My Dearest Reader,
This is my first letter to you and I admit that I am a little nervous as to how to
go about it. If you would just take my hand and bear with me through my
inconsistent ramblings, I promise we'll get through it together.
Being in this business you see many things, you meet many people- both good and
bad, but mainly you see the influence those people have on the ones around them, as
it is in any line of work. It worries me, no, it frightens me how easily swayed some are.
How beauty becomes distorted due to the fear of being different. When an image is
foisted on you so much it's hard not to acknowledge it, it's hard not to do a self
comparison.
No longer is it just the women that fall victim to this delusional beauty mind set, men are given a silent mold to which they are
sculpted to fit depending on their roles in life. A prime example would be, and this isn't stated to be offensive, the "Hardcore," and
"Emo," scene. If you submit yourself to said genres you are expected to have black hair, ink stained skin, tight jeans, and black band
shirts. This, believe it or not, has become the unofficial uniform of the two categories, allowing one to blend in as they scream out
just how original and unique they are.
For women, we are expected to be rail thin, dainty – almost fragile, tattooed or not, and sweet natured. In the same scene as listed
above I've come to find that in women's clothing the tighter the better, the more tattered and torn the more chic. The hairstyle is
nearly the same, cropped between chin and shoulders and layered so wildly that it is nearly a mullet, and either blonde or black.
Why must we conform? To adapt the lifestyle of our musical preference in all ways that we can get our greedy little hands on? Well,
we crave acceptance, the embrace of those surrounding us so that we know that we are not alone, for how can one be alone in a sea
of clones? I will not submit. I refuse to blend, to become a blank face in a rolling wave of black, and I encourage you Reader to shed
your shroud and join me. See your beauty! Revel in the fact that there is only one person of your distinct caliber, only one with your
original thoughts and glorious smile that had once been hidden beneath your media-fed costume.
Girls, if you're hungry, EAT! Curves are what make a woman, besides the obvious. Need proof? In every painting and statue in the
history of the world a woman is presented as a rounded, soft, alluring, and healthy being. You will find none that are stick thin or flat-
chested because of starvation. Eat up, eat healthy. Guys, no amount of black dye number four or tattoos will make you a man. Allow
your inner self to shine through, find strength in that light for that is how your character is defined, not by the gauged plug in your
ears.
I look forward to meeting you, the real you. No facades, no pressure, no stereotypes, just you.
This is my first letter to you and I admit that I am a little nervous as to how to
go about it. If you would just take my hand and bear with me through my
inconsistent ramblings, I promise we'll get through it together.
Being in this business you see many things, you meet many people- both good and
bad, but mainly you see the influence those people have on the ones around them, as
it is in any line of work. It worries me, no, it frightens me how easily swayed some are.
How beauty becomes distorted due to the fear of being different. When an image is
foisted on you so much it's hard not to acknowledge it, it's hard not to do a self
comparison.
No longer is it just the women that fall victim to this delusional beauty mind set, men are given a silent mold to which they are
sculpted to fit depending on their roles in life. A prime example would be, and this isn't stated to be offensive, the "Hardcore," and
"Emo," scene. If you submit yourself to said genres you are expected to have black hair, ink stained skin, tight jeans, and black band
shirts. This, believe it or not, has become the unofficial uniform of the two categories, allowing one to blend in as they scream out
just how original and unique they are.
For women, we are expected to be rail thin, dainty – almost fragile, tattooed or not, and sweet natured. In the same scene as listed
above I've come to find that in women's clothing the tighter the better, the more tattered and torn the more chic. The hairstyle is
nearly the same, cropped between chin and shoulders and layered so wildly that it is nearly a mullet, and either blonde or black.
Why must we conform? To adapt the lifestyle of our musical preference in all ways that we can get our greedy little hands on? Well,
we crave acceptance, the embrace of those surrounding us so that we know that we are not alone, for how can one be alone in a sea
of clones? I will not submit. I refuse to blend, to become a blank face in a rolling wave of black, and I encourage you Reader to shed
your shroud and join me. See your beauty! Revel in the fact that there is only one person of your distinct caliber, only one with your
original thoughts and glorious smile that had once been hidden beneath your media-fed costume.
Girls, if you're hungry, EAT! Curves are what make a woman, besides the obvious. Need proof? In every painting and statue in the
history of the world a woman is presented as a rounded, soft, alluring, and healthy being. You will find none that are stick thin or flat-
chested because of starvation. Eat up, eat healthy. Guys, no amount of black dye number four or tattoos will make you a man. Allow
your inner self to shine through, find strength in that light for that is how your character is defined, not by the gauged plug in your
ears.
I look forward to meeting you, the real you. No facades, no pressure, no stereotypes, just you.
| Take care! Always and evermore, Hallena M. Hinkle (A non-prepubescent fairing boy, but a proudly curved woman with an addiction to caramelized pastries and a wicked hankering for marshmallows.) |
