My Judging Self
And What Alternative Girls Should Do To Avoid Further Hate
This time, original writing by Ruth. [Editor's Note: There's been something of a row in the comments for this article, which was written by the person currently credited, but edited and submitted by Ruth.]
Usually when I see alternative people on the street, in shops or at clubs I know who they are just by looking at them. There are things psychology can and cannot tell. I think I have this art down to a fine one.
The Poor Of Wealth.
People who wear baggy jeans and unofficial band merchandise usually fall into this category in my mind. It's something about unwashed denim that, frankly, looks scruffy. People who dress in this fashion are usually fans of Korn, Linkin Park, Slipknot or Nirvana. Though, truly, anyone can fall victim of this fate.
It's sad to think that I dismiss people because of their lack of material possessions, but wearing the same clothes every day makes you stink, no matter how many times you wash or how much deodorant you apply. As a friend of a friend of mine called Gem once said "I wash every day, I can't help it if I still smell." If you buy more clothes, then you can wash your other clothes while you wear them, thus avoiding smelliness.
If I were like them, I would consider no further purchasing in the fake merchandise department, as it is overpriced and is probably not produced to a very high standard. If I dressed in this way, whether rich or not, I would want to change my clothing range. If you want to fit in, corduroy trousers, although common among snobs, are going cheap in high street shops. If you want to dress in a way that doesn't say "poor person" or "wannabe alternate," I suggest you invest. Don't be afraid of chain shops; they provide quality goods at lower, often bargain, prices. And don't think snobby alternatives will judge you, they can't help looking like that, they were concieved during a crowd surf at Woodstock, don't you know.
The Rich But Misguided.
These usually wear everything they see other alternative people wearing. They never think what goes and what doesn't, they have no time for that. They're too busy putting on their black makeup, rainbow beads and light blue baggy jeans. When they've done that their top will be black, lacy, too big for their skinny torso and show off their prepubescent cleavage, which is, usually, nonexistant. These will probably like an odd mixture of bands, and as much as I hate to say it, their variety of taste isn't because they like all music, it's because they like everything they hear that has guitars and drums in it.
They'll have a lot of pent up anger about pop music and will say anything to differentiate themselves from "teenyboppers" yet every band they like is, or has, been in the top ten at least once. Their musical tastes are usually aligned with bands like Blink 182, Eminem, Wheatus, Sum41, The Lostprophets, Muse, Limp Bizkit and Linkin Park.
If I woke up one day and realised this was me I'd take the precaution to read some fashion magazines, just so I got a feel for what clothing suited my body type. People who dress this way are usually terribly overweight or worryingly underweight, so either loosely fitting or normal-fitting clothing would be great, because it will either hide their nonexistant curves or hide their ripples. I personally suggest skater trainers or sneakers, baggy trousers that don't cover the shoes, in dark colours, and plain cap-sleeved t-shirts, with a zip up jacket and beads that go with the outfits' colourings.
The Wear Anything.
Alternative people who wear anything usually enjoy role play. For intance, they will occasionally decide to wear a fairy outfit to see a band, or a witch outfit when it isn't Halloween. These people, in my experience, are usually really kind people, but act like they're 10 when they're a lot older. I would probably hold the opinion, upon meeting someone of this genre, that they were deprived as children or never had the chance to grow up. They are usually the oldest child or the only child in a family, and they like buying clothes from charity shops, making their own clothes and stealing their parents' old clothes.
They can like a wide variety of music, anything from indie to death metal. Their parents are usually hippies, and the parents are usually divorced and living apart or thinking about doing so. Their usually overly-manly father will have made them be tomboyish as a girl, and so they want to make up for their lack of pink fluffyness as a kid.
I would like to add that they are usually boy obsessed, because their mother bore them before she herself was fully an adult and so had no life experience and reared them to adore rejection and badly need complimenting to have any self esteem.
If I became one of these (which is near impossible with my childhood and relatives) then I would try to tone down my outfits. I'd only dress up when the occassion arose and I'd take up either a religion or an interest (other than boys and clothes) just to broaden my horizons and stop me being a tiresome bore.
The "Goth" girl.
There are two types of goth girls. The first is understandable. They aren't particularly morbid, or at least don't try to be. They will usually only wear dark colours, as they realise bright colours teamed with black look cheap and usually stupid to boot. They'll probably have black hair, although some don't dye their hair from their natural colour, and some dye it dark red. I say they're understandable, but they'll usually prove that part wrong by accidentally showing you their self harm, or turning out to be anorexic. They're usually well-to-do, and don't have any reason to be who they are apart from a strong will to rebel, or an interest in horror films. They are usually snobbish and only hang around with those they meet who are older than they are. The music they like is usually old Alice Cooper, Type O Negative, early Black Sabbath and Bauhaus. They'll also like foreign music and have at least one tattoo and three piercings.
If I was this I'd get just a little sun occassionally, so as to stop myself looking dead, because we all know that pale complection is a result of never leaving home before darkness fell for the past three years.
The latter of the two types of goth will be seen wearing bright red/bright blue/bright purple/dark green/every colour of the rainbow and black, all the time, with the occassional spiked neck collar, rainbow beads and lacy gloves. They'll wear black makeup the whole way around their eyes and will usually lighten their skin with face paint.
Their musical interests are probably Ozzy Osbourne, Marilyn Manson and Slipknot. They will cut themselves, but the cuts will only penetrate the first few layers of skin, and they'll parade and brag about each cut, explaining that they don't cut themselves for attention and they want to die because nobody understands their recent interest in Satanism/wicca. They'll usually wear a pentacle or an inverted cross around their neck and have their labrette or eyebrow pierced.
