Okay, I'm going to tag this TL with #GamerGate because I think it's tangentially related. As you see in the following thread, AntiGG have all kinds of theories why GG supporters are "obsessed" with dyed hair, piercings, tattoos, etc. on women:



https://twitter.com/Quinnae_Moon/status/524058665666748416



Unsurprisingly, all of these theories boil down to "It's actually about misogyny".

I'm writing this TL to offer my personal view on this. I'm not saying it's *impossible* that the described "obsession" is caused by misogyny in some individuals, but let me explain why I don't believe this to be the case for myself.



On the surface level, my dislike/obsession is similar to the dislike many people have for "uniformed" hipsters (you know the type), but it goes somewhat deeper.

In the early 90s, I disliked punks because I thought they looked dumb in their Dr.Martens and their too short/tight jeans and their spray-painted leather jackets (incidentally, most of them were MALE).

I asked myself how so many people could honestly all like a nearly identical style, and surely enough, many I talked to professed it was more about "symbolizing rebellion" than actual preference.

This, to me, was idiocy. Who would deliberately sport a look he/she doesn't like just to make a halfassed political statement no one but their peers cares about? It was the laziest form of "being political" I had ever seen.



When I point out a pattern of tattoos, piercings and neon-dyed hair in those who oppose GamerGate (often advocates of social justice/feminism, etc.), it feels like I'm pointing out this same way of thinking, the same (in my opinion idiotic) attitude of: "The way I make myself look MEANS something."

Of course this isn't to say that none of the people in question LIKE their looks. But the reply thread I linked at the beginning of this TL seems to support my interpretation that there's more to it than personal preference: To them, it's actually about "agency", "fighting conventions of femininity" and other similar nonsense.



Now, obviously everyone is free to do whatever they want with their own looks.

But that doesn't mean I must *appreciate* having political statements shoved at me just by taking a cursory glance at a person. The whole thing is even more annoying because after too many people have made a "statement", the aesthetic choice becomes irrevocably connoted with it. It's similar to how swastika tattoos are ill advised in most places, no matter how much you love the geometry of the symbol. If I were a woman, I would be *furious* at these people, because I happen to LIKE short hair and piercings, yet want nothing to do with their "associated" politics.



To sum it up: I have an allergic reaction whenever I suspect someone is trying to make a political statement with what should (in my opinion) be a question of individual aesthetic sensibilities.



And this is how we come full circle to one of my major concerns in the GamerGate affair.

Having long, natural color hair is not perpetuating patriarchy and traditional gender roles. It could just mean you like long natural hair.

Utilizing certain conventions in a video game isn't cause for moral outrage by default. It could just mean someone thought it fit best into the game's internal logic/context.



Stop co-opting aesthetics for politics, stop co-opting art for politics, stop politicizing every facet of your life until even your BODY becomes a statement.



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