American i-doll A blurry spectrum of difference.

Guys have relatively been ignored by fashion, by style, by a glass ceiling, or by opportunity, right? But American Idol, the TV show that makes stars out of talent, does show more about our culture than screaming girls and Simons chitter with Paula. This latest season is demonstrating that young men are starting to evolve into expressing their soul, all in very public way. Guys now can cry, they can hug, move beyond the metrosexual movement into whatever they wish to become. A road which might be painful for many of us to watch, but in our modern world of Facebook and MySpace, reality is not just skewed, it doesn't really exist.

It is interesting to see how the writers and producers of this show, structures the edits to show stereotypes ( the welder and the oilman) but at the same time, they show the full spectrum of our society, which perhaps helps breakdown those walls of stereotypes and glass ceilings. Today, young people are more OK with macho, if they choose so, or camo, or fem, or gender blurring, our world is complex, both visually and figuratively, so it the influences are blurred, why too aren't who we are?

Watching American Idol last night, I noticed a trend or is is a newly accepted comfort zone, of some teenage males being increasingly flamboyant. However, greater pressure is on young males in terms of body image, with many feeling forced to slim down or beef up depending on their social network, many are also not afraid of femming it up, wearing earings, scarf's, purses, etc. Have you noticed that jean sizes seem to be getting smaller for guys? Many are even admiting that they prefer shopping for teenage girls' clothes to get the colours, fits and patterns they are looking for.
Still, guys get tattood, shave their heads, wear combat boots and they too aren't gay. What up? Welcome to the future, dude.
My 95 year old dad still says that "you can't tell the women from the men today". I remember him saying that in the 60's when he took me to a 'hippie joint" so that he could be 'inspired' for a painting series he was doing. Then, is was simply long hair and emotions, now, it's makeup and glitz. So what. Being individual today is harder, you just can't go to the Gap, because so does everyone else. You can't go start a 'movement' because they've all been taken. Minimalism, again, will only make you look 'very seventies'. Today, it takes guts, Is it beacause shock value is worthless in a post 9/11 world? Who knows really, but one thing is for certain, creativity is tougher to express in original ways.

The Worth Trend site WGSN recently posted a report by trend hunter Laura Jane Preston, who reported: "that UK author Richard Milward recently told The Observer magazine (January 6): "All my socks are from Topshop, the girls' section. I like girlie jumpers too, with patterns and that. Lads' clothes are dead boring." She also notes....

Adam Lambert of American Idol. Photo from Americanidol.com
Anyone who is a fan of this seasons American Idol, can see that not only is there a new level of talent with Americas youth, there is also a new confidence with many of the younger men.

American Idol's Nathaniel Marshall - Talent and confidence
"On the flip side guys are looking to traditional hyper-masculine male role models.

WGSN noted that "The New York Times (January 13) recently cited Chuck Norris, Rambo and Hulk Hogan as the new male icons, claiming that we are entering into a renaissance of brawn: "At a time when the country is faced with a new tangle of problems, the return of the 80s action hero suggests that some Americans, particularly men, are looking to revel in the vestigial pleasures of older times and seemingly simpler ways. (Witness the popularity of the best-selling The Dangerous Book for Boys).