Seriously, it’s kind of ridiculous.
The KNITTER
This Dude is specifically productive, especially in the context of social forums. The Knitter is recognized at music shows, bringing personal projects to work on before or during the entertainment. This dude will set up or attend “craft nights” - social gatherings where attendees simultaneously work on personal projects.
CRAFT CIRCLES are a formidable, if unpublicized, force in the Dude Community. For every testosterone-laden melee, there is an unseen flock assembling products and objects, chatting and quaffing.
The Lone Wolf - This dude is not necessarily prone to Monsterism or being a Living Nerve, but more driven to produce whatever they are pushing themselves to make and generally are uncomfortable with employing others in their pursuits, or just prefer a solitary way of working. This may or may not be coupled with the single life, though relationships have been known to frustrate the Lone Wolf’s attempts to find their production tempo. May or may not be willing to help with group efforts for someone else’s project.
BUSY MARRIED DUDES
Hyper aware of the folk trappings of marriage, this Dude Unit endeavors to not get caught up in the easy malaise of a relationship by overcompensating and becoming basically a Dabbling Duo, by attempting to be as productive as single dudes can be. Adding children to the equation amps up the stakes, and at this point latent Dabbling Tendencies are converted to Serious Busyness. This is a tense transition for some; you may note loud pronouncements that pre-children couples (all childless couples are pre-children in this viewpoint) don’t really understand the world, and encouragements issued to all their friends to join them on their sinking ship. Demonizing or at least mocking older single dudes like Dancing Grandma is another result of this attempt to reset their Dude Network’s conception of maturity.
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
More Dude Values: Authenticity
AUTHENTICITY (revised from first edition, below - please note omission of Hipsters from "Dude Types", relocated in part here)
This issue affects both the productive and non-productive dude equally; this is a particular problem with musicians, as decades of dude-friendly music have centered around the aura of authenticity, at times played for the only factor when considering quality. Our research has shown an obsession with authenticity only acts as a barrier to the path of awesomeness, and is more likely a tool for jerks/vocal opinionists that, in the end, actually has no real value, other than spawning a lot of negative feeling in the Dude Community.
It is here we must address the phenomenon of Hipsterism. [Please see the detailed description of Hip As A Failed Value in Ian Downey’s forthcoming work.] We use the term “Hipster” as follows: The Hipster is consumer par excellence, devoting much personal resource to the study and/or acquisition of unique cultural goods. Given this loose definition, we can see how most dudes are Hipsters. If you yourself are a Dude of the 21st Century, you understand the difficulty of this position. The perplexing social convention of HHH, or Hipsters Hating Hipsters, is addressed below.
In examining the hipster’s relationship to Authenticity (and again - we are referring to the hip impulse that is present in most dudes) we can identify the sub-types and spiritual pairs of Hated Hipster and Hater Hipster. The Hater Hipster defines the immediate relationship, by focusing on an individual or group of Hipsters that poses some irritation, and the usual excuse for the hateration has everything to do with Authenticity.
For example, one type of Hater Hipster, the Curmudgeon, might feel himself to be the descendant of America’s original Hipsters: beat poets, jazz musicians and feisty roustabouts not yet sullied by irony or the illusion of human powerlessness. The hunted acquisitions of the Curmudgeon might come from these times or earlier, and his senses have been refined to detect the relative “authenticity” of the commodities he pursues. This dude’s Hated Hipster, Skinny Pants, has an acquisitive focus that is merely style itself, outrageous in self-presentation and vacuous at its core.
Interestingly enough, locally influential enclaves of Hated Hipsters and national dissemination of Hated Hipster fashion have inspired a wholly new kind of Hipster Hater (as opposed to Hater Hipsters). These more folkish types come to equate the entire concept of Hipsterism with the reputation for vacuuity, and reject any variety of apparently hedonistic and somewhat underground Dude Endeavors (of which they are not directly involved) with a decidedly derisive tone. “Oh, is that what the Hipsters are doing these days?” They can often pick out a Hipster from a distance, but they have a blind spot for seeing the Hipsterism in their acquaintances, friends, or own selves. Little do they know, that by engaging in the popular pasttime of HHH, they have in some way taken up the torch of authenticity and engaged their own latent Hipsterism.
The Dick Resistance Front has a similar content of Authenticity Based Hate, spurning the consumers who eat up the products of mass capitalism. In this version of the story, the Authenticity lies in mindful sourcing and productive, DIY aesthetic. The main target of this hate is the Hated Hipster who adopts a hypocritical pose of outsiderism, but ultimately is not much more than a generic consumer, rigorous about source purity only as much as it contributes to her image. This Hated Hipster has failed to authentically embody savvy cultural participation. This pushes into Holier-Than-Thou territory, obviously, but again implies a latent hipsterism in the Hater. This tone is more dismissive: “Oh, he’s just a Hipster.”
