I Don't Feel Like I Belong In The LGBTQIA+ Community

Hey everyone! 

Welcome to a brand new post. This is probably going to be a very rambly post, but, as you can see by the title, I've been thinking about some stuff for a while...

(Photo is a stock image from Pexels)

I'm Jamie, I'm a visually impaired queer non-binary person. I realise that doesn't mean a lot to people for those reasons, alone, I don't feel like I fit into the LGBTQIAP+ community that we live in today.

Being Visually Impaired, can be a good and a bad thing. It can be good, because, it shows that even though you have a disability, you can still be yourself. You can still do what you want to in life. It just means that you might have trouble doing some stuff, and, honestly it means that you have a completely different perspective than abled people, because, well your sight loss, no matter at what stage its at, means that you've retrained yourself in someway shape or form to live a true great life. This might be mentally, via the concept of sight loss, or it might be physically by getting used to a cane, or an assistance dog. It might also mean learning accessibility tools such as VoiceOver. Even though it is a disability and society sees that as different, it does include some amazing stuff, but also at the same time, the main bad thing for myself is incorporating myself into the LGBTQIAP+ community that lives in the culture of today.

The LGBTQIAP+ community survives off the notion of socially communicating within bars and clubs. There are many many conversations at the minute going on about how the LGBTQIAP+ community is somewhat problematic via only thriving via bars and using alcohol as the main gateway of communication, but I want to talk more about the location than the actual use of alcohol. Due to the main hub of the LGBTQIAP+ community being based within clubs and bars, this means that most, well honestly nearly all, are based in a darl lighting environment. Thats great for abled/fuflly sighted people as they can do what they want in this lighting, and adds to the ambience, but for me creates a fair amount of problems. It means that going for a gathering or just a simple drink with LGBTQ+ friends, becomes, honestly, a nightmare for me. It means that I go from being able to communicate with most of a community that I love from the bottom of my heart, to a night in a corner where I feel the most loneliest. It feels a bit like a cage. I'm grateful for friends that try to help me when I do go out, but honestly, as most of the community is based in this environment it means that I feel kind of pushed out of the community because well I pretty much can't do anything. If bright lights are taken away for me, this means that I try to focus on hearing to communicate, which is great but most LGBTQIAP+ friendly locations also have loud music going on so I just feel awkward and kind of numb and distant when out. The main ramblings that I'm trying to get at are that because of this, I just don't feel like I can be included even if I try my hardest, because well I'm struggling 10x more than if I'm out with a load of fully sighted, fully abled queer friends. I get that its not their fault, but also because of this, I feel like sometimes they distance themselves because they don't know how to handle or communicate with me due to me not being able to mingle and go off and talk to whoever by myself.

I'd love for this to change, I really do, but I realise that its going to take a lot, because well as shit as this sounds, unless you're visually impaired or disabled, then you don't really take notice of the implications of what being unaccessible truly means. I get that a rambling non sensical blog post won't do that, but I hope that if you read this mess, you just have a think about the community and everything as a whole. I get that buildings and establishments only have so much of a budget, but it would be nice to at least take people into consideration. It would be great if instead of saying you're accessible and it meaning, honestly, fuck all, it means using lifts for what they are and not storage cupboards, brighter lighting, and just understanding how everyday life can be a nightmare for some

I get that non bar based LGBTQIAP+ safe spaces exist. I've been to a fair couple including the amazing, Flamingo Coffee House within Leeds that is amazing, but also, the main two problems is that not everyone knows about them, or, that most LGBTQIAP+ people like to socialise at night which means that such wonderful places are closed. I just honestly, wish there was more accessibility or that the LGBTQIAP+ community as a while, realised that there are problems in place that stop everyone from actually enjoying themselves. The community is based on an ethos of being diverse and equality, but also at the same time, they're pretty much being a contradiction by not catering for those that aren't cis/abled/not what society or even the LGBTQUAP+ community deem as the norm which is kind of sucky at the end of the day.

