Month: April 2013

Three Points for Coming Out! Jason Collins Sets a Cultural Precedent

~ thenarcissisticanthropologist ~ Leave a comment

"I'm a 34-year-old NBA center. I'm black. And I'm gay," says Jason Collins. Kwaku Alston/For Sports Illustrated This story appears in the May 6, 2013, issue of Sports Illustrated. I'm a 34-year-old NBA center. I'm black. And I'm gay. I didn't set out to be the first openly gay athlete playing in a major American … Continue reading Three Points for Coming Out! Jason Collins Sets a Cultural Precedent

Surviving and Thriving: and its Socital Differences.

~ thenarcissisticanthropologist ~ 1 Comment

A timely anthropological piece to ameliorate my mid life crisis of consumption-conscience. Now there’s a mouthful. And here’s a mouthful of social-science objectivity.

livinglifepassionately

The purpose of a human is to adapt and survive in their surroundings. I agree with Jared Diamond’s theory about social inequality in that the reason that some people thrive while others survive is because of the resources around them. In a place where there are a higher yield of resources, these people will thrive and grow exponentially while in other cultures with less raw materials to work with will spend all of their time trying to survive. This does not mean that one culture is better than another, just that they have adapted differently to their surroundings. Three main resources that allowed other cultures to adapt better than others are fertile lands, the domestication of plants, and the domestication of animals. Two cultures that are easily comparable in these regards are Ancient Egypt and the !Kung people of the Kalahari Desert.

Diamond states that the reason that some cultures…

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From Low Culture To High Art: The Punk Rock Uniform

~ thenarcissisticanthropologist ~ Leave a comment

Featured in the Arts and Leisure section of the New York Times today is a journalistic tribute to context creating pop culture, inspired by the exhibit at the Metropolitain Museum of Art in New York that tells a high fashion tale of couture inspired by counterculture.   Here is the online version of today's worth-a-read journalism:  … Continue reading From Low Culture To High Art: The Punk Rock Uniform

When Wants Become Needs: A Narcissistic Rant on the Consumer Culture Tradition of Getting Accustomed to a Lifestyle

~ thenarcissisticanthropologist ~ 7 Comments

Over the past several years my life has changed a bit, as life is wont to do. I went from being a single city-girl to a cohabitating-turned-married suburbanite of sorts. As much of one of those as is possible being a participant observer of my own life. When I started this blog, one of the … Continue reading When Wants Become Needs: A Narcissistic Rant on the Consumer Culture Tradition of Getting Accustomed to a Lifestyle

What Is A Hipster?

~ Thought Catalog ~ Leave a comment

Keeping on the hipster theme, i thought this was an interesting example of cultural discourse. A pretty objective dialogue that really frames the public opinion about "counterculture" and the sociological concept of "us" versus "other". Whether you are a hipster lover, hater or are one yourself (whether you assume the label or not) it's an … Continue reading What Is A Hipster?

Don’t Call Me Ma’am

~ thenarcissisticanthropologist ~ Leave a comment

Love this post! Mainly because I actually frequently apologize to women when I accidentally call them Ma’am (“sorry I called you Ma’am”). And it’s because the word holds a good amount of social commentary. My favorite commentary the writer suggests is that we have many ways to designate a woman’s age / life stage and otherwise value as a human through the way we address her (Miss, Ma’am, Young lady, “Sweetie”, etc.) but very few for men (Sir or Mr.). Interest thought on the social context of language and a hilarious read that many of us can relate to…

Kristen Hansen Brakeman

MA'AMWORKING

(Post Featured on Freshly Pressed!)

There is a single word in the English language that has the power to ruin my whole day.  That word is Ma’am.

I could be having a perfectly fine day – a great day even – the kind of day where my car starts on the first try, my kids get off to school without a ton of screaming and, when I check myself in the mirror I actually think, “Hey, I don’t look half bad.”

Then I stop by the local coffee place and the hipster barista dude, the one who wears the gross earring gauges, hands me my non-fat latte and says, “Here you go, Ma’am.”

Ah, come on.  Really?  Did you have to?

Of course I politely say “Thank you,” back to the little whippersnapper, but in my head I’ve added a very irritated, “Don’t call me Ma’am, d#$%khead.”

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Sociology of Style on The Procreation Debate

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The topic of procreation is one that , as a woman in her thirties, has been a front and center in my world the last several years.  Friends having babies, my wife feeling like, even though she would have loved to have children, that she is too old and has too many potential health risks … Continue reading Sociology of Style on The Procreation Debate

The Irony of Hipster Media

~ thenarcissisticanthropologist ~ 2 Comments

It seems that the irony of irony-loving hipster culture is the media that caters to it: accepting a fate of perpetual self-deprecation and tongue-in-cheek consumption. Hipsters might not call themselves by name in public or amongst friends - and may even in some cases deny their hipster-ness.  But for the most part, they are a … Continue reading The Irony of Hipster Media

Poking Fun At Our Issues With Packaging

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It occurred to me lately that I don't have to go to "specialty novelty" stores anymore to get a good dose of off-color humor in my product selection. These days you can find such naughty what-nots at your neighborhood hipster variety store or tucked-away indie boutique. Consumer trends in re appropriating retro pamphlet illustrations and … Continue reading Poking Fun At Our Issues With Packaging