Why Politicians Wear the Flag Lapel Pin

As we see politicians debate and run campaigns, we generally see them wearing the flag pin on their lapel. In this image below, we see President Obama wearing his lapel pin while visiting a plant in Michigan. Many people argue that it is a disgrace against our country and that one is not patriotic if they are not wearing the flag pin. Before becoming president, Obama did not wear a flag lapel pin. When asked about it, he said that he would rather confess his beliefs and that that would be a testimony of his patriotism, but this stirred up a lot of controversy. When Obama was scrutinized from not wearing a pin, he then decided to wear one every single day. The pin is the easiest and quickest way for people to identify one's patriotism and what one stands for. It dates back to the beginning of our country and is a symbol of conflict but also peace and independence. As we see in this image, the flag sticks out, our eyes are drawn to it. We immediately identify that he supports our country and represents our country. Even though he is somewhere unfamiliar or somewhere that may not be considered "patriotic" we know that he is patriotic and is always thinking about our country from the lapel pin. Some people may say "either you're with us or against us" and by wearing a flag pin, we will automatically know who is "with us".

EXTRA Kate Middleton: Post Birth Body

Kate Middleton is viewed and idolized all of the world not just in England. She is a style icon and has made the best dressed list many many times. As Kate went through childbirth, many people were scared that she may not keep her perfect figure that she has always had. This image, shows the family the day after giving birth to their new son. Will and Kate are glowing as they show off their baby boy. We can clearly see that she is still just as beautiful as always. The world waited anxiously for the reveal of the baby boy but also for the reveal of Kate and her still fabulous body. They are very colorful and very bright and dressed in blue, since they brought a new boy into the world. She shows her baby bump in this dress, and I think her and Will did this to show that they are a "real" couple and a modern "Royal Family". By showing her baby bump, she is saying that she is not perfect but that she is a woman. Will and Kate are very young and very modern and they are trying to tell the world that they can be normal just like the rest of us and don't need to be considered royalty all of the time. The clothes they are wearing are casual and what anybody would wear. They are not glamorous but still portray their elegance through this dress and their appearance. This is a crazy thing to think about as to why we view Kate as such a strong image of beauty. Not only does she embody royalty, but she shows her beauty through her actions and her smile every time she is seen. In almost every photograph, like the one above, she is smiling. A smile is a simple way to convey love and beauty at the same time. So, as we see, Kate Middleton did not disappoint, even a day after child birth.

Women vs. Men

In our culture, we all know that women are extremely hard on how they look. With the models in the magazines, on the billboards, on TV, in every aspect of pop culture, beautiful women have to all be tall and extremely thin. With men, they have to all be chiseled and handsome. In this photo, we see the different aspect of how men and women see themselves when they look in the mirror. In the top picture, it shows the woman in black and white, who is very thin, with her bones showing, but in the mirror she sees an overweight version of herself. In the bottom picture, we have the man portrayed in color, who is not that muscular, but in the mirror he sees himself as a buff, ladies man. This depiction is very interesting because the black and white tells us that she is sort of depressed about how she isn't the "perfect" size even though she clearly is too skinny with her bones showing. The man is in color because he is happy about the way he looks because he sees himself as a catch and as a handsome man that ladies would want.  This image clearly shows how society makes us view ourselves and makes us think that we are never perfect and cannot be okay with ourselves.

 

