Image. [Archive] - Chaos Forums

Named

10-15-2006, 03:50 PM

A man discovers the most profound philosophy the human mind can conceive. In essence, he solves the riddle of the universe. As you would, he calls for a general audience of the public so that he may share this wondrous idea with his fellow people.
However, in his haste he forgot to put his clothes on after morning ablutions.

Would it be safe to assume, regardless of the brilliance of his espoused philosophy, that not a single person in the audience could take it seriously?

We're so caught up on image that I truly believe it doesn't matter what a naked man were to say, in the eyes of observers he is unequivocally 'Naked Man', and can not defy this immutable characterisation until he puts on some clothes.

I can say honestly that I don't care much for my image. I had my afro shaved off because it's summer season now; for convenience, comfort and hygene's sake. And yet I would be lying or ignorant if I were to claim that I don't care at all. We all do; we all have to, because everyone else will with or without our conforming. As unfortunate as it is, we're forced to care about our image... If we didn't, in virtually no facet of life could we achieve much of anything.

Let's discuss image =D You can talk about how you present yourself, how different your ideal image is from this or you can share with the forum how you view others generally (or a particular individual).
Do you feel more comfortable talking to people of a certain atire? Which style is more attractive to you? How much do you believe the presentation of others sways your opinion of them?
Edit: One more thing I meant to ask... Probably the most interesting question for me. Is the importance of image necessarily a bad thing? What would each of you prefer in an ideal reality?

I hope the proceeding discussion really encourages people to examine how they view others and how much impact this aesthetic regard weighs on criticism of their personality or expressed thoughts.

KGO!

Octo

10-15-2006, 04:34 PM

*Goes*

Well personally I feel comfortable talking to anyone that doesn't intentionally present themself as a "Wigger" or an ass-holish jock. I'm fine with nice jocks, it's the ones that are intentionally assholes I can't stand, although that's more personality than image. I guess my only distaste is Wiggers because it is White people who live in my neighbourhood whom act black and tough, while we practically live in the most suburban town. We've had one murder, the guy was caught. No other murders.

I personally enjoy testing people's acceptance of "image". I tend to attempt and dress in ways many people wouldn't find acceptable, thus showing me that whoever accepts it is an all around accepting person and worth the effort and time for me to get to know them.

I spike my hair into bi-hawk, fauxhawk, sidehawk, and even liberty spikes if bored enough. I tend to wear communist stars on my shirts or band tees. I wear spikey pants when I'm not planning on dancing (for you Americans picture Hot Topic pants but scarier and less "trendy") I wear a Satanic armband and a trenchcoat almost everyday. Oh, I also wear black combat boots. I plan on dying my hair soon, it'll be black with dark red underneath it, so whenever I spike my hair you'll see the red.

Teachers instantly regard me as a troublemaker but once they start a class discussion that I decide to involve myself in, they realize I'm actually an 80-90 average student.

I guess that's all for now, I do like this discussion, and personally I agree with you Named, a Naked Man would only be accepted by a select few as a profit. I personally don't know what I'd make of him.

Bap

10-15-2006, 07:30 PM

Good topic :)

Like Named, I don't care for image that much, but I am required to care a bit. I just try to do what is practical, for the most part. I live in a hot place, so I wear shorts, mostly light colored cargo shorts (the pockets are nice). I have blue, black, white, and grey t-shirts. Aside from the practicalities, I prefer my shirts to lack any logos whatsoever. Most of my shirts are just one solid color. My hair takes roughly 7-8 hours to style, and I do it while I sleep. I like to think that this separates me from certain groups; that when people see me, they have trouble labeling me. I'm not sure if it works, but I like to think it does :P

And I admit, people's own attire affects my initial view on them, but I try not to let it interfere when getting to know them. I think it does affect my view because, to me, the way they dress tells me what group they want to belong to. And I don't like groups. But then there are those who I have trouble seeing what group they affiliate themselves, and I like those people :) I know this view may be a bit shallow, but I think there is truth to it much of the time.

Like Octo, I probably would be hesitant to get to know you =P I may not even bother unless you spoke to me first.

kjrav

10-15-2006, 07:45 PM

I personally have kind of a cross between white and black stlyes.I personally care very little for my image not so much because I have somting agaisnt image but more so cause I find keepin' it up constantly a nuisence.

