As a young boy, I remember my mother mentioning this word and could not understand what it was all about. The first time I got some understanding was encountering someone walking in the street in pants bell-bottom style, and my mother remarked about the style being very popular in the sixties, but then (at some point in the seventies) was no longer worn by many people, and so was no longer fashionable. “Now pants are sewn straight”, I was told.
So I understood fashion as the tendency by a substantial part of a popuation to make very similar choices on clothing styles. Looking at bell-bottom pants in the wardrobe, which hadn’t been worn for years, I also learnt that fashion comes and goes, and has such a strong effect on society that people prefer not to use resources they already have, to avoid being labelled by other people as ‘antiquated’, and immediately buy what’s new, naturally according to the prevailing fashion.
After a while, I discovered that old fashion can re-appear after a number of years. So people throwing items of clothes no longer being in fashion, can find themselves re-acquiring clothing with the same style they had discarded years previously, just to remain in the groove. The exception to this would be when someone hangs on to old clothes ‘just in case they come back into fashion’ and would again see the light of day (unless they had been touched by cloth-moth in the meantime).
It was there that I understood what was really going on, and who was rubbing his hands with a big smirk. Ka-ching!
Growing older, I discovered that fashion was not limited to clothing style. It is found in music, with styles that change over the years; in household machinery (appliances); hair styles, even with those items attracting the highest expenditure over a lifetime, such as homes (including internal decorations and furniture) and the purchase of a car.
Preferring one style over another is not intrinsically bad, however I do note that many people feel almost obliged to throw away something they already have, even if still working perfectly and providing its owner with all that is required, simply because a new model is now out and I do want to keep up with the Joneses. In today’s society this is very common for example with mobile phones and cars, where I’m amazed to see even those I know are not well off make any sacrifice to own the latest and greatest.
I also have my own likes and dislikes, but am very conscious that there are many social and commercial forces which are doing everything they possibly could to lead me by the nose and empty my pockets. My attitude is simply to focus on what I need, not on what I feel like.
Apart from this, there are aspects of fashion which leave me scratching my head. The first one coming to mind is the tendency today for pants, mainly jeans, to be torn around the knee, and often in many other locations along its length. In my life, if I tear an item of clothing, I’d see what needed to be done to repair them. Today you can go to buy a pair, and ask that it is torn as is the fashion, or its no deal. Dear Jesus.
Another tendency that leaves me doubled up in laughter is to see those, usually male youths, wearing pants fastened half-way up their bottom, and by the grace of God having a T-shirt from there upwards! While walking, it would be clear they’d have a belt well-fastened to prevent the item of clothing sliding down, and the rest of the pants appear quite clumsy. I usually end up shaking my head, observing silently “son, do you realise how ridiculous you look?”
Some time ago, my wife and I were going around shops in Sydney looking for some furniture rustic style. We quickly discovered that ALL the rustic furniture in this metropolis had dents or holes in the timber, artificially made. This means the manufacturer of such furniture employs someone with a hammer and chisel, or some other tool, go round the furniture hitting it here and there.
We quite liked the design of various models in this style, but these dents or holes are a different matter entirely. When we asked whether it was possible to order a specific model and request no dents or holes to be made, we were told no problem, as long as you pay another $1000! We’d have to pay more, to avoid them ruining the pieces before selling them to us!
We ended up buying a model having the smallest dents we could find. What do you do?
Recently I discovered the use of the word fashion in an unexpected context. Last year, there was the postal survey in Australia regarding whether to allow same-sex marriage. As we know, this survey resulted in the affirmative, and the Australian Parliament passed the necessary law. During this activity, there was a comment in writing that today it was ‘fashionable’ to say you’re homosexual.
I felt that this comments was insulting to those having that orientation, as it reduced the rather serious matter of a person’s sexual orientation, which forms an important part of his or her identity, to a free choice one makes, implying that this can be changed as easily as changing the style of clothes one prefers. There was no recognition of the profound psychological roots of this orientation, and the difficulty of coming out in societies, communities and families that are, still today, hostile to them.
A person’s sexual orientation is neither fashionable nor a choice.
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Meta kont tifel żgħir, niftakar lil ommi ssemmi din il-kelma u ma kontx nifhem xi trid tgħid biha. L-ewwel darba li fhimt x’riedet tgħid biha kien meta kien hemm xi ħadd miexi fit-triq b’qalziet tal-istil bell-bottom, u ommi rrimarkat li dak l-istil kien popolari ħafna fis-snin sittin, imma dakinhar (f’xi waqt tas-sebgħinijiet) ma baqax jintlibes minn ħafna nies, u allura ma kienx moda. “Issa l-qliezet meħjutin dritti”, qaltli.
Allura fhimt il-moda bħala t-tendenza ta’ parti sostanzjali ta’ popolazzjoni li jagħmlu għażliet simili ħafna fuq stili tal-ħwejjeġ. Meta rajt qliezet bell-bottom fil-gwardarobba, li kienu ilhom ma jintlibsu s-snin, tgħallimt ukoll li l-moda tiġi u tmur, li tant għandha effett b’saħħtu fuq is-soċjetà li n-nies jippreferu ma jużawx ir-riżorsi li diġà għandhom, ma jmorrux jgħidu bihom in-nies li jidhru ‘antikwati’, u priklu jakkwistaw il-ġdid, dejjem skont il-moda naturalment.
Wara ftit, skoprejt li moda antika tista’ terġa titfaċċa wara diversi snin. Allura dawk in-nies li jarmu ħwejjeġ li għandhom għax m’għadhomx moda, jispiċċaw jerġgħu jixtru ħwejjeġ tal-istess stil li kienu remew snin qabel, biex jibqgħu mal-moda. L-eċċezzjoni ta’ dan ikun meta xi ħadd jaħżen il-ħwejjeġ antiki “forsi jerġgħu joħorġu moda” u tarahom jerġgħu jitperrċu mar-riħ (sakemm ma tkunx messithom il-kamla).
