Fierce Friday! With Face Mask!

Ok. I came up with this outfit idea the last time I had a cold. I'm wearing it now because I feel like it. Long story short - Texas is immunocompromised so if I even suspect that I'm coming down with something I need to wear a mask and gloves to avoid getting him sick. All of the mask-wearing got me thinking about how I could incorporate germ protection into a Fierce Friday outfit. I took my inspiration from an unlikely source: Asia!

You see, in Asia, people wear surgical masks in public. This is partly due to flu season, partly due to heavy air pollution, partly to hide zits or cold sores, and partly because now they are cool. I googled it because I was curious about why I kept seeing so many Asian people wearing surgical masks in the subway and I found this article that gives some background explanation. So I decided to wear a funkier mask next time I got sick. And then I figured if I was going to wear a mask, then I might as well take some inspiration from k-pop (that is, Korean pop music).

I'm wearing a black skeleton face mask, dark wash jeans, black fishnet shirt with a black tank top that says "I don't sweat I sparkle" over it, black cap, screw earrings, pink sparkly nail polish, and pink shoes. I figure the fishnet/no sleeve shirt combo will keep me cool in the heat and if I do get sweaty my shirt will explain to people that "I don't sweat I sparkle."

So is this k-pop style? That's debatable. K-pop style tends to be more sophisticated and androgynous with a lot of funky asymmetrical cuts but since they don't make that sort of thing for fat guys I'd have to DIY it and I'm lazy. At any rate, here's my outfit:

Me!

A picture focusing on my shirt and nail polish.

Me making bizarre eyes at the camera.

Body shot.

Side headshot so you can see my screw earrings.

And since I feel like it, here is BigBang's "Fantastic Baby" which is the first kpop video I ever saw:

Guyliner! Gas masks! Jewelry! Raves with lion dancing! Rebellion against the music-hating state! I hope you can see why I like this music video.

That all said, I have two more things to point out...

Thing one: this whole wearing face masks in public thing is kind of fun, but it is totally an example of white privilege. If you don't believe me, do a thought experiment about what would happen to a black man who chose to walk about the city in a face mask like the one I am wearing today. No good, right? People would judge him as dangerous and he might get stopped by the police. If you are white and you choose to walk in my fashion shoes then I need you to remember that you're able to do so because of white privilege. And I want you, my fellow white people, to dedicate your time and energy towards ending racism. Because if you're white and you are not doing that then you are part of the problem. Let's work to be part of the solution instead, ok?

Thing two: I am giving you a required reading link to the article "Why We Need To Take Responsibility For Anti-Black Racism in K-Pop" by Chris Lee. The link is about anti-black racism in kpop, and it specifically calls out BigBang for some asshole shit. So basically love the music, hate the BS.