Chidongan

10-15-2006, 07:53 PM

well i have many different syles. i dont like to be catergorized. so it try to be as diverse as possible. i'd go punk, baller-ish, prep, or skater to school. but then i just decided to do whatever. so now i wear generic jeans with generic t-shits or polo shirts. ^^ and yet people still treat me the same.

a while back, i got tired of my hair so i grew it out, and i must say i loved it. i just took a shower and let it be, and it just styled itself. i was happy. but now that i cut me hair i have to comb it in the morning. sure i dont care about appearances but i still have to look human.

Octo

10-15-2006, 08:05 PM

Like Octo, I probably would be hesitant to get to know you =P I may not even bother unless you spoke to me first.

I concur, many people feel this way towards me. However I'm a very outspoken person and if you were in my vicinity I'd attempt to start a conversation with you.

NMK

10-15-2006, 08:27 PM

Image, to have a unique style and not copy others is something I care a lot about, I hate seeing some people buying clothes that they personally hate just because others are having that sweather etc. etc.

As you just said, people don't take someone standing naked seriously even if he's the smartest human in the world. That reminds me of something I saw in one Simpsons episode, one of the older episodes. Homer got his hands over some product that gave his hair back, in other words it grew back. The day after he got his hair he got a better job at his work at the nuclear plant and rised in rank. He kept on rising (mostly of this one guy he hired, he became his friend and stood up for homer and helped him) then one day he was going to have a speach, his friend wrote it and it was Springfields best speach ever, but the day before he was going to have the speach bart, his son messed up the product that gave Homer back his hair, so when he was going to have the speach he stood there, bald. And nobody listened to him just because of that, I thought that that was a good description about how it really works in this wierd world. I'm not saying that being bald means no respect that was just an example.

Named, I feel sad about you shaving your afro away, it was really cool.

DJ Jaime

10-15-2006, 08:30 PM

Awesome Topic Indeed ;)
Anyway, I'll try to be as honest as possible..

When I see someone on the street I do notice the way the look and the way he/she dresses, and most of the time I do base that in my judgements, but well, then again, as I once mentioned some time ago, people in this place really care about how the look and about the colour of the skin, so yes, even If I don't care about the skin colour, I do care about the way people dress because most of the times my guesses are accurate (Specially when it comes about Mexican-Snobby people, since they all wear the same clothes) ... However It's not always like that, and even If at first I do care about how the other person looks, I still try to find out how the person really is despite their look.

And well, when it comes to myself, I personally wear what I think is comfortable despite what most people think (I'm your average guy who wears shirts/jeans and just that cause I think it's comfortable) though I do care about my haircut and being clean, mainly because I well, I care about myself and I like being clean.

SRVG

10-15-2006, 08:32 PM

first of all the idear of having a image is still the basics of the human/animal mind.
the "trigger" responses that sertan senarious give trigger responses.
so the naked man would trigger a laughing respons cause its onusual and the female part of the audience would feel some sertain atraction ore repulsion.
this is the same as the mating routience alot of animals do.
its basic structure of the reaction part of the mind. every visual/smelable/teastable/hearable input triggers actions like repulsion atraction. but also laughing crying getting mad. even angry.
its the same why mothers ore females with motherfeelings are so obsesif with baby's.
sience haze proven that the bigger the eyes and the smile is in ratio to the head. the more atracted the are to raising a child. this go's also for the reaction to pupie's for instans.
moost people like them cause the look so cute. and thats because of alot of things a pupie haze triggers the reaction of cuteness. and cuteness is loveable and loveable is caring about it wich leads to raising ore helping ore any of that kind of response.

thats what i have learned found out and gather.

excuse my english i dont have word here so im not being able to correct my grammar cause english is my second langauge. :D

NMK

10-15-2006, 08:34 PM

What I specially got stuck on in what you wrote Jaime was to judge somebody when you see them, forgot to mention that. If you meet someone new of course you judge him by his looks and how he dresses, since you don't know the persons personality that means that judging them by how they look is the first thing you do.

Octo

10-15-2006, 08:57 PM

But looking past the clothes and into the personality is what shows a truely kind person.