If I woke up and was this I most likely would kill myself, because the world needs less idiots.
Usually when I see alternative people on the street, in shops or at clubs I know who they are just by looking at them. There are things psychology can and cannot tell. I think I have this art down to a fine one.
The Poor Of Wealth.
People who wear baggy jeans and unofficial band merchandise usually fall into this category in my mind. It's something about unwashed denim that, frankly, looks scruffy. People who dress in this fashion are usually fans of Korn, Linkin Park, Slipknot or Nirvana. Though, truly, anyone can fall victim of this fate.
It's sad to think that I dismiss people because of their lack of material possessions, but wearing the same clothes every day makes you stink, no matter how many times you wash or how much deodorant you apply. As a friend of a friend of mine called Gem once said "I wash every day, I can't help it if I still smell." If you buy more clothes, then you can wash your other clothes while you wear them, thus avoiding smelliness.
If I were like them, I would consider no further purchasing in the fake merchandise department, as it is overpriced and is probably not produced to a very high standard. If I dressed in this way, whether rich or not, I would want to change my clothing range. If you want to fit in, corduroy trousers, although common among snobs, are going cheap in high street shops. If you want to dress in a way that doesn't say "poor person" or "wannabe alternate," I suggest you invest. Don't be afraid of chain shops; they provide quality goods at lower, often bargain, prices. And don't think snobby alternatives will judge you, they can't help looking like that, they were concieved during a crowd surf at Woodstock, don't you know.
The Rich But Misguided.
These usually wear everything they see other alternative people wearing. They never think what goes and what doesn't, they have no time for that. They're too busy putting on their black makeup, rainbow beads and light blue baggy jeans. When they've done that their top will be black, lacy, too big for their skinny torso and show off their prepubescent cleavage, which is, usually, nonexistant. These will probably like an odd mixture of bands, and as much as I hate to say it, their variety of taste isn't because they like all music, it's because they like everything they hear that has guitars and drums in it.
They'll have a lot of pent up anger about pop music and will say anything to differentiate themselves from "teenyboppers" yet every band they like is, or has, been in the top ten at least once. Their musical tastes are usually aligned with bands like Blink 182, Eminem, Wheatus, Sum41, The Lostprophets, Muse, Limp Bizkit and Linkin Park.
If I woke up one day and realised this was me I'd take the precaution to read some fashion magazines, just so I got a feel for what clothing suited my body type. People who dress this way are usually terribly overweight or worryingly underweight, so either loosely fitting or normal-fitting clothing would be great, because it will either hide their nonexistant curves or hide their ripples. I personally suggest skater trainers or sneakers, baggy trousers that don't cover the shoes, in dark colours, and plain cap-sleeved t-shirts, with a zip up jacket and beads that go with the outfits' colourings.
The Wear Anything.
Alternative people who wear anything usually enjoy role play. For intance, they will occasionally decide to wear a fairy outfit to see a band, or a witch outfit when it isn't Halloween. These people, in my experience, are usually really kind people, but act like they're 10 when they're a lot older. I would probably hold the opinion, upon meeting someone of this genre, that they were deprived as children or never had the chance to grow up. They are usually the oldest child or the only child in a family, and they like buying clothes from charity shops, making their own clothes and stealing their parents' old clothes.
They can like a wide variety of music, anything from indie to death metal. Their parents are usually hippies, and the parents are usually divorced and living apart or thinking about doing so. Their usually overly-manly father will have made them be tomboyish as a girl, and so they want to make up for their lack of pink fluffyness as a kid.
I would like to add that they are usually boy obsessed, because their mother bore them before she herself was fully an adult and so had no life experience and reared them to adore rejection and badly need complimenting to have any self esteem.
If I became one of these (which is near impossible with my childhood and relatives) then I would try to tone down my outfits. I'd only dress up when the occassion arose and I'd take up either a religion or an interest (other than boys and clothes) just to broaden my horizons and stop me being a tiresome bore.
The "Goth" girl.
There are two types of goth girls. The first is understandable. They aren't particularly morbid, or at least don't try to be. They will usually only wear dark colours, as they realise bright colours teamed with black look cheap and usually stupid to boot. They'll probably have black hair, although some don't dye their hair from their natural colour, and some dye it dark red. I say they're understandable, but they'll usually prove that part wrong by accidentally showing you their self harm, or turning out to be anorexic. They're usually well-to-do, and don't have any reason to be who they are apart from a strong will to rebel, or an interest in horror films. They are usually snobbish and only hang around with those they meet who are older than they are. The music they like is usually old Alice Cooper, Type O Negative, early Black Sabbath and Bauhaus. They'll also like foreign music and have at least one tattoo and three piercings.
If I was this I'd get just a little sun occassionally, so as to stop myself looking dead, because we all know that pale complection is a result of never leaving home before darkness fell for the past three years.
The latter of the two types of goth will be seen wearing bright red/bright blue/bright purple/dark green/every colour of the rainbow and black, all the time, with the occassional spiked neck collar, rainbow beads and lacy gloves. They'll wear black makeup the whole way around their eyes and will usually lighten their skin with face paint.
Their musical interests are probably Ozzy Osbourne, Marilyn Manson and Slipknot. They will cut themselves, but the cuts will only penetrate the first few layers of skin, and they'll parade and brag about each cut, explaining that they don't cut themselves for attention and they want to die because nobody understands their recent interest in Satanism/wicca. They'll usually wear a pentacle or an inverted cross around their neck and have their labrette or eyebrow pierced.
If I woke up and was this I most likely would kill myself, because the world needs less idiots.
