Few things are more confusing and potentially off-putting than something that's aspirational (class based) in a section of culture or society that you don't have much contact with at all or don't understand.
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@cwicseolfor @fritzoids @MarvinFreeman @futurebird
Yeah, I think conspicuous consumption is at least part of what is going on.
Even if you turn out hideous, you are flaunting that you could afford so much work.
It would almost be a failure if the work was done well, because then people wouldn't notice.
@Phosphenes @fritzoids @MarvinFreeman @futurebird It’s a totally different definition of “done well.” But yeah, it’s all a very gaudy aesthetic, the ‘poor man’s idea of a rich man’ in distaff. It reminds me of what they were reflecting and lampooning with the mob-coded East Coast moms in films of the early 90s (think Matilda’s family in Leon: the Professional, or on the other end of the spectrum, the Rhea Perlman’s mother of Ronald Dahl’s Matilda.) Which makes sense; the head of the cult really just wants 1989 back.
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@futurebird I live in the Washington, DC area and saw a few dozen ladies with the MAGA aesthetic in person around the time of the inauguration last year. They stood out because nobody in DC does their hair or makeup like that, nor do they wear fur coats!
They look like they subdued their hair with a whole can of hairspray and a curling iron while getting TV pancake makeup. And I think that’s the point, they are supposed to look like a Fox TV anchor.
And here I thought it was just about truly terrifying lips.
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@futurebird I live in the Washington, DC area and saw a few dozen ladies with the MAGA aesthetic in person around the time of the inauguration last year. They stood out because nobody in DC does their hair or makeup like that, nor do they wear fur coats!
They look like they subdued their hair with a whole can of hairspray and a curling iron while getting TV pancake makeup. And I think that’s the point, they are supposed to look like a Fox TV anchor.
@MisuseCase @futurebird The Tammy Faye Bakker look.
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Anyway. If you want my fashion advice I do have some:
Get your clothes tailored or learn to sew, or get a friend who can help you. Every day I see people in clothing that isn't correctly fitted and it makes me so sad. (Fit doesn't mean tight or loose it means it's *intentional* not just putting up with the size you stumbled into)
That's the only thing I really get heated about.
You are short and your blazer sleeves are too long.
@futurebird i wish my problem was that my arms were too short! My arms are too long and there's nothing i can do about that besides getting a blazer custom made (or sewing one myself). Consequently, i own no blazers.
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Few things are more confusing and potentially off-putting than something that's aspirational (class based) in a section of culture or society that you don't have much contact with at all or don't understand.
There has been a lot of muttering and shade about the "look" of the MAGA woman. I've tried to stay away from this conversation. I don't like to criticize anyone's looks. But especially women. Don't women have too many critics?
Too much make-up? Too fake? Who cares really?
@futurebird Oh, I will absolutely make fun of the Mar-a-Lago face, and I think you should too.
Not because I think it's okay to criticize people (and especially women) for their appearance. But because they do. It's something that is important to them.
If you're the type of people who ties value to appearance and support fascism for its aesthetics, sure, the substantive thing to criticize is that you support fascism, and it should be said regardless of your appearance; but nevertheless, mocking your looks is fair game, because they're a direct consequence of your beliefs.
If you're a manly man who places a lot of importance in being masculine and are toxic because of that, it is fair game to say that you have small limp dick energy.
It's utterly ridiculous. In an ideal society nobody would say that. But in these people's bizarre, warped way of seeing the world, these insults make sense, and more than attacking characteristics they didn't choose, they attack their very views. Does that make sense to anyone else than me?
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But the thing I didn't understand was that that "MAGA woman" look that is a little baffling is aspirational. And part of the aspiration is to have people wonder "did she get work done?"
Do you see it now? No one will ever wonder if I've had "work done" I can't afford "work" ... but, the "fakeness" is part of the fantasy and appeal.
I also wonder if being confusing to liberals is part of the appeal. Because, it's the "opposite of a feminist" in their framework.
@futurebird I think this is a slight misread, based on what Dr. Cottom says about it.
Really high-end “work” is subtle, and people may wonder. The MAGA look is intentionally unsubtle. Cottom says it signifies submission. “I’m so all-in for Trump that I’ll go under the knife to look the way he likes.” And if everyone else thinks it’s hideous, that just makes the signal more expensive and therefore convincing.
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Anyway. If you want my fashion advice I do have some:
Get your clothes tailored or learn to sew, or get a friend who can help you. Every day I see people in clothing that isn't correctly fitted and it makes me so sad. (Fit doesn't mean tight or loose it means it's *intentional* not just putting up with the size you stumbled into)
That's the only thing I really get heated about.
You are short and your blazer sleeves are too long.
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