Benn98
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Aug 6, 2014
- Messages
- 42,582
- Reaction score
- 20,774
Eh that Esquire profile sort of rubs me the wrong way. I don’t know what the modus operandi is. Am I supposed to sympathize with a straight white kid’s mundane life? And the whole bit about him struggling to understand why a woman hits him without seemingly making any attempt at figuring out his way out of his ignorance is both unremarkable and gaslighting. I know he’s still a kid, but the article is trying to make him and his situation seem more nuanced than he actually is. It’s an angle that has been played to death by American media for decades and while it’s not really popular now because yay diversity, the whole premise is too “Chicken Soup for the Centrist Soul” in my opinion.
But anyway, let’s get back to the fashion, or lack thereof. Personally, I’m not a fan of this realist, pedestrian approach. If it were a feature in The New York Times, I’d be more than okay. But it’s Esquire. I’m sure this kid wouldn’t mind being donned up in some Virgil’s LV or Raf’s CK. The photography itself is actually pretty nice.
What makes the profile appropriate and relevant is the fact that the boy is probably very close to the US Esquire reader. The copy is structured in such a way that the Esquire reader can relate, and I think that was probably more important than anything really. I mean, to be fair, this is not Teen Vogue. It's important that everyone should be able to have that platform where they can express themselves. The boy is quite right in saying 'I know what I can't do, I just don't know what I can do.' Why not just help guys like him instead of saying 'we don't want to hear what you have to say'
And now the cover appears to be trending with everyone all up in arms (what else can one expect?), and going so far as to pit this against the UK cover.
Also, as per Fielden, it'll be an ongoing series, so others will get their opportunity. It's fitting, given the audience, that this boy had the first shot.
