 200-205, I couldn't get my mind off of Kanye West. These pages of the article were dedicated to discussing the dress and "style" of some African Americans during the time of slavery. So many things that were discussed kept bringing up these images of how I see Kanye West presented through the media.
I'm sure many of you know who Kanye is and how he presents his "style" in public many of the time. He's wearing a collared shirt and sweater with the shiny jacket over top. He's got the glow-in-the-dark shade glasses with a bandana scarf and shiny gold chain around his neck. It all shows off this colorful, vibrant look that is discussed in the article relating to the opportunities slaves had during Sunday mass to "take back one's own body". I feel as if Kanye has this same sort of motivation to "take back" something, just as the slaves wanted to do in the past. I feel like he's taking back what the norm of society wants him to look like and be (whether it’s subconsciously or consciously). I look at it as a comparison. The article says, "Slaves were often stripped naked and instructed to show their teeth... etc." That correlates with why they'd take the opportunity to escape to church in dazzling, colorful outfits. I see that comparing to Kanye in a way that the "norm" of society expect people (him) to dress in matching, correlating outfits. Instead, just as slaves would on a Sunday, he escapes from that (invisible) bondage to show off his flashy combination of clothing.
That was just one thing among many that reminded me of him during those few pages. Also mentioned in the article was how some conceive that “showing off one’s body-particularly with sensuous fabrics-is a “fag” thing”. Does some of the public view Kanye as a “fag” because of his attire? I’d say so.
I find this post to be very interesting because I noticed many of the same things you did. Kayne is obviously anything but ordinary. Love him or hate him, he is completely original and unapologetic for the person that he is. His arrogance often comes off annoying, but I actually admire him for his confidence most times. I follow different blogs about celebrities (probably more than I should) and many of them questioned Kayne's sexuality in the past and a lot of it had to do with his style. It is sad that we still live in a world where people immediately categorize others based on the things they wear. I find it very admirable that he realizes so many people are making different speculations about him, but he continues to stay true to himself. Granted, he is an ass at times, but I think we all have to appreciate the fact that he won't change who he is to meet the approval of society.
ReplyDeleteAfter reading this post, oddly enough I instantly thought of Michael Jackson. Now obviously we can't compare talents between Jackson and West, however, the clothing choices you were talking about directly correlated with the vision of Michael that I have in my mind. People worshiped Michael Jackson. He held a high status in society and used that to make people think outside of normativity or outside of the mold. He wore sparkles and gloves on only one hand and grabbed his crotch..,and people still called him "The King". But enough about Michael. Kayne is doing the same thing which I really admire him for. People might see just anyone on the street dressed like Keyne and look at their friend and giggle or talk shit about him, but because like Jackson, he holds such a high celeb status and people respect him for his talents, it is actually more accepted than just that guy walking down the street. Although i completely agree with Krista that he is a huge ass, I also agree that it is admirable to use your popularity to sort of make people think outside of normativity.
ReplyDeleteNo matter what you wear, there is always going to be at least one person who thinks you look dumb or shouldn't be wearing it. Why not just be yourself and let the people who like you as yourself be in your life and those few who don't agree with your outfit can go to hell. Well, not go to hell...just no need for them in your life! :)
I two thought of the correlation between Michael Jackson and Kanye, however I fail to see a direct link to how slaves dressed on Sunday and how Kanye dresses now. Maybe its because I didn't read the article, but I feel that Kanye although extremely talented has his head completely up his ass, and sees himself as gods gift to earth. He has demonstrated this to us by constantly expressing his opinions on national TV, I.E. the T Swift incident, or the George Bush hates black people comment on national TV with Mike Myers. If anyone saw the follow up to the T Swift comment on Jay Lenno, Kanye said he thought that he needed to take time off to get his head straight, partly to do with his mother dying and his constant tours and studio work. I feel that Kanye dresses like he does partly because of a statement he is trying to make, as well as a way of coping with serious underlying psychological problems. Maybe Kanye's out of the box attire is a fashion statement showing off his ability to defy the norm, or his boisterous outfits are really making up for a lack of something else in his life, whatever the reasons may be, Kanye and Jackson seem to have more in common than one may think.
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