Guy and Doll

Most of us are familiar with the song, "Dude looks like a lady", but are we familiar with a dude that really does look like a lady? The hottest fashion model in NY Fashion Week this season is Andrej who models for both men's and women's wear and definitely looks like lady, and a VERY pretty lady at that. He wears a women's size 2 or 4 with no alterations, is 6 ft 6 and wear's a size 10 in men's shoes. He is taking androgyny mainstream. He says that he doesn't shave and never has had to. He considers himself transgender and does not feel a need to alter his body. Since the runway is full of tall, flat-chested, giants, he is not particularly out of the norm. He says he "likes to keep his options open" when it comes to gender. In the photo he is clearly posed as a female, with his makeup, hair done and long, and his jewelry. But he isn't always like this. Andrej dresses for men's clothes just as much as women's, however, he says he is more comfortable off and on the runway in women's clothes.His gender confusion is interesting because he prefers the women's restroom to not cause any kind of confusion among other patrons but is this really acceptable? If a woman in the restroom knew that he was technically a male, she would be utterly disturbed. However, if his real identity was not exposed, any female would treat him like a normal female. He also does not know if he wants to marry a man or a woman. This issue is very political with all of the talk that goes on in today's world about transgenders, gay marriage, etc. If transgenders and drag queens and cross dressers are accepted by most people, should Andrej be accepted on the runway in both men's and women's clothing? His appearance and lifestyle may be more widely accepted int he fashion world rather than  the real world because, models are meant to be like hangers. The models that we see, are stick thin with flat chests and long legs. Andrej has all of these features and you can tell it from the image here. So, on the runway and on magazines, he is accepted as a woman and a man. Since the LGBT community is growing and is trying to get more recognition, this could help that cause. However, if he worked with a certain company or clothing line and people assumed he was a woman and then found out that he was a man, if they do not agree with this sort of dress and androgyny, this could hurt the company. It causes a lot of arguments and confusion, but it is not particularly surprising with the world that we live in today. 

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"You will be a boy, my daughter"

I am currently taking a class called Dress and Culture. In this class, we learn about how people express themselves through dress and how they convey their cultures, religious beliefs, gender, personality and many other things through the way they dress. The latest video that we watched in this course was called "You will be my son, my daughter". http://www.javafilms.fr/spip.php?article862 This link is a segment from the video, but is not the video in its entirety. This film is on the Iraqi tradition of Bacha Posh. Bacha Posh is when a family, makes a daughter dress like a boy at a young age so that she can work for the family and have the same rights as other boys. This process is very interesting. Young girl put a cap on their head to cover their hair and wear clothes similar to that of a male so that when a girl goes to work, to provide for the family, she is not perceived as a girl. This is very political because in Iraq, if a girl is caught lying about her identity she will be taken away and not get to stay with her family. Government officials search for people like this, which causes families to hide their daughters if they are disguised as a boy. In the film, one particular girl decided to stay a boy as she grew older. She did not want to turn back because she had the freedoms that males have such as working, education and normal every day activities. In cases like these, it is very controversial because she is not legally supposed to be a male and this causes her to live in fear of being exposed of her true identity. This situation is also confusing because she could be perceived as a lesbian. Would this tradition be accepted if it were brought over to the United States? I believe that this tradition would be rejected by our culture and very looked down upon. In the United States, we have many freedoms and are able to express ourselves in different ways. We are able to chose what we want to do, what career we want, where we want to go to school, how we want to dress and many other things. This concept is so foreign to us that we would not be able to adapt to something like this. Where women and men have to same rights here in America, we wouldn't need to have the women disguise themselves as men. If we were already accustomed to these practices, we would not know anything else, therefore it would not be out of the ordinary. It would be a huge political issue in the United States, whereas in Iraq, it is normal. However, the issues that come along with it like women lying about their identity and not having the same rights as men, is very political.
 This image shows how the two girls who dress like young girls and would be identified as young girls. The girl that is dressed as a Bacha Posh, is standing and doing the same expression as the girls as if she wants to be like these girls. Many of the young girls that have to work for the family would rather be doing things that normal girls do. they feel left out and out of the norm, like this image shows. This image also shows that, with the girls standing, it represents how they do not have to work and how they can have fun or relax while the Bacha Posh has responsibilities and is not able to rest like the girls. This is also depicted by the bright colors that they are wearing. The boy is standing and wearing all white because he has to work and be taken seriously by adults and by his family. The white also maybe makes him fit in so that people won't question his gender or sexuality. With the girls wearing the fun, bright colors, we know that they are young girls. This issue is just very strange and very different from what we're used to as Americans.