This issue affects both the productive and non-productive dude equally; this is a particular problem with musicians, as decades of dude-friendly music have centered around the aura of authenticity, at times played for the only factor when considering quality. Our research has shown an obsession with authenticity only acts as a barrier to the path of awesomeness, and is more likely a tool for jerks/vocal opinionists that, in the end, actually has no real value, other than spawning a lot of negative feeling in the Dude Community.
It is here we must address the phenomenon of Hipsterism. [Please see the detailed description of Hip As A Failed Value in Ian Downey’s forthcoming work.] We use the term “Hipster” as follows: The Hipster is consumer par excellence, devoting much personal resource to the study and/or acquisition of unique cultural goods. Given this loose definition, we can see how most dudes are Hipsters. If you yourself are a Dude of the 21st Century, you understand the difficulty of this position. The perplexing social convention of HHH, or Hipsters Hating Hipsters, is addressed below.
In examining the hipster’s relationship to Authenticity (and again - we are referring to the hip impulse that is present in most dudes) we can identify the sub-types and spiritual pairs of Hated Hipster and Hater Hipster. The Hater Hipster defines the immediate relationship, by focusing on an individual or group of Hipsters that poses some irritation, and the usual excuse for the hateration has everything to do with Authenticity.
For example, one type of Hater Hipster, the Curmudgeon, might feel himself to be the descendant of America’s original Hipsters: beat poets, jazz musicians and feisty roustabouts not yet sullied by irony or the illusion of human powerlessness. The hunted acquisitions of the Curmudgeon might come from these times or earlier, and his senses have been refined to detect the relative “authenticity” of the commodities he pursues. This dude’s Hated Hipster, Skinny Pants, has an acquisitive focus that is merely style itself, outrageous in self-presentation and vacuous at its core.
Interestingly enough, locally influential enclaves of Hated Hipsters and national dissemination of Hated Hipster fashion have inspired a wholly new kind of Hipster Hater (as opposed to Hater Hipsters). These more folkish types come to equate the entire concept of Hipsterism with the reputation for vacuuity, and reject any variety of apparently hedonistic and somewhat underground Dude Endeavors (of which they are not directly involved) with a decidedly derisive tone. “Oh, is that what the Hipsters are doing these days?” They can often pick out a Hipster from a distance, but they have a blind spot for seeing the Hipsterism in their acquaintances, friends, or own selves. Little do they know, that by engaging in the popular pasttime of HHH, they have in some way taken up the torch of authenticity and engaged their own latent Hipsterism.
The Dick Resistance Front has a similar content of Authenticity Based Hate, spurning the consumers who eat up the products of mass capitalism. In this version of the story, the Authenticity lies in mindful sourcing and productive, DIY aesthetic. The main target of this hate is the Hated Hipster who adopts a hypocritical pose of outsiderism, but ultimately is not much more than a generic consumer, rigorous about source purity only as much as it contributes to her image. This Hated Hipster has failed to authentically embody savvy cultural participation. This pushes into Holier-Than-Thou territory, obviously, but again implies a latent hipsterism in the Hater. This tone is more dismissive: “Oh, he’s just a Hipster.”
More Dude Values: Genitals
Women As Dudes30
In the field, we notice that a common response to our “Dude Theory” is:
- But what about the Ladies?
- Or: Can a girl be a Dude?
- Or: I’m a girl, and I can relate to your theory, but I don’t WANT to be called Dude.
The 21-Century Dude is itself unfortunately not yet outside the widespread gender iniquity of our Larger Social Structure (LSS). Though individual Dudes aspire to a kind of non-conformity, Dude Networks spring from that LSS and, unless consciously motivated to scramble regularities, reflect it, including a whole mess of ugliness where uteri and vaginae are concerned.
A prime inhibitor to Uterine Dudeness is the persistent acceptability of the notion of lady-as-fuck-object (LAFO). It is a sad but true social fact that confuses many gals about the nature of their self-worth. The social experience of a Uterine who has absorbed this concept (Boy Crazy) can thwart her ability to develop an individual personality, the crux of the Dude.31 At the extreme, the common practice of child-bearing and -rearing has greater biological impact on the woman’s commitment to self-determined individuality. Priorities get re-organized, them’s the breaks. (That said, the Mothers that persist in an active Dude lifestyle are among the Awesomist.)
So it may seem that many more males than females fill dude roles, and have fervent commitment to dude lifestyle. But the assumption that Dudes are male in the majority is leveraged on any one person’s ability to observe diverse Dude Groupings. Some Uterines may be prematurely exasperated by the overtone of LAFO in their local Dude Network and opt out of massive social groupings entirely. Some prefer to relate to smaller groups of trusted friends, including a partner. We postulate that certain Uterines create a specific kind of social interaction (often including any gender) that is less open to the general public, thriving in intense relationship formations, like small dinner parties or “dates” with familiar friends. Just know: there are more Uterine Dudes than you think!
