Hi all. Hope everyone having a great week!
This week’s post is about identity and image.
Identity
Identity can be used for many things from identifying who a
person is, yourself and even an object etc. In my case I’m talking about how you
identify... well you. Gender is also how you identify yourself.
Gender Identity
This is for me complicated as it brings so many things and
many words to describe how people identify themselves.
Transgender – This is the most common and many documentaries
have been made about people that are transgender, the basic is someone that is
born as male or female and does not identify as that gender role, and will
mostly transition to the opposite gender so the body will match the gender they
see themselves and feel. Please note: Not every transgender person will have
the full SRS (Sexual reassignment surgery) and that is just keeping simple.
Bi-Gender – A person who fluctuates between men and women
genders-based behaviours and identities. Which will identify as both genders
(sometimes as a third gender Androgynous) Bi-Gender is under the Transgender
Umbrella.
Genderfluid - Gender Fluid is a gender identity best
described as a dynamic mix of boy and girl. A person who is Gender Fluid may
always feel like a mix of the two traditional genders, but may feel more boy
some days, and more girl other days. Being Gender Fluid has nothing to do with
which set of genitalia one has, nor their sexual orientation.
There are more but again I like to keep things simple
because it will make many peoples brain boil and then die… Okay not like that
but it keep confusion down.
Bi-Gender
Bi-Gender is hard for me to understand even though I’m
Bi-Gender myself. The reason for this is because the people I've spoken to are
different. Some have gone on to discover that they are transgender and have gone on to live
as the opposite gender. sexuality changes with some people that are Bi-Gender
but not all, so for me it won’t change I will always be attracted to women no
matter what gender I present. Some people’s personality will change when they’re
presenting as the opposite gender again for me it doesn't… I think as I've
never been out that many times as female, I tend to drink more alcohol as
female though. There are many things with people who are Bi-Gender that can
change but for most people that I've spoken to it’s mainly appearance and mannerisms.
Image
When I realised that I was Bi-Gender and decided that I
wanted to embrace it rather than fight it and become miserable and crazy as it
started to take me… Like really. It started to send me out my mind and I didn't
want to go to a place mentally where I was a few years ago. Anyway when you
start out you have nothing and it takes ages to get the image you see yourself,
from makeup and clothes.
I suppose it’s down to influences also which depends on your
appearance. For me it started out as a rocker style girl. I listened to heavier
metal, more brutal music. I also had the leather jackets the makeup was quite
dark, and clothes was dark and band influenced, plus the people I was speaking
to at that at the beginning was gothic so I suppose they had a massive influence
on me.
As my journey continued I started to take trips to
Manchester and Liverpool for inspiration as the gothic look just wasn't working
for me. I started to take mental notes at what other women was wearing and when
I got home I would start browsing online stores which I soon started to build a
collection of what clothes I wanted… They all sold out by the time I wanted to
buy them :’(
I had to then think about alternative styles to the clothes
that I wanted in case they would sell out or in my case if they didn't have it
in my size. So that is where the Primania (Primark’s website), Twitter came in.
Primania is a section on Primark’s website where people (around
Europe mainly) post pictures of what they were wearing and bought from Primark. Its awesome for finding inspiration for outfits, not only do people post their
outfit but sometimes they will post other items that they’re wearing from other
stores with prices also. One of the best features of this part is it will ask
you “Where did you wear this?” People that have submitted their picture will
normally say where they was. Most are
like for dinner with friends or at university etc, but you do get a good few
people that are fashion students or love fashion and have blogs just on fashion
and will post a link to their blogs, so this is a great way to look into
fashion.
With other Items Listed
Yes twitter is awesome for finding fashion tips, cloth shops,
peoples fashion blogs, sales that aren't advertised etc. How did I find this out?
By searching by search one single item of clothing. I was looking for styles
for boots which I put in the search bar on Twitter, and you get the picture section
and you can see people posting picture from a night out etc and you can see
what they was wearing with the boots. As long as they mention it (doesn’t have
to be a hashtag) you will find them. Also Shops will post picture of that item
of clothing also, which is where I found my suede over the knee boots because
Pink Boutique posted. You will get Fashion websites also posting “what to wear
with…” or “How to wear…” So for me I would see “What to wear with boots” or How
to wear boots” etc and the websites will list the dresses, pants and skirts for example.
I will warn you there are pros and cons to it and you will
have access to everything doing this method on Twitter, but when I say you have
access to everything on Twitter I mean it. Depending on what you put in the
search bar will depend on the results and what people you get. Boots which is
what I started to put in and research on what to wear with it and what styles
there. Unfortunately people see boots as a fetish and you will get women that
do sex type web chats for desperate pervy men and will advertise what they’re
wearing, some will just post links to the websites, some post pictures… Might
work for you if you want to sex it up for your partner I suppose haha, but my
point is whatever you search be prepared.
River Island (what I’m
Wearing)
River Island have started doing something similar to Primark’s
Primania but is more involved on social media using Twitter and Instagram,
where you put #WHATIMWEARINGRI
I don’t think it’s as good as Primania but it’s a start. I
think River Island’s strong part is when you’re on their site and on an item on
the right side it has a section which says “looks good with” and will put other
items of clothing that will go with the item you’re looking at.
If you look hard enough you can find great apps that are out
there for fashion. When I’m out and about as I have an IPhone I use an app
called “Fashionfreax” It’s like Primania but a social network related to
cloths. Add people, comment on people’s outfits, makeup and accessories and you
can also post outfits of your own as well.
Fashionfreax app clothes listing
Other places to look
(what I’ve not used but know about)
Pinterest – I’ve never really used this but you can post or
see what people have pined what styles they like and doesn’t have to do with
fashion.
https://uk.pinterest.com/
Bloglovin - Follow your favourite blogs with Bloglovin.
Discover what's best in Fashion, Beauty, Lifestyle & more. Sign up or login
today & never miss a single post!
https://www.bloglovin.com/
Ebay – If you search for an item of clothing some users put together
a portfolio of what they think looks good/or is good. It will have links to the
product you want also if you like it or want to more.
Physical Image
Image isn't just about clothes, it is also about the shape
of your body, and facial features. For me as I’m biologically a male so I don’t
have female characteristics such as breasts being the big thing. At first I got
a well-padded bra it worked for a short while but it didn't make me feel like
the women I saw in my head, so I had to buy breast foams which mine for all my
pictures are A cups. At the starting stage I was thinking start
small and lay the foundations of how I looked, not going to big on everything,
not spending loads of money and thinking why did I buy them. Starting out
trying to build your image. I supposes how you look from you body to makeup and clothing its down to trial and
error. After taking pictures of how I looked I soon saw that my breast foams
wasn't suiting my frame and needed to go bigger, which I have and now have C
cups. The journey is never ending and I'm still looking into altering many things and I've noticed it changes with the seasons and will forever be an ongoing process.
To dazzle people on your night out dressed as a cat. These are priced at £16.79
