Is what was WEIRD in the 80's actually NORMAL today? (dye, light)

[robee70]

Originally Posted by 1bright_future

I know the US is very big and has many different cultures in it.

But, IN GENERAL,

Being "weird (outside of norms)" in the 80's was men who had earrings, men and women who had visible tattoos, men and women who had facial earrings, men and women who dressed in black and darker shades most the time, etc, etc, etc...

I think it was possibly less accepted nationwide, but going to high school in NYC in the late 80's, that was what I saw so it wasn't completely "out of the norm" for me. Back then, there was a lot of punk and new wave influence.

[GTOlover]

I have no tats and always go with a jean and T-shirt look because it is comfortable unless I have to dress up and yeah in middle school back in the mid-90's I had my ear pierced because it was the thing to do in 91-95 also I remember I had to have reebok pumps back in the day too.
http://undergroundsoles.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/Reebok-Pump-Twilight-Zone-OG-Colorways-Available-2.jpg (broken link)

[cieramc]

I have stretched ears and a small tattoo on my chest, but where I live it isn't NORMAL. I wait tables and get rude comments about my earrings and have to keep my tat covered. Everything else about my appearance is perfectly professional...but I still get crap for the tiny things about me that are out of the norm. I want more tattoos...

[MontanaGuy]

There are many fads that come and go and only a few have lasted for decades. For example long hair on men often attracted hostility during the late 60's and early 70's but no one seems to pay attention anymore and many of the redneck guys who were hostile to guys like me in the 60's now have long hair even though they're even older than I am. Clothing styles and hair styles are easy to change as you grow older but tatoos and excessive body modification are extremely difficult to change. I can see how the extreme versions of these trends are going to cause some serious problems for people in later years.

[Chowhound]

Originally Posted by MontanaGuy

There are many fads that come and go and only a few have lasted for decades. For example long hair on men often attracted hostility during the late 60's and early 70's but no one seems to pay attention anymore and many of the redneck guys who were hostile to guys like me in the 60's now have long hair even though they're even older than I am. Clothing styles and hair styles are easy to change as you grow older but tatoos and excessive body modification are extremely difficult to change. I can see how the extreme versions of these trends are going to cause some serious problems for people in later years.

I hear ya on the body mod thing, I, for the life of me, can't understand how someone could do the ear stretchy thing. I don't know what its called but they keep putting bigger and bigger "rings" in it. Just absolutely god awful looking in my humble opinion.

I'm with you on the long hair thing. I had long hair back when I was a teen and early 20's then I wore it short forever, now I'm back to having long hair again.




http://www.google.com/imglanding?q=ear%20stretching&imgurl=http://exploreplasticsurgery.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/plastic-surgery-repair-of-ear-gauging-indianapolis-dr-barry-eppley.jpg&imgrefurl=http://forums.onewed.com/showthread.php%3Ft%3D27146&usg=__MQWo-vPstzedU6kxpmDxtaUENmg=&h=367&w=277&sz=77&hl=en&um =1&itbs=1&tbnid=TCmaUcSExB3X4M:&tbnh=122&tbnw=92&p rev=/images%3Fq%3Dear%2Bstretching%26start%3D21%26um%3D 1%26hl%3Den%26client%3Dfirefox-a%26sa%3DN%26rls%3Dorg.mozilla:en-USfficial%26ndsp%3D21%26tbs%3Disch:1&start=27&um =1&client=firefox-a&sa=N&rls=org.mozilla:en-USfficial&ndsp=21&tbs=isch:1#tbnid=TCmaUcSExB3X4 M&start=31

[cricket_factor]

Originally Posted by cieramc

I have stretched ears and a small tattoo on my chest, but where I live it isn't NORMAL. I wait tables and get rude comments about my earrings and have to keep my tat covered. Everything else about my appearance is perfectly professional...but I still get crap for the tiny things about me that are out of the norm. I want more tattoos...

When I worked at a courthouse in Los Angeles County, we were seeing those stretched ears beginning in 1996. They are kind of unusual for the uninitiated.

Now I see them a lot of places. They're not that special any longer. Plus the sleeve tattoos are everywhere as well - Trader Joe's, hair salons, Whole Foods. But they're not in the corporate world, though.

[flguy1192]

I actually think we in 2010, dress more "normal" than we did in the '80s. People dressed pretty crazy back then, now fashion seems to be trending back more to the 1940s and '50s.

[Umberlee]

The ear things are called "gauges" (like a gas gauge) and yes, they are hideous. I'm at the age now where fads are definitely starting to leave me behind...I could get the emo stuff that came on the heels of goth, but I had to have "scene" explained to me.

And regarding individuality: it's a trait that is unfortunately not shared by everyone.

[Stratford, Ct. Resident]

Originally Posted by flguy1192

I actually think we in 2010, dress more "normal" than we did in the '80s. People dressed pretty crazy back then, now fashion seems to be trending back more to the 1940s and '50s.

I agree that people dress more "normal" today than we did in the 80's, but in the 80's, we dressed much neater. The styles may have been a bit freakish looking back then, but most people made an effort to present a good "face". Going out to a store with bedhead and wearing stained sweatpants/shorts and ratty flops wasn't the "style" like it is today.

[grmasterb]

Originally Posted by Chowhound

Oh come on, I had a pink Izod Lacoste polo shirt, that was the shizzy back in the day.

Couldn't hold a candle to my Ralph Lauren polo, though.