Our definition of a dude is a person pursuing its own individual power. Sometimes this is a majestic quest, and sometimes just a concretized “fuck you” to inherited options. But to even consider the possibility of being Dude, one must have access to a reserve of Personal Power that fuels this independent streak.32 This Personal Power is not at all extraordinary - it’s located in every human being. Genitalia is an explicitly hot topic because a genital center is the root of an individual’s Personal Power. TRUE !! But not commonly known! Some ... might suspect ... that the LSS insidiously and intentionally discourages a person’s knowledge of his own power, through myriad and perpetual suggestions about the nature and character of social roles. For Uterines, who inherit stories doubly (at least) more restrictive and more assaultive to the Personal Power within - from the moment our tiny vaginas are swaddled in a pink blanket - it may take an exceptionally strong personality to vault into the self-actualizing realm of Dudes.
And no doubt penises themselves have been overwhelmingly responsible for writing the long history of the Dude Code. But what we would like to emphasize is that a real 21st Century Dude-Person is forgoing these stories about gender roles and populating the cities with blurrier sexual standards. It is certainly happening around us; observation of Dude Hives seems to reveal a general abandonment of the traditional feminine and masculine expressions, as well as an increasing acceptance of bisexuality and any number of creative gender identifications.
For the Older Dude Groupings, a more enlightened form of androgenized socialization must be prioritized in order to be realized. The 20th Century Dude, with his fraternizing, could hold onto the same rude stereotypes regarding genital persuasion unchecked. This is no longer acceptable. Scan any Dude Group (of 50% or greater Cock Content) for their progress in this field with a simple test: The Menstrual Mention.
THE MENSTRUAL MENTION
In a lively Dude Grouping of 50% or greater Cock Content, get any Uterine to make a loud reference to their Menstruation, especially if said menstruation is happening in that moment. Then observe. Does general conversation proceed normally? Is there banter regarding Menstruation? Or does the social atmosphere become dampened, awkward or uncomfortable, someone leaves the room? The responsive atmosphere is the barometer that betrays any Groupings’ receptivity to and comfort with Feminine Power.33
More Dude Values: Fashion
Please see The T-Shirt or The Dude Uniform (below)
MULTI-FORMs
There is another Dude Fashion thing which may be termed the Dude Anti-Form, or Multi-Form. This is basically the technique of lots of layers of oddly gotten clothes (homemade, secondhand, altered, street) and pieces of clothes poking out all over one’s body, can be charming or grimy. Often tight, for functional reasons. Kind of co-opted by hipsters and malls but also very functional in a basic survival fashion. Post-apocalyptic.
Finally, we have to acknowledge that one kind of dude we saw in your neighborhood. Stubborn Dresser, or Amalgamator, or the Patently Weird: a dude who combines specifically striking and contrasting “fashion” elements in the same outfit (possibly on daily basis, for local notoriety). For example: Spike studded birkenstock sandals AND fedora AND… oh god, what else?34
This is another arena where the designation “Hipster” (see Authenticity) comes into play - the term has become a kind of broad signifier tacked on to a wide swath of dressing choices - though there is more a penchant for exaggerated visual aids that veer towards the ridiculous, blatantly eye-catching, divorced from meaning or reason, a flag alone that doesn’t really say anything; likely multiple (contrasting) flags [see Fixie under Dude’s Dudes]. (Perhaps Hipster Hate is a blowback from the great “sell-out” fervor of the 90’s.) Please note there is a great deal of room for here for individual integrity; this is often a label given at a distance, thrown (perhaps jealously) at high style that varies from the flattering to the ridiculous.
More Dude Values: Dude Fluid
In the study of human intelligence, scientists have used Bayesian statistics to prove the existence of the somewhat mysterious variable g, which seems to underlie all forms of intelligence. Similarly, in Contemporary Dude Theory we have determined the existence of a mysterious variable d that seems to determine a person’s relative dudosity. The question, then, is what is the origin of d? Some are spiritualists who think that dudeness is the quality of a person’s soul.
Being scientists, we are predisposed to search instead for a physical instantiation of d, and have therefore hypothesized the existence of some kind of dude Fluid. Perhaps produced by some not heretofore seen dude gland.
Maybe somewhere we will find the most absolutely perfect solid dudes. Do such people really exist? In any case, everyone else has had the experience of when their dude fluid is running low – when we would rather stay home and watch tv than go to a show and connect with our dude Network, when we yearn to pop out some babies, when we don’t feel like partying, participating in debauchery, or, most dangerous of all, eating pizza.