When people think of the community, mist think about fitting into a tribe. It took a while, but I found mine in Leeds, and, I'm forever grateful. I kind of thought that I fitted into the bear tribe. For anyone who doesn't know what a bear is, urban dictionary defines bear as, 'A hairy and/or large gay man'. I guess this is more to do with body image, but a big problem that I have with the bear tribe within the community, is their constant fixation with body image. They have some other fixations/problems which I'll talk about later in the post but that's for later. When it comes to the notion of body image within the bear community, the notion of being plus sized is celebrated. Thats amazing, I think that we don't have enough celebration for plus sized people as a whole, but they focus on the biggest people. A fair amount of bears that I've followed have focuses on the concept of the bigger the better. Yes, from afar, this is great for body positivity, and that's not my problem, My problem is shunning anyone that isn't the biggest. It makes the whole community problematic. This goes for any part of the LGBTQIAP+ community. I'm too big for certain tribes, and too thin for other tribes, which means that the tribes don;'t really embrace me which then creates this notion of not feeling like I belong in the community in my head. I kind of hate it. It just defeats the point of actually being body positivite and kind of shows how problematic some people and some tribes within the LGBTQUAP+ community can be. I get that it might be a mental and personal thing to me, but it just makes interacting with people sometimes pointless, because you know that at the drop of a hat, they won't care because someone bigger will have come along... I don't really know how to explain it, but it just screams toxic to me, know? The community as I've said is about equality and whatnot and you're pretty much pitting people against each other to be bigger to get your attention and affection, and, for what, so you can drool over them? It's just, its stupid in my opinion. I already feel ugly on days about myself, and, then to just have it completely certified by people that I thought I was close to or that I know of by not wanting to talk to me in any way shape or form, because, well im not for them, just makes it ten times worse. Its honestly, why id rather just stick to myself sometimes. I get that, this sounds kind of 'antisocial' but it works for my mental health sometimes.

Following on from this, the LGBTQIAP+ community has a heavily influence of sex and honestly, I'm not really the biggest fan over it. I don't really grasp or like the concept of having everything boil down to a tap or pass. I get that the community also rely on specific dating apps to communicate and to get know people. I get that, but let's be real. dating apps are literally there for people to send random pictures of their junk. I realise this sounds bad and almost grumpy grandpa like, but I'd like to at least have a conversation before I randomly get sent stuff like that. I'm just sick of this societal norm, of, not even wanting to get to know someone yet the person who doesn't want to know you waits five minutes and then sends you a flood of pictures that you don't really want. It just makes me feel out of the community as a whole. Following on from this, the whole notion of being thirsty is a weird one that I'm not really in the loop of. I get the concept of being thirsty, but when it gets to the point of where all your social media is, is people being thirsty of everything and everyone then it just makes you feel weird and honestly depressed. It makes you feel like garbage because you can see everyone 'thirsting over everyone' and then you're in the corner thinking, the thirst for me is when I get to actually know someone. I realise that sounds cheesy but that's how my brain works. I'm sick of this whole concept of being so quick and straight to the point that we almost miss out actually feeling anything. I just don't get why sex has to be the main pivotal concept for us to all bond over. I mean doing this instantly forces people that aren't 'gagging for it' all the time into a sort of shame based box. It also means that we're pretty much excluding a part of the community that don't really care about sex when it comes to attraction which is another problematic point.

Furthermore, being non-bnary, kind of affects the whole concept of 'being thirsty'. It's kind of hard to be thirsty over anyone when your dysphoria is at the worse that it can possibly be. For those that don't know, I've identified as non-binary for many years now, and with that for me, comes with some form of body dysphoria. The fact I feel like I'm in the completely wrong body but at the same time, not feeling like any other body in the world would fix that. I realise it sounds stupid to most, but because I identify as pretty much being something that is outside the norm of being either male or female, it becomes hard to feel like you belong in society or that you belong in the right body at all, so having people around you talk about enjoying other bodies, its hard to get on board with that as a concept when you hate yourself so much in one day, that you just wished that you some form of bodiless voice that has a recurring role on Doctor Who. Again, I get that it sounds silly/stupid to most. I just, I just, I'd rather get to know people and I'd rather to get to know them in some way shape or form before just well objectifying them really. A photo doesn't do much for me anyways because well the whole vision thing and because I analyse most of my life, I instantly go into analysing the photo itself.