Hemmhekk fhimt x’inhi l-vera logħba, u min qiegħed jogħrok idejh bi tbissima wiesgħa. Ka-ċing!
Bqajt nikber, u skoprejt li l-moda ma tillimatx ruħha għal stili tal-ħwejjeġ. Tinsab fil-mużika, bl-istili jinbidlu matul is-snin; fil-magni li jinsabu ġod-dar (appliances); fl-istili tax-xahar; anke fl-iktar spejjeż għoljin fil-ħajja bħall-bini tad-djar (inkluż id-dekorazzjonijiet interni u l-għamara) u x-xiri ta’ xi karrozza.
Li wieħed jogħġbu stil wieħed minn ieħor ma fiha xejn ħażin, imma jien ninnota li diversi nies iħossuhom kważi obbligati jarmu xi ħaġa li għandhom, li għadha taħdem perfettament u anke taqdi lis-sid f’dak kollu li għandu bżonn, sempliċement għax issa hemm mudell ġdid, u dak irridu wkoll ħalli nkun mhux inqas minn ħaddieħor. Dan jiġri komunement per eżempju bil-mowbajls u l-karrozzi, fejn niskanta nara l-min naf li huwa anke mhux sinjur jagħmel kwalunkwe sagrifiċċju biex jakkwista l-iġded u l-aqwa fis-suq.
Jien ukoll għandi l-gosti tiegħi f’dak li jogħġobni u dak li le, imma konxju ħafna li hemm forzi soċjali u kummerċjali li qiegħdin jagħmlu minn kollox biex imexxuni minn imnieħri biex jeħduli l-flus mill-but. L-attitudni tiegħi hija sempliċment li nimxi skont il-bżonn, u mhux skont l-aptit.
Apparti dan, hemm aspetti tal-moda li jħalluni nħokk rasi. L-ewwel waħda li tiġini f’rasi hija t-tendenza daż-żmien li jintlibsu qlieżet, ġins l-iktar, imċarrtin madwar l-irkoppa, u ġieli f’ħafna postijiet oħra matul il-qalza. Jien f’ħajti, meta ċarratt xi ħwejjeġ, kont nara x’se nagħmel biex insewwihom. Illum tmur tixtri qalziet, u titolbu mċarrat bħal tal-moda, inkella xejn! U Ġieżu Ġieżu.
Oħra li tifqagħni bid-daħq hija li nara lil min, ġeneralment ġuvintur żagħżagħ, jilbsu l-qalziet imtella biss sa’ nofs il-patata, u għall-grazzja t’Alla jkollhom flokk ta’ taħt minn hemm ‘il fuq! Meta jimxu, ikun ċar li għandhom xi ċinturin imdawwar magħfus sew biex ma jippermettihx jibqa’ nieżel ‘l isfel, u l-bqija tal-qalziet qisu bil-bażwa. Dejjem insib ruħi nxengel rasi, ngħid bejni u bejn ruħi “int taf kemm tidher redikolu, ibni?”
Ftit ilu jien u l-mara konna qiegħdin induru l-ħwienet ta’ Sydney għal xi għamara u xtaqniha stil rustika. Malajr skoprejna li l-għamara rustika KOLLHA f’din il-metropoli jkollha daqqiet jew toqob fl-injam, magħmulin apposta. Jiġifieri min jimmanifattura din l-għamara, jimpjega lil xi ħadd b’martell u skarpell, jew xi għodda oħra, idur l-għamara u joqgħod jagħtiha d-daqqiet!
Aħna d-disinn ta’ diversi mudelli ta’ dan l-istil għoġobna ħafna, imma din tad-daqqiet ma tinżlilna xejn. Meta staqsejna jekk hux possibbli li nixtru mudell partikulari mingħajr id-daqqiet, qalulna mela le, tridu tħallsu xi $1000 iktar! Irridu nħallsu iktar, biex ma jfottuhiex qabel ma jbiegħuhielna!
Spiċċajna biex xtrajna mudell li kellu l-inqas daqqiet żgħar li stajna nsibu. X’tagħmel?
Dan l-aħħar iltqajt ukoll ma’ użu tal-kelma moda f’kuntest li ma stennejtux. Is-sena li għaddiet, sar l-istħarriġ fl-Awstralja dwar jekk għandux jiġi permess iż-żwieġ bejn persuni tal-istess sess. Bħal ma nafu, dan l-istħarriġ irriżulta fl-affermattiv, u l-Parlament Awstraljan għadda l-liġi neċessarja. Waqt dawn l-avvenimenti, kien hemm min ikkummenta bil-miktub li daż-żmien sar ‘moda’ li tiddikjara li int omosesswali.
Jien ħassejt li dan il-kumment kien insult għal min huwa omosesswali, għax irriduċa kwistjoni pjuttost serja tal-orjentazzjoni sesswali ta’ bniedem, li tifforma parti importanti mill-identità tiegħu jew tagħha, għal għażla libera li wieħed jagħmel, u implika li wieħed jista’ faċilment jibdel din l-orjentazzjoni daqs kemm tista’ tibdel xi stil ta’ lbies tippreferi. Ma’ kien hemm l-ebda rikonoxximent għall-għeruq profondi psikoloġiċi ta’ din l-orjentazzjoni, u d-diffikultajiet li wieħed jistqarr din l-orjentazzjoni f’soċjetajiet, komunitajiet u familji li għadhom, anke sal-lum, pjuttost ostili għalihom.
L-orjentazzjoni sesswali ta’ bniedem mhix moda, u lanqas mhi għażla.
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