Punks and Girly-Girls vs. Sloppy Dressers, Hot Topic and The GAP

I received numerous comments about the punk rock show the other day, with one comment in particular comparing the punk movement in Russia to the commercialized punk image sold at stores like Hot Topic. I also received an email from my friend C (which, sadly, I accidentally deleted) in reference to the notion of Punks in Russia. His comment was that perhaps Russian "punks" are simply the sloppily-dressed kids, as opposed to those who put time and care into their appearance.

I suppose now would be a good time to remind everyone first off that I am not one of those people who takes photos of people she doesn't know, no matter how interesting looking or otherwise photogenic they might be. I wish I could do this, but every time I see someone I don't know, but whom I would love to photograph, I get all shy. I can't bring myself to just snap a picture and hope they don't yell at me (seriously, what would you do if some random person you didn't know started photographing you?). Of course, the other way to deal with this type of scenario is to simply ask for permission to take the photo... but that leads us into the whole issue I have with talking to people I don't know. What issue? Well, I don't talk to people I don't know. Yes, I'm a bit of a nut-ball, but that's just way the cookie crumbles and the genes align.

That being said, let's return to the punk rock show. The only clear-shot I got of anyone was the shot of Elena and Nika (re-posted below), who are the students G and I had accompanied to the show. We know them, we're friends with them, and I don't mind asking them to pose for a picture. Based on appearance alone, these two girls are highly unusual for Russian teenage females. They're wearing very little makeup (Nika might not be wearing any), they haven't fixed their hair, they're wearing plain, simple shirts. (You can't see the homemade Sex Pistols tags and other punkish stuff that Elena in particular has used to decorate her pants and her backpack.) Now, in the States, no one would give these two a second glance. They're just normal teenagers. But in Russia, this isn't just a case of being a little sloppily dressed, this is a huge statement.

As I mentioned above, I don't take pics of people I don't know, and to be honest, the only Russian chic I spend much of my free time with is L, and she's totally an exception to every norm possible (this is meant as a compliment), and as such she doesn't make for a good example of your typical Russian female. I found a pic from last semester of me with Natasha, one of my former students (posted below). I think you'll get the point, although even she isn't as dolled up as many Russian ladies frequently are. (I am *so* dumpy and unattractive next to this girl!)

Russian women are hot. And damn sexy. And no, it isn't because we American ladies are fat, ugly lard balls (as certain people have told me). Granted a lot of it is nature (who'd-a-thunk this frigid weather would breed such beauties?), but a lot of it is the packaging. Russian females spend a lot of time on their appearance: Dyeing and styling their hair, appliying make-up, squeezing into impossibly tight and often highly revealing clothes, and finally slipping into ridiculous spiked heels that make my new boots look tame by comparison. Now don't get me wrong; I don't disapprove of this style (and I've bought a lot of really cool clothes here). I do, however, think the pressure to dress as a hyper-feminine sex-pot might be a bit too strong. I know there's been a lot of talk in the media in the States in recent years about teens dressing "too sexy" - let's just say it's nothing like they do here.

But back to Elena and Nika. They have chosen to be different. Even though the picture of them doesn't show them to be all that different from the average American teen, they are vastly different from average Russian girls their age. As a result, they are shunned and mistreated by their peers (G and I have witnessed this in their classes at the AH), and by strangers on the street (I witnessed this the other day). They have chosen the punk music scene as an outlet for their difference, and as a place where they fit in. This is far more punk, more defiant, than strolling down to Hot Topic and buying a commercial, pre-packaged, punk image.

Sorry, this post is kinda rambling and jumping all over the place, but.... back to the way most Russian women dress, and why most American women don't dress that way. My co-workers and I have talked about this a lot. For one thing (and men - you might not be aware of the following, but it's true), in the US, there's a lot of value attached to the idea of "natural beauty" - you might dye your hair, apply a ton of makeup and wear a push-up bra, but the end result is such that you look "naturally beautiful." The idea is for people to think your hair is naturally that color, you boobs are naturally that big and your face is naturally fresh and makeupless. Of course, people who do things like dye their hair pink or purple or black or wear funky makeup and whatnot are not (usually) shunned, they're not considered by, shall we say, fashion mags, to be beautiful. In the US, there's also this idea of "dressing your age." My mom often tells me that I shouldn't dress quite so much like a teenager. She has also been known to make derisive comments about women above a certain age who sport what she considers to be a "young" woman's hairdo. Of course, considering how short my mom's skirts always are.... ;-)

Anyway, in Russia, it's pretty much the opposite. It seems that most women dye their hair. How do I know this? Well (aside from the rootlines...) they dye their hair all sorts of colors. Black. Purple. Blue. Red. Colors that are blatantly fake. And the idea of makeup isn't "natural beauty" it seems instead to be the "Look! I'm wearing makeup! Therefore I'm pretty!" concept. Women of all ages (well, until they become the mythical babushka) dress all sexpot. It's nothing unusual to see middle aged women in short skirts, tight, see-through shirts, and knee-high leather boots on stiletto heels.

Let's take shopping in Russia. Dobryak, the biggest warehouse/market/shopping center in Vladimir, is filled to the brim with clothes. I love shopping there, even though I continually come out of there with things I don't need. Clothes in Dobryak tend to fall into two different categories: Sexpot or Babushka. Meanwhile, US malls are littered with the GAP and GAP knock-offs.

Is there a point to this post? Probably not. I don't dress like typical-anything anyway. But it's interesting to think about.