My final very rambly sort of point, goes back to the bear tribe to an extent. The bear tribe, well certain people within the tribe, can be very iffy when it comes to non-binary people which makes me feel even more eradicated from the community as a whole. I've had bears tell me that I'm not a real person, that I don't belong to be a part of the bear community and honestly worse things and it just makes me feel like I don't belong in this community as a while because I don't exactly fit in what they want when it comes to the bear tribe and it just sucks sometimes. Most do and I love that, I love how most embrace and accept but still its just sometimes those people can make you feel completely worthless in somewhere where society says you should feel welcome and comfortable within. I've also had people say that they're interested in me because of being non binary and that itself is problematic as well. I hate the concept of a chaser. Honestly, don't hunt me down because it's exotic and different in your opinion is kind of disgusting. Get to know people, instead of pretending to be interested in them romantically just so its something you can tick off a list.

Sorry that this is a rambly mess, and, I hope you can take something away from this, or that the LGBTQIAP+ community as a whole can discuss this openly.

Thanks for reading!
Jamie x 

Let's Talk About Some LGBTQIAP+ Topics | A Ramble About Being Myself

Hey everyone! 

Welcome to a brand new blog post! This post may be controversial for some, it may be relevant to others, but, as it's Pride Month, I thought that it was best if I had a little discussion with you all about some stuff. Without sounding self centred, most of this post will be about me, and it will be rambly, but I hope that you don't mind that.

It's probably going to be best to sort this rambling thread out into sections. I felt that it was mainly important to create this post, because not only is it Pride Month, but the LGBTQIAP+ community as a whole, are still very marginalised and as I'm a part of the community, I thought that I needed to speak up about some stuff. Some stuff is positive, some is negative, and some is in-between.

Non-binary

If anyone didn't know, I identify as non-binary. This is defined as, a term that is used for people that are not exclusively masculine or feminine‍. ‌Identities that are outside the gender binary and cisnormativity. I did a post a while ago about being non-binary (click here if you want to read that.) Being non-binary is sometimes a weird concept to explain to anyone that is cisgendered (someone whose gender identity matches their anatomical gender at birth), because being both masculine and feminine can come across as a new subject to them, even though it has been around in many cultures for many years. Being 'enby' is still something that I am trying to express in a way that I want to and is still something that I am working on. I think that celebrities coming out as enby has definitely helped. It's showed me that the representation is slowly getting better therefore more people are learning to understand and accept enby, but also that no one fully has it together which helps my state of mind a lot with my gender. When I came out as non-binary, I got a fair few people asking me, can you be non-binary with a beard? Doesn't facial hair instantly make you conform to the attributes of one gender? Well no, why should something that grows on my face instantly define who I am? Society has told you to think that beards are ultra masculine, and well in my opinion, they are not. Clothing, again. shouldn't be categorised into gender specific sections. Yes, I know that many within society and media have had this debate, but for me, having gender specific sections, scared me when starting to understand my gender and who I am. I felt awkward going through female clothing sections in stores in case someone stopped me. I know that sounds stupid, but that's because society has told us that if someone that isn't a cis woman is looking at women's clothing is dodgy and weird, which is not completely true. We need to realise that most just want to look at female clothing, because, well there's sometimes better designs for certain aesthetics in the 'women' section. That was about a year ago, and I can't thank my female presenting friends such as Abbey and Michelle, who would help me look through such sections in stores so I didn't feel anxious. This year alone, I've dabbled more in makeup (an expensive and tricky hobby), worn crop tops and dresses outside and had genuine fun presenting as feminine when I've felt it in front of random strangers. All things that I was scared to do on my own this time last year. Dysphoria still and will happen,

