Modesty

One of my professors senior year pointed out a funny (odd more than humorous) truth to the class.  When you buy branded clothing (like American Eagle, Hollister, Abercrombie, etc.) you're paying to advertise for the company.  Now in theory this isn't so terrible a notion.  For example, I would love to pay to spread word of mouth for Tobuscus, or Minecraft, or Legend of Korra.

But here's the deal:  clothing companies follow fashion trends.  They make short shorts and low-cut shirts because they're popular.  And even if you happen to find something modest to wear (or if you're a guy) from the same clothing monopoly that caters to popular fashion, you're supporting that decision and advertising for others to also support that decision.  If you don't buy the clothes but you wear them, it's still your fault.

Now, not everyone agrees that women ought to dress in a way that doesn't draw attention to the part of their bodies we actually communicate with.  But if you're a reasonable person you'll agree that women of any age should have the option to buy and wear modest clothing without shopping at a thrift store or making their own clothes.  I continue to hear more and more reports that this simply isn't possible—in fact, I've heard that it's even difficult to find something reasonable for my nine year old sister to wear.

There ya go, that's a bit of a ranty thing.  I could try to tie it in with writing.  In fact, I think I can, in a way.

You don't need to describe your dearly loved characters in exact detail.  I used to be bad about this.  I'd give every single detail of the person's height, hair color, eye color, and skin tone in the first paragraph they appeared in.  Now, I tend to be bad about it the other way.  The reader starts trying to guess at those details, and trying to compare the characters to each other.  A middle ground is a good idea.

But if appearances have very little to do with the story you're telling, don't belabor them.  Yes, unique appearances can make for some very memorable characters, and there is a reason that Hearthstead's stories are going to be told in more than just prose.

And sometimes, it's better to say that a woman is beautiful than to describe her feminine features in detail.  Frankly, dwelling on that too long has no value to any story I'm interested in.  So there's the tie-in to my modesty/anti-giant-corporations rant.

And that, folks, is a blog post.

Outs.