NMK

10-15-2006, 09:02 PM

Of course, I wouldn't be friends with somebody just because of the clothes and how they look, that's just the beginning cause that's the only way to judge someone you don't know anything about. But if it shows up that they're jerks then I wouldn't be friends with them.

ScareCrow

10-15-2006, 09:05 PM

Image and materialism has taken such a monstrous hold in our lives, that it's ridiculous. Did you know that Nixon lost to Kennedy because of image? Nixon did not look as great as Kennedy, and that cost him the election due to the first televised presidenital debates. People who listened to the debate on radio said that Nixon won, while people who watched it said Kennedy won.

Anyway, America's love with image can be often seen in high school and college, where people love to wear brandname clothes or certain types of clothes to show their socio-economic background or the type of clique they are in. For so long, we have seen the word juicy plastered on a woman's rear. When asked what that means, women feint ignorance:
"I don't know, it's just a brand."
I say "Just a brand my ass. You're implying that your ass is, in fact, juicy and you want everyone to know it."
"OMgosh. You are SOOOOO overthinking this.", replies the girl.
"Am I? So are you saying the only reason you're wearing this is because all your friends wear it?", I ask.
"No! I'm not a comformist. It's just comfy."-girl
"So, you're saying you'll wear anything as long as it's "comfy""?-me
"Yeah."-girl
"So if there was a brand that said Slutty everywhere on your sweatpants, would you wear it?"-me
"NO!!!!!!!!"-girl
"Point Proven. So why are you wearing the word juicy on your breasts and rear end?"-me
"I don't know."-girl
"Do me a favor and ponder that."-me

Octo

10-15-2006, 09:40 PM

Well said ScareCrow. I may have to try that approach on some girls at my school.

i_feel_tiredsleepy

10-15-2006, 11:37 PM

They'll think your a bit of a jackass though if you do try that lol.

Anyway in my day to day walking around I usually don't pay much attention to people's hair and clothes unless they are very different, but I'm weird. I wear ties and dress shirts with dockers one day and another day baggy jeans and a sweatshirt I sort of wear whatevers clean, I don't think there is a single bit of clothing I own that I bought myself, I sorta rely on gifts lol.

Although, I think image plays a big role in how we do judge people even if we don't all judge them the same. It is of more importance in the professional world, thus the popularity of uniforms in many businesses. I remember when I bought my first pair of scrubs, I work as a veterinary assistant during the summer, and the doctor said i could buy any pair of scrubs as long as it didn't look gay lol.

Some people can dress really strange though, I remember one guy who I used to see wearing a long coat and a three-point hat like he was from the early 18th century, and he dressed that way every day. I also know one prof. who dresses like he's going off to celebrate Oktoberfest, but I'm sure he is very good at his job.

.ZabuZa.

10-16-2006, 01:16 AM

^^^ hehe hmm im not goin to be long about this but image at home to me is wearin what is comfy fav old shirts and shorts even if theres a hole in them dosent matter but outside i also like to dress clean and for the occasion but mostly i wear baggy clothes that are comfortable or just baggy jeans and a dress shirt, about other ppl and what they wear outside i dont really care i mean they can wear whatever they like its there life not mine and no matter what they wear if they come up to me and talk to me ill talk to them back with respect for who they are and not what they wear. ^_^ naked ppl rule!

V.VELDANEN

10-16-2006, 01:50 AM

You don't get a second chance in first impression.

That's the rule in the Business World should you choose to be in it. Dressing the best you can is one way of telling how serious you are in making yourself known to that person.

And I very much believe that you are what you wear.

I dress simple, casual, but tidy. Wash my cloths often, don't iron them much. But still wear a nice looking sweater outside and usually groom my hair as briefly but presentable as possible. I'm not highly stylized, not extremely well-groomed. At times I wish I were, but of course, I'm still Hetero...lol.

But going beyond your attire, and of paramount importance, is your personal hygiene. Your BO (body odour) and BB (bad breath)! No matter how well you dress, if you have these symptoms, it'll destroy your first impression! I plead to all, if you do have these problems, use mouthwash, gum, deodorant, body spray! Whatever you can to get rid of that smell! Many I've encountered that does not seem to get it, and remedy that problem.

Its disgusting and annoying. Lol.

ScareCrow

10-16-2006, 02:17 AM

Just because a man dresses nice, does not meant that they are homosexual.