Being Polyamorous

Polyamory is defined as, engaging in multiple sexual relationships with the consent of all the people involved. (I have also done a post on this before so click here to read it). When writing my previous post about being poly, I didn't really know how to explain any of it I just knew that it was something that I knew that was for me? I've slowly figured that it's more to do with mental health and that it helps my anxiety as I have a tendency to push some away when feeling 'bleh'. I also think that polyamory has a sort of stigma around it. I know that sounds slightly silly seeing as we live in an inclusive society, but stay with me. Polyamory has kind of being perceived as this thing that only a small minority do, that may be true, but its also been shown to be portrayed via hippies or America. By that I mean, polyamory being the centre of a communal lifestyle where many people come and live together and they share everything, or, something hidden in the corners of America in places such as Utah for it to be gawked at by the mainstream media, due to it being niche. The first one sounds kinda interesting, and, like a Marxists dream, but also sounds problematic. Also why was the stereotype with hippies? I guess that media didn't;t know what to do with it due to it not being mainstream and therefore decided to seek the first sighting of polyamory and just lump it altogether? That was wrong to do then, and, it's wrong to do today. When others ask me about polyamory, they get confused and anxious. I get that, being confused and anxious about something that you're not used to is expected. However, when I try to educate someone on it, they either just don't want to grasp it, slut shame, or, instantly come back with, 'oh well, I'd get jealous'. First of all, Karen, if you're confused about something and I educate you, the nice thing to do is to at least listen and nod. If you don't get it, that's fine, but ask questions, that's what questions are for. If you're not going to listen then why should I bother? Second of all,  you shouldn't slut shame anyone, no matter what. If I don't judge you, then why should you judge me? Third of all, everyone gets jealous, we compare and contrast within life. We shouldn't but its an innate thing to do, so of course polyam's get jealous, but communication is key. For me, polyamory is something that is still new in my life, but the way that I view polyamory, is something that improves my life. I'm not sure where I am with it, just like my gender, but I love love and I love people, so shouldn't that be enough for right now?

Holding Peoples Hands In Public

Most of you may think that holding hands in public is nothing, but for anyone in the LGBTQIAP+ community, it's not just a simple mundane thing. Homophobic/anti-queer attacks still happen. They happen in the UK, they happen around the world, and they probably happen in the town that you live in. Holding hands shows that you're being intimate within public grounds. Sometimes, this might be within safe spaces, sometimes this might just be shopping, but this still shows bravery. It shows that you know that someone might come up to you and shout slurs at you, they might punch you in the face but it shows that you're being your true authentic self. I'm still getting used to this for many reasons. Not only am I holding hands with people to show that I'm being myself, but I do it with my closest friends, due to needing help with seeing sometimes. I have an eye condition that means that I can't see that great within dimly lit places or well dark lighting/no lighting. Frankly, this isn't going to stop me going out at night, nor is it going to stop me going on nights out and adventures. This means that I let friends help me by holding my hand and guiding me, and that's fine, but to strangers they may not realise. By this, I mean that, invisible illnesses or even eye conditions, aren't recognised unless there's a visual cue to go along with it. No one gets that someone has a disability unless there's a wheelchair or a cane to show the disability. This means that I have still gotten scared that my face might get punched, or I'll get slurs shouted at me. I know what you're thinking. 'Jamie, it's rare that it will happen.' That's true, but it has multiple times. That's the only problem, most want to say that we've come a long way within queer rights, but have we? Should anyone be scared to hold hands? Hell no. Should someone be scared to show their loved ones affection in public? No. Yes, the LGBTQIAP+ community have some rights under the Equality Act, but that doesn't solve everything. We are slowly getting there though. This is why I've started to not care. Why should I be scared in case one thing happens, when I know that even if someone did punch me for being myself, that won't stop me being myself. I've started to hold hands with anyone and everyone that I know (after consent of course) because well, why should we care what others think?

Finding A Tribe

A lot of the LGBTQIAP+/queer community, decide to create their own family, as sometimes we're not lucky to have a family that accepts us as our true authentic selves. I have a family that does. I love them a lot, but I think that having a tribe/second sort of family was the best decision that I could have ever made. Not everyone in what ever tribe you find are the same, and that's fine, because its the best thing about being in a part of a smaller tight knit sort of community. You learn new things, you get educated on things that you would never know about otherwise, but, you get to do the same back. You can also rely and trust the people around you. and honestly, its fabulous. Finding people that share the same ideas and values has opened my mind up. It's also boosted my confidence, showed me that I can be open and not get hurt for doing so, and so much more. I don't talk about my mental health on here much anymore, but, its calmed my anxiety down so much. Honestly, if I hadn't had found people that I could trust, I wouldn't be able to write the above. Hell, I wouldn't really be able to write this post at all.

Thank you to, Alex L, Richard and Alex, Jim, Shaun, Mike, Vince, Johann, Kevin and Richard, Ben, Jos, Toby, Kris, Axel, Abbey, Michelle, Dan and anyone else that I've forgotten. (I'm writing this in the early depths of the morning.) Not to be cheesy, but to quote a misfit character that I relate on a spiritual level to, 'this is my family, I found it all on my own. It's little, and, broke, but still good. Yeah still good.' (Comment down below if you know the quote.)

