At one time, the subculture set itself apart visually by having long hair. They weren't the only people―specifically, the only men―to have long hair, of course. But it was notable that metaloids almost always did wear their hair long, regardless of whether it was in fashion that year or not.
At some point tattoos replaced long hair as the primary visual marker. Again, it's not like only a particular subculture has tattoos. But there's a certain kind of design that's endemic to metal/hard rock people.
With the former, rockstars eventually had to start wearing wigs or admit that they could no longer grow their hair that long―or in some cases, at all. With the latter, once in advanced age you may find yourself with arms that look like Denny's placemats colored by a toddler with no muscle control. If it sounds like I'm making fun, I'm really not. Self-presentation is tricky for all of us.
Oh, and if you're interested, there's a new webpage that's handy for days when the Archive Today sites are out of commission.
2 comments:
The first thing I remember noticing when guys started growing their hair longer than their earlobes was just how much more hair they had than many of us girls. The other thing was how fast it was that the guys were treated as an disrespected minority by other men. One night I sat in a restaurant with a long haired friend for more than half an hour where the wait staff refused to approach our table. We eventually took the hint and left. It took years for long hair to be normalized.
I see what you mean about tattoos having replaced long hair. Many people and I presume the kinds of tattoos you mean are skulls, devils, band logos, mr. death, etc. done in large amounts of black and red ink. I wonder have you read any of the recent studies about the negative health caused by tattoo ink? It appears long hair is far safer and much easier to change if one gets bored, never mind what it looks like when the tats fade and the skin sags.
Ah yes, the reshaping of our favored youthful appearance comes to us all in time. I prefer to believe I look no older than 30 but that presumption involves arranging my face before looking in a mirror (in subdued light) and having photos taken at a distance (the further the better).
I've bookmarked Periscope and succeeded in reading a Mary Harrington article that had been blocked on Unherd. Thanks!
The male of the species does have a lot of hair, on average. Of course as we grow older, there's no guarantee that the hair we have on the tops of our heads is going to stick around. Baldness happens to men more, and there are all sorts of products to prevent it or disguise it. For me, it's not really worth bothering. The stigma against men having long hair feels long ago now. Actually, restaurants enforcing any kind of social code feels like a long time ago now, just because making money is hard enough. The fact that they no longer measure your hair is one of the more benign effects of that.
There are a lot of animals, writing, skulls (as you say), flames. Band logos are more limited to t-shirts, although there are exceptions. Butterflies, but those are mostly for girls. Once again, it used to be sailors and the like getting one or two, total. Now that large portions of the population are getting multiple tats, the effects of any toxins they have are being felt on a larger scale. Some people get theirs lasered off as they get older. A lot of trouble to come full circle.
George Orwell said that at age 50, everyone has the face he deserves. A lot of people might be upset by that, but there's no reason to go overboard on judgment. Me, I've started to feel like I'm looking in the mirror when I see old pictures of Philip Larkin.
Yeah, I found out about Periscope a little while ago when archive.ph et al weren't working. Handy. I don't always agree with Mary Harrington, but wittier than the average Britcon.
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