Monday, December 12, 2011

Freaks, Hippies and Punks - A Common Theme


Those of you who don't identify with any of the labels in my blog title may be wondering what the three have in common. I suppose I should explain. You see, I have identified with all three labels at one time or another in my life. I never felt like I fit in with the "normal" people, and so I gravitated towards other weirdos :) In high school, I ate lunch with a group that called itself the 'komyoon' and even protested on the front lawn of the school with others for the right to dye our hair 'unnatural colors' (if the brunette cheerleaders could dye their hair blonde, why couldn't my friend Kelly dye hers green?). BTW, even though we had a point, the school dress code is not something that is decided upon democratically, so we lost that one. I ended up dyeing my hair black and earning the nickname Dark Helmet for a while (thank you, Sean McGee). Freak is a self-imposed label that incorporates all of the weirdos, and it pre-dates more specific labels like Goth and Emo (which both probably came about because the only color that the kids were allowed to dye their hair was black!). I am going to assume that you all know what hippies and punks are. If you don't, wiki it. I'll wait.










So, what do these three have in common? We have absolutely no desire to be just like everybody else. We do not run out and buy the latest gadget just to 'keep up with the Joneses' (OK, I'll admit, we do like our gadgets, but we like our gadgets for our gadgets' sakes, not because everyone else has one). We don't go buy the trendy clothing of the season unless we actually like the trendy clothing of the season, and if that is the case, we will wear it long after it stops being the trendy clothing of the season. Some examples- 1. My favorite pants are green corduroys from a thrift store-I think they were trendy around the time I was born, 2. I wear socks, stockings, and thigh-highs with crazy prints on them because they make me smile-bonus-they also make crying babies stop crying and smile :) and 3. I sometimes wear corsets just because I like them-they stopped being trendy over a century ago!








*Shameless Plug*
By the way, I sell this stuff: http://stores.ebay.com/Z2FreakyThings
Occasionally a freak becomes famous and starts the trend (think Madonna in the '80's or maybe Lady Gaga this decade, although I don't think meat dresses will catch on, especially among the vegan crowd). 



One last thing-if you are reading this, chances are you are a freak. Embrace it. We are awesome people :)