Businesses With Rainbows/Commercialisation Of Pride

I read an article whilst planning this post that talked about how sticking rainbows onto brands logos isn't enough by one of the members of Years and Years. They said that they were sick of businesses just changing their logo to rainbow and thinking that it's enough to show their pride. I think that this is true. A brand can't just change its logo for a month and think that this is enough. If a brand is truly wanting to show their pride, then why not give a percentage of your profits to an LGBTQIAP+ charity? Why not make sure that your LGBTQIAP+ staff are being treated equally? Why not have a Pride range all year round? Pride can't just be a gimmick for a month to increase sales. LGBTQIAP+ can't be reduced down to a BLT with some added Guacamole to make it inclusive. It's pandering and it cheapens your brand as a whole. I'm glad that some brands have ensured that their Pride ranges do donate to a charity, but the ranges are only out for June which is problematic, because well Pride isn't just in June. Rainbows can happen at any time, and so can Pride and celebrating equality around the world. If you're going be loud, be so loud that they can hear from you the other side of the world and keep with it.

I hope that you've enjoyed this post and that you've had a good Pride Month. If you're going to any Pride events this year, be inclusive and be accepting. If you know any LGBTQIAP+ people, talk them, ask questions, let them educate you and accept and love them.

Thank you for reading this rambly post. 
Jamie x

Is It Safe To Be Gay In The UK

Hey!

Welcome to a brand new blog post! I think the title says it all really but I thought that today I would talk to you guys about why I believe that it's not completely safe to be gay in 2017.

I know that within the UK, we have some rights that ensure that we can be ourselves and we have things such as a legal same sex marriage now compared to things in countries such as the United Arab Emirates and Russia where being gay endures harsher punishments such as jail and concerntration camps but not everything within the UK is rose tinted spectacles.

Let's take going on a date for example... You have to awkwardly seem like you're just two friends catching up in case a staff member catches you and they chuck you out due to the news stories such as the Bakery denying a same sex couple to have a cake made for them. You then can't really show any affection and you're always scared on the actions that you make whilst you're on said date because in public, someone might cause harm to you... The lightest harm might be name calling and the hardest harm that might happen might be physical harm such as being beaten up for being something that you can't control. You end up realising that it's just easier to invite them to a date at home due to the amount of hate that happens...

I know that name calling might not sound like a big deal but when it happens time and time again, it slowly chips away the foundations of your self confidence when out and about.

Sadly, I've had some of the above thrown at me whilst being out in the public and it just makes you feel like you should be like you shouldn't be who you are because then you'd feel safer

Obviously, it doesn't happen everytime but it happens the majority of the time which is the sickening thing.

Sadly, media has helped to socialise the general public and reinforce hegemonic ideas into their minds via using minorities such as homosexual people as scapegoats to ensure that the general public steer their minds away from the truth and put their anger and frustration into something/somebody else. The general sort of lines include the fact that homosexuals are the epicentre and vessel of HIV or AIDS and if we didn't have them then the count for that would be lower when in fact the passing of HIV/AIDS can happen via sharing things such as needles which can be used by anyone not just homosexual people or they write some spiel about how something can ensure that someone is homosexual such as smoking marijuana. I'm not promoting marijuana but how can smoking something once make you instantly be sexually interested in the same sex as yourself. It's ridiculous... I know the nature/nurture debate about topics such as sexuality is a massive thing within society but I honestly doubt the nurture side can happen via partaking in something once...

I know that we have rules and laws in pace such as the Equality Act which ensures that no discrimination against people who are disabled, different sexualities, ages etc but does everyone actually know of this act and do they abide by it because if so then would we really have this much hate which has even gone to murder before because I honestly doubt it if we did... I know that some wouldn't abide by it but not as many that do in today's society.

People aren't safe in the UK but if we gave a little more tolerance and acceptance then we can make society a better place for minorities such as people of colour and the LGBT+ community. Just please take that into account.

What's your opinion? Let me know down below! 

I hope that you've enjoyed this little rambly LGBT+ based blog post and I hope that I've made some sense. I hope that you come back next time for another blog post!