What can we do when our dude fluid runs low? Many try to replenish their dude fluid with drugs, alcohol, weed, Facebook, ecstasy, heroin, &c. This may work, temporarily, but there is a real danger of becoming a Fiend, and thus ceasing to be a dude altogether. See Monster Types, Fiend.
From the times of Galen and Robert Burton, people have tried to establish the bases of human emotion in humours: blood, phlegm, yellow & black bile, creating bilious, sanguine, phlegmatic, and melancholic personalities. Perhaps it is time to devote a division of dude science to a kind of dude Alchemy, to determine the exact combination of pizza, substances and activities that will create the fabled philosopher’s stone, or rather Dudestone, from which we can leach the elixir of dudeness.
Being scientists, we are predisposed to search instead for a physical instantiation of d, and have therefore hypothesized the existence of some kind of dude Fluid. Perhaps produced by some not heretofore seen dude gland.
Maybe somewhere we will find the most absolutely perfect solid dudes. Do such people really exist? In any case, everyone else has had the experience of when their dude fluid is running low – when we would rather stay home and watch tv than go to a show and connect with our dude Network, when we yearn to pop out some babies, when we don’t feel like partying, participating in debauchery, or, most dangerous of all, eating pizza.
What can we do when our dude fluid runs low? Many try to replenish their dude fluid with drugs, alcohol, weed, Facebook, ecstasy, heroin, &c. This may work, temporarily, but there is a real danger of becoming a Fiend, and thus ceasing to be a dude altogether. See Monster Types, Fiend.
From the times of Galen and Robert Burton, people have tried to establish the bases of human emotion in humours: blood, phlegm, yellow & black bile, creating bilious, sanguine, phlegmatic, and melancholic personalities. Perhaps it is time to devote a division of dude science to a kind of dude Alchemy, to determine the exact combination of pizza, substances and activities that will create the fabled philosopher’s stone, or rather Dudestone, from which we can leach the elixir of dudeness.
More Dude Values: Awkwardness
AWKWARDNESS
It is the natural evolution of the sensitive human who is too aware and rejective of the general social condition, but not given to the forceful will of the Dicks. Indeed, it is kind of a traditional feminine power, though in no way restricted to uteri. Their presentation is quite naturally out-of-step, oddly angular or halting. It may devolve into preciousness or be elevated to charm. There are a variety of flavors of awkwardness: natural awkwardness (shyness-perhaps strong folk tendencies), the awkwardness of the creep, awkward-by-overdose (has seen way too much), and then perhaps a kind of ironic awkwardness, which may be the same impulse behind Hipsters Hating Hipsters.
In a certain response to coolness, like the next step in coolness, which is in essence a paradoxical technique. Or the opposite of failed value Hip.
COOL vs AWKWARD scale
charming |
*********** |
*********** |
*********** | ********** (awesome zone)
*********** |
*********** |
annoying |__________________________
************cool **************************** awkward
Most dudes with some sense of self-awareness can chart where they are and have been on this chart - the life of the dude being marked by the outward physical manifestations of self doubt (awkwardness) and self-assuredness (coolness). How this is handled accounts for your relative charm vs. annoyingness.
It is the natural evolution of the sensitive human who is too aware and rejective of the general social condition, but not given to the forceful will of the Dicks. Indeed, it is kind of a traditional feminine power, though in no way restricted to uteri. Their presentation is quite naturally out-of-step, oddly angular or halting. It may devolve into preciousness or be elevated to charm. There are a variety of flavors of awkwardness: natural awkwardness (shyness-perhaps strong folk tendencies), the awkwardness of the creep, awkward-by-overdose (has seen way too much), and then perhaps a kind of ironic awkwardness, which may be the same impulse behind Hipsters Hating Hipsters.
Awkwardness has been duly noted and absorbed into larger culture - another instance of Dick co-option - note protagonists in many modern comedy situations, who spend most of their time cringing at the camera in detached response to an outrageous cast of zany characters.
In a certain response to coolness, like the next step in coolness, which is in essence a paradoxical technique. Or the opposite of failed value Hip.
COOL vs AWKWARD scale
charming |
*********** |
*********** |
*********** | ********** (awesome zone)
*********** |
*********** |
annoying |__________________________
************cool **************************** awkward
Most dudes with some sense of self-awareness can chart where they are and have been on this chart - the life of the dude being marked by the outward physical manifestations of self doubt (awkwardness) and self-assuredness (coolness). How this is handled accounts for your relative charm vs. annoyingness.
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
pardon our dust
**Now updating Dude Theory
for 2nd Edition March 2011**
for 2nd Edition March 2011**
... upcoming ...
a big announcement
a big announcement
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