Sigh....the ignorance...the ignorance....

come on V.V. be a bit more open.

V.VELDANEN

10-16-2006, 02:25 AM

I'll open up for you anytime crowie-sweetums ^^

Ooh! But you can't! Your arse seems a little too tight darling!

Lighten up bud...

Plus...its not ignorance on my part, its merely stereotypical humor.

Named

10-16-2006, 02:56 AM

See, I don't wear many brand names. I'll find whichever pants/jeans that have a simple style yet appeal to me. For shirts I love to wear what I order from the internet. That's right, make a statement with your clothing ;) And for warmth, I do love the vest I ordered from Thinkgeek.com with 29 pockets =D
Recently i'm often wearing half my Ninja Gi through city central, as I have to basically walk through it to get to the dojo.
What I find strange is the looks I am given seem more critical than how, say a Goth would be looked at. Worse is the critical glances from those making the extreme statements with their clothing; they look at me as if i'm a freak, for wearing Tabi boots and the pants for my Gi.
It's such an interesting reaction...

My friend James wears a lot of brand name labels. I suppose you'd categorise them as the 'Metro' styles. But! He does in fact have a reason for this, beyond conforming. His purpose with his style is to shoot for neutrality. He wears modern fashion but never stands out; that is his intention. He wishes to be able to approach whomever he wants in neutrality so that he may be defined by his announced thoughts and not his appearance.

I do not know how I would answer my question. Do I like things the way they are? It's difficult to answer... How do I discern 'like' from familiarity? I don't mind society valuing image, though I suppose I would prefer it if in certain communities it were toned down just a little bit ;) Schools, in particular. (uniforms -ftw-)

Bap

10-16-2006, 05:19 AM

My friend James wears a lot of brand name labels. I suppose you'd categorise them as the 'Metro' styles. But! He does in fact have a reason for this, beyond conforming. His purpose with his style is to shoot for neutrality. He wears modern fashion but never stands out; that is his intention. He wishes to be able to approach whomever he wants in neutrality so that he may be defined by his announced thoughts and not his appearance.

That's what I try to do, only through solid colored shirts and such. No brand names for me. And anyway, I don't want someone else's name on my shirt!

Yuber

10-16-2006, 04:52 PM

I admit that I judge people by image sometimes. For example, if I see some dude with a bright pink shirt with the collar popped, my brain says "stupid douche" just because of the people in my area who dress that way. I don't know what annoys me about that style, but i just cringe every time I see it. I'm sure this post seems pretty retarded.

As for myself, I usually just wear plain blue/grey/black shirts and some cargo pants because of the extra storage. I am however pretty obsessed with how my body looks. I work out 5 days a week, 2 hours each workout, because that generally intimidates other men and attracts women.

I agree with Named though. I really need to stop judging people based on how they dress altogether and wake up from what society and my own assumptions have drilled in to my brain. It's all just very petty and meaningless, and judging will obviously just limit the number of friends that I make.

Lost Prophet

10-16-2006, 05:09 PM

Hmm, this is a very interesting topic.

I worry a lot about my image, but the way I dress doesnt matter to me. there were times in my life where I was obese, but I have taken control of that. Why did I bother? that was the part of me that was worried about my image. The way I spoke left me at the time an insecure person. I used to be a t-shirt and shorts or sweatpants guy, but after being told off, I changed. THAT was another thing that led me to be obsessed with my image.

now, I wear polo shirts and jeans now. Its more comfortable for me, and it works well. but there is a part of me inside that wonders why I changed for other people. Its amazing how we change who we are just to make others happy, when we ourselves are not....

NMK

10-16-2006, 05:31 PM

Actually I think that I only have brand name labels, not any "regular" clothes if you know what I mean.

i_feel_tiredsleepy

10-16-2006, 09:04 PM

I just realized though that since I'm probably going to end up as an academic that most academics just look disheveled all day long, I dont think I've ever seen a PhD. dressed well. It just struck me looking at my prof. today talking about virulence factors being transfered between bacteria and as an analogy she showed a slide of a regular mister potatoe head labeled before transfer of the virulence gene and a Darth Vader potatoe head labeled after the virulence gene transfer, it just struck me that she was the quintessential nerd and she looked like it too in her wrinkled sweat shirt and pants topped off with stringy hair and a Star Wars reference.