Thanks for reading! 
Jamie x 

Talking About The Last Few Years | Education

Hey!

Welcome to another blog post! As results day was last week, I thought that it would be a good idea to talk to you guys today about my experience with the education that is available to all citizens within the United Kingdom.

A stock image from Pexels.com containing small white square Scrabble tiles spelling out the word Teach on a light wooden table with stacks of different coloured books behind it on a light background. 

Education is a weird thing in my opinion due to the fact that we go through it without any choice, we learn things that have been written into the history of mankind such as Kings and Queens, Sciences and social skills (that's just via primary education, when it comes to secondary education we're socialised to be submissive and behave like little puppets via things such as sanctions in the form of detentions) but then as soon as we've left, we forget everything that has been kept under lock and key in our minds via the summer holidays and then the cycle is repeated until instead of education, its a workplace.

I decided once that I was done with secondary education, that I would go straight into catering due to loving everything food based such as creating a dish from another chef all the way to messing about with different components to create a completely different dish for someone who has an allergy or an intolerance... I also definitely liked eating it too but who doesn't? Sadly after a while, I had to leave the kitchen due to the heat of it especially as I was having frequent anxiety attacks due to a plethora of things. Unfortantely, all of the above slowly made me lose my love of food and cooking and that is something that I'm still getting back in touch with to this day. After all the things that happened that year, I now dub it the year that I spent in the cubicles due to amount of attacks that I ended up having over everything.

After that I decided to brush up on my skills to ensure that I had everything ready for my life which I did, Within this year, I learnt quite a lot about myself and this is when the platform that I am talking to you on was created.

After that, I decided to do A Levels within Media, Film and Sociology where even though hurdles came up, I managed to jump over them. I also learnt that its good to sometimes be outspoken and sometimes be yourself. Within these two years, I learnt a plethora of things but the main thing that I have learnt is that people aren't always ignorant due to wanting to be ignorant but because society and socialisation have not taught them the information that they should know about the matter whether this be about sexuality, gender, mental health and much more.

I've jumped through many personal and unpredictable problems within the time that I have been in education but I have trumped through them all and I'm now going to University where I hope to carry on jumping through hurdles, smashing the glass ceilings of society and teaching other students about culture that they might not know of.

I hope that you've enjoyed this slightly rambly education post and I hope that you come back next time for another blog post.

Thanks for reading! 
Jamie x 

Glowing In Perfection | Men & Makeup

Hey! 

Makeup has stereotybrpically been manufactured and marketed towards women within the modern society that we live in today due to the stereotypes of women only being able to wear and use makeup that is portrayed and reinforced by the media but I believe that we're slowly becoming a society that strives for equality within the cosmetics world.

Men were only known for using makeup to hide flaws and to ensure that their skin looked perfect and matte for the camera via film and TV productions as they wanted to ensure that the audience would respect them and look up to them as an role model.

The only other time that the world saw men using makeup was in the form of teenagers due to being in a 'phase' of being alternative or men who have been/are in alternative bands. They have normally been mocked for wearing said makeup in a homophobic manner which in fact what we should be doing is acknowledging that they wear makeup and letting them get on with their lives.

I'm glad that makeup brands accept all sexes and genders into their target audiences and campaigns.

Illamasqua are a British company who believe in letting their customers be whoever they want to be no matter what which is amazing within this day and age. I also love how they sgare any of the looks that are created with their products and that they create amazing collaborations with people such as Michelle Visage to further ensure that everyone knows that it's fine to wear makeup no matter who you are.

Urban Decay used stars of RuPaul's Drag Race within a campaign about their new products where the stars put the products on and went out to perform for the night. Once they had done this, the stars then reviewed the products. Even though some might say that Drag Race getting commercial success may be negative, a postivie outcome like this is great for the modern society that we live in today.

To further that men in makeup are getting commercial success is Manny MUA (a well known YouTuber) who was in a mascara advertisement for the globa makeup brand Maybelline. This shows that anyone can work their way to the top and get what they want but also that mainstream brands are working towards ensuring that everyone has an equal chance of appearing in their advertisements.

Basically, no matter what gender, everyone should be able to wear makeup and I think that ourselves as a world are slowly embracing this more and more.

