You Have to Earn It

[errantember]

If you aren't black, and you wear any kind of faux animal skin, you need to be aware that the Fashion Police are tracking your every move, hovering above you in a wasp-like Minority Report transport, just *waiting* to swarm out of the darkness and remove you from a public you are so clearly endangering. I'm not saying it's impossible to get away with it, but you have to *earn* it. And until you do, the rest of are not responsible for the consequences to you of taking whatever action we feel is necessary to protect ourselves.

There was one such person at Elysium on Sunday night, and I have to admit that when I first saw this individual, the arrogant, propriety part of me that considers that particular rectangle of long-leaf pine to be *my* dance floor was very close to taking Extreme Measures. I don't think I was alone. But, despite The Darkness, the better part of me was able to restrain the demon *just* long enough to allow for the *small* possibility that this person had what it took.

It took a few songs. It was *not* an easy sell. However, in the end, she did.

Still, she plays a dangerous game.




A game Kung-Fu Miss Lou once played *so* well.

Comments

[terriblelynne.livejournal.com]

Being black means you're exempt from being tacky in faux animal skin?

[jslorentz.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I was wondering about that myself...

[errantember.livejournal.com]

Basically yes.
I don't claim to fully understand the source of my own feelings here, but I'll give analysis a stab.
I often see black people wear animal print clothing, and most of the time I like the result. Part of it is cultural, part of it is purely aesthetic (real gold looks shitty on light skin, gorgeous on darker skin, etc.) and probably part sub-conscious racism (maybe something about black culture being better connected to tribalism and the earth?) So in general, most of the black people I see wearing animal prints look good.

But if the person is white, it sets off all kinds of cultural taboo alarm bells on an almost fight-or-flight level for me. I feel the powerful need to play the role of conservative status quo enforcer, obviously an odd one for me.

[terriblelynne.livejournal.com]

Huh. For my part, I think silver, copper and bronze look better on EVERYONE than gold does (unless it's like a rose gold), and when I picture the least badly-worn animal print I can think of, I think of someone white, with a chignon or pixie cut, in dark glasses and a leopard coat (sort of a vintage 50s look). I don't wear yellow gold or animal prints, personally...large prints I think just make me look like a South Park character (as in, shorter, heavier, undefined figure) and I dissociated so hardcore from my peers' culture growing up that I still can't really wear gold (this being back when big gold chains were the accessory of choice).