Wearing My Propaganda

1.  Mainland Chinese Over Here
2.  American Brands And Propaganda in Asia
3.  Then There Are The Fags..... 

1.  Mainland Chinese Over Here

1.  Here in Very Rich Megacity, as rich as we think we are, Mainland Chinese - whether visiting or living here -  with Louis Vuitton suitcases and offshore accounts of unexplained and inexplicable oodles of cash, shame us.  Nobody knows exactly how, when and where they made such fantastic sums, but the local Cantonese speaking in a tone that is simultaneously derisive, awe-struck and envious, describe Mainland Chinese cash as "grey money" or the more sinister, "black money".

2.  Mainland Chinese can be found lined up around the block outside the priciest and glitziest fashion, jewellery and high-end watch retailers downtown. They don't just swarm onto the premises like locusts.  They infest the entire mall like cockroaches.  Those are the descriptions of the local Cantonese - descriptions which the government in Very Rich Megacity threatened to criminalize as it didn't show respect and tolerance to "our Mainland brothers and sisters" [sic].

3.  These Mainland Chinese show up with empty high-end Rimova or Tumi suitcases which are wheeled around down, filled with the day's shopping.  It’s all about the brand names – anything that sounds French, Italian or Swiss,  money no object.   It’s not about the style, or the chic or the appreciation of the tailoring or the craftsmanship.   They don’t have a clue.  And frankly, they don't care.

4.  It’s about the swagger and the shrill, slant-eyed shriek of conspicuous consumption.  It’s propaganda by Designer Label and Designer Bling.  They're modeling the power of their cash.


2.  American Brands And Propaganda in Asia

1.  Then there are those American brands retailing in Asia who use generic, white models in nautical, country, urban and semi-sexual settings with pecs, muscled torso or tits on display. The colours on the brand’s logo, a combination of red, white and blue ,evoke the US national flag or national symbol like an eagle.  Or, the brand may hype the Southern Californian lifestyle with glossy videos and promos of sun-kissed, (white) blondish, surfer or jock types  The clothes may be manufactured in China, India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Malaysia, Philippines, Indonesia or Turkey but the T-shirts and the jackets will overwhelmingly have the city, university, military, police or sports teams names of the United States.

2.  The preferred clientele in Asia is 18 to 35, preferably Western educated, weaned on Western values during their formative years and ideally, weaned on mobile devices.  They are avid consumers of Western trash TV -  specifically American - catering to that age group where the artfully arranged actors are wearing exactly those clothes on the rack.

3.  It’s about the attitude, the assumed freedom of choice, the democracy of it all, the camaraderie of style.  In fact it’s a social hypnosis.  The American-intoxicated consumer is unable to realize that they are an unpaid walking billboard for an insidious form of propaganda  –  that “MY values should be YOUR values”;  that “MY way of living (flakey though it may be) is better than YOURS”;  that “MY clothes are an expression of freedom”, "that MY cities are more important than YOUR cities".

4.  If that's hard to swallow, remember that in the days after September 11, 2001 official statements from US politicians proclaimed that American values were not negotiable and were to be exported.  Further, that the US had no problem shaping other people's reality.

5.  Wake up idiot.  We're not suggesting you stop wearing US brands.  But you'd better admit that not only are you wearing the equivalent of a cheaply made, high priced Mao suit charged to your VISA card, but you are a walking billboard of Reality Conditioning manipulated from halfway across the world for their benefit - not yours.  Propaganda takes many forms you know.  It can be fashionable, ubiquitous, high-priced, sexy and subtle.

6.  But when that propaganda is turned on them, that's when it gets hilarious, yet utterly accurate.  For example, Americans love to deride those from South West Asia (formerly known as the Middle East) as "sand niggers", "rag-heads" or "towel-heads".  Yet nearly every American male and his Syphilis bacteria, wears a backward-facing baseball cap, often with a logo.  Those caps are ubiquitous and are worn everywhere, indoors and out, regardless of the main items of clothing.  When we pointed out that they were the turbans of the white trash, the howls of outrage caused us to laugh for days.

3.  Then There Are The Fags.....

1.  Whether or not subsidized by a Sugar Daddy,  some fags will head straight into Designer Label and Designer Bling.  The look and attitude accessorizes nicely with amphetamines.  After all, he worked hard in the gym that week.  He deserves a chemical and stylized treat.

2.  Many fags gravitate towards a combination of those Western brands mentioned above and specifically gay-wear. That body conscious fit is all-important. It’s the mobile Resume of the state of his pecs, biceps, thighs and ass.  A padded jockstrap  or a cock ring is de rigeur.

3.  Fags will rationalize and say that they’re supporting gay (or gay-friendly) designers and that the clothes are just fabulous.  That may be true but the propaganda of gay-wear is Defiance and Daring.  That’s not a bad thing if you have the looks and the bod.  It serves as inspiring eye candy and cross-marketing.  Remember, it's a fine line between marketing and propaganda.

4.  We suspect that however much manufacturers may deny it, it's no accident that compression shorts, the ultra-fitted tights and shirts seen in gyms and on professional athletes, also evolved from gay street and club wear - but now marketed generally as “enhancing your performance” or “increasing your aerodynamics…” or "helping muscle recovery.." or ".....whilst wicking sweat away from your body....."

5.  How else could a str8 guy go home and look his GF in the face.....?

Originally published 4 May 2011
Amended and Republished 6 February 2018

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