I've dabbled in makeup before and I hope to develop my interest more and get into makeup.

What's your favourite makeup product? Let me know down below! 

I hope that you've enjoyed this beauty based post and I hope that you come back next time for another blog post!

Thanks for reading! 
Jamie x 

I Might Be Single Forever But That's Fine

Hey!

Welcome to another one of my ramblings.

I know that it sounds absurd coming from an nineteen year old but I'm quite happy being a single introvert in today's society.

Stock Image Of A Man Staring Into The Distance

I know single means that you're on your own and wandering through life with a sense of never knowing whats going on but isn't that a good thing? Being on your own means that you can do whatever you want, you don't have to depend on someone else for anything. You can create your own income without depending or having to take into account someone else. You can make whatever food you want without having to make sure other people aren't allergic to things. I mean you can even satisfy your own sexual needs with masturbation. Yes, I said it. It's not a dirty word. The limit is endless

Being single means that you can learn to love yourself and take care of yourself and make sure that your self confidence is on the best form ever and that you can walk into anywhere and feel amazing about yourself and not have to care if someone else is wanting you to dress or act in a certain way.

It means that you don't have to put up with anyone else's bullshit. You don't have to cope with someone else being protective or expecting you to do something or not do something. It also means that you don't have to put up with people being sexist, racist, homophobic/just general pigs.

I know that being single either means being out every night trying to get some action or becoming that person with 90 cats and saying that they are all your babies/centralising your life around them all but are either of these two stereotypes that terrible? I mean with the first one you get to network with new people, listen to cheesy music and reminisce the next day/week to a friend or someone at work and with the cat stereotype you get to have a house of fluff/ You get eternal love and affection without having to try and be someone that you're not and you understand each other.

.So yeah, I'm Jamie, I'm single and that's fine by me.

I hope that you have somewhat enjoyed my ramble. I hope that you can relate to this. Let me know what you think down below and thanks for reading!

Jamie x

Transitions Of Genre Via Artists Within The Music Industry

Hey,

I thought that I would do a different sort of post today. This is a little sort of ramble post I suppose. I mean at least it shows that my blog isn't all about reviews and events and I actually have thoughts about things.

I'm not a member of the music industry but as a consumer, I have seen many things happen within the last couple of years and I just thought that I would have a little talk about them. There is one main point that I want to try and compress into an understandable statement.

Within the last few years, a lot has happened within the music industry, we've had break ups, reforms (mainly for an anniversary of some sort), surprise albums and everything in between. The main thing that has happened though is that a lot of music artists have transitioned from one genre all the way to another within the space of an album and I just think that it's quite a bold move to do.

To start off with, Iggy Pop (real name James Osterberg) used to play for a blues band. Whilst on tour with said band (Prime Movers), he slowly decided that it was time to create his own band and incorporate the things that he loved and slowly became 'Iggy Pop'. Other cases of bands separating so one of the members can rebrand themselves and become well known within mainstream music is Gwen Stefani. The blonde bombshell used to be within the band No Doubt which created music that had quite a punk themed element whereas when the band member decided to go solo when No Doubt decided to call time on their creations Stefani decided to completely change the genre of the music that she wanted to create. She went from punk all the way to mainstream pop with hints of R&B.

Lady Gaga and Rihanna did albums where they decided to completely change the genre of their music. Lady Gaga did this via going from dance influenced pop which has made her win awards for hit after hit whereas her latest album is mainly jazz based with covers of jazz classics such as Cheek To Cheek and Anything Goes. Was this so she could attract a more mature demographic? Was this so she could show to others that she isn't just a one trick theatrical pony or was this just a compassionate album showing that she likes to incorporate other genres into her music? Rihanna did a similar thing with her album via going from mainstream pop/R&B to more soulful inspired music. She also decided to cover a track from Tame Impala on her latest album ANTI. Tame Impala are a psychedelic rock based band. Is Rihanna trying to do a same thing? Taylor Swift has also been known to do this via going from country all the way to pop within moments of time.

I think the point that I am trying to make is that the world is changing and developing via technology but should the same be happening via culture and genres of music. Will we see a millennial future within the music industry where hybrid genres and the intertwining of genres will be the main focus within music? Let me know down below.

I hope that you have enjoyed this blog post and that you come back to read more!

Jamie x