Image isn't everything...

[danv]

But is it something?
Image is everywhere these days. Alot of it is due to marketing, alot of is due to consumerism, materialism, and the increasing superficiality in some, if not most, aspects of society. But what is to you? Sure, you might say image is bullshit, one dimensional, meaningless crap for the lowest common demoniator to feed off. But does it actually have a legitimate place in society?

And whenever people think about image, they think about people looking at other people, judging them. But does image mean something to the individual as well? If people create an image for themselves, then isn't it important that they also see and believe the image that they create for themselves?

So again, what is image to you?
discussion...

[Chin Nuts]

I stopped racing cuz there were too many wankers focussing on image rather just riding. Image is for wankers

[RCOH]

Image is nothing, thirst is everything

[naz]

are we talking about hell fat chicks who wear ass huggin short skirts and mid drift tops with there gut hanging out further than there bossoms.

I stopped racing cuz there were too many wankers focussing on image rather just riding. Image is for wankers

you stopped racing because u cared more about what other peoples image were, rather than urself racing. bit hypocritical isnt it?

[GoingDHfast]

I've been riding a bit of moto-x lately, and never have I met more of an image conscious bunch of people! They've all got the latest and greatest matching jersey's and pant(ies) and its almost like they look down on people who dont.

Maybe thats one of the reasons why their sport attracts more marketing dollars and sponsorship than ours - they are all so fashion conscious..?

[Blonde kid on Morphine]

I think (putting marketing and advertising and that kinda of crap out of the way) that Image does have a use and is important to society... not in the sense that you MUST look a certain way, but as to why some people get tattoo's or wear the clothese that they do, or has their hair a certain way. Not to impress their friends or fit a certain social group, but to define them individually as their own person. I believe that noone should change the way they look to suit someone else, thats changing for the wrong reasons and wont make the person in question happy coz fashions change and so do people so if your trying to please others your going about it the wrong way. Like I have dreads I got them because I wanted them always liked the look of them so I went and got my hair all "locked up" I didn't do it because society told me too I did it to improve my own SELF image because thats something I wanted to do. So I think that SELF image is important not SOCIETIES image of what we should or shouldn't look like.

I hope that made sense :confused:

Tim.

[Laurie]

I couldn't give a toss about image when I'm on my bike and I don't think people really have to worry about being so image conscious in mountainbiking because it's not exactly the most televised or popular sport around is it. Most people I know don't even know what mountainbiking's about anyway and I doubt they really care either.

[danv]

I think (putting marketing and advertising and that kinda of crap out of the way) that Image does have a use and is important to society... not in the sense that you MUST look a certain way, but as to why some people get tattoo's or wear the clothese that they do, or has their hair a certain way. Not to impress their friends or fit a certain social group, but to define them individually as their own person. I believe that noone should change the way they look to suit someone else, thats changing for the wrong reasons and wont make the person in question happy coz fashions change and so do people so if your trying to please others your going about it the wrong way. Like I have dreads I got them because I wanted them always liked the look of them so I went and got my hair all "locked up" I didn't do it because society told me too I did it to improve my own SELF image because thats something I wanted to do. So I think that SELF image is important not SOCIETIES image of what we should or shouldn't look like.

I hope that made sense :confused:

Tim.
I think I get what you mean, but I also think that society tends to pigeon hole or limit the range and extent of the ways people choose to express themselves. I mean if you want to do something to express yourself, or project some sort of image, you will think about what you are trying to express and then see what is available to facilitate that (ie. what is on the market), or see something (like a shirt), and think 'hey, that's me'.

And we do this instead of thinking about what we want to express, and then thinking up for ourselves how we wish to do that. I might be rambing a bit here, but I think what i'm trying to say, is choosing a certain hairstyle or tshirt from a catalogue might be expressing yourself to some extent, but isn't your range still limited if you compare that to say thinking up your own clothes design, or inventing your own hairstyle?

[jeffora]

I think I get what you mean, but I also think that society tends to pigeon hole or limit the range and extent of the ways people choose to express themselves. I mean if you want to do something to express yourself, or project some sort of image, you will think about what you are trying to express and then see what is available to facilitate that (ie. what is on the market), or see something (like a shirt), and think 'hey, that's me'.

And we do this instead of thinking about what we want to express, and then thinking up for ourselves how we wish to do that. I might be rambing a bit here, but I think what i'm trying to say, is choosing a certain hairstyle or tshirt from a catalogue might be expressing yourself to some extent, but isn't your range still limited if you compare that to say thinking up your own clothes design, or inventing your own hairstyle?

Thats an interesting idea - we only present ourselves as individuals to the degree that society caters for our particular individuality... thus sorta making individuality a lot less individual... :confused:

[S.]

Thats an interesting idea - we only present ourselves as individuals to the degree that society caters for our particular individuality... thus sorta making individuality a lot less individual... :confused:

For sure... it's like getting piercings/tatts or dying your hair will make you more "individual"... because nobody else has ever done it before.

IMO there's a typical accepted "mainstream" group who look at the other groups as "weirdos" and whatnot, then there's the fashionably different/"alternative" groups (these are the ones that everyone thinks they belong to) which tends to look down on everyone else as either a "sheep" or "fucked in the head" - the far reaches of this group tend to need to "express their individuality" etc etc by doing the same shit as all the other "individuals".

Then there's the group of people (us) who for some reason feel the need to categorise everyone else...

[Chin Nuts]

you stopped racing because u cared more about what other peoples image were, rather than urself racing. bit hypocritical isnt it?

No. Thats not what i said. I didnt enjoy hanging out with people who were more interested in being seen in the latest troy lee gear than having fun riding and racing. There were obviously awesome people and riders I got to hang out with which was great, but in general, i didnt want to be part of that shit.

[blt2ride]

I think we all get caught up in some sort of image game at some point. For us, we ride DH, FR, dirt jump, etc. and that is our image. What bike, gear, etc. we want to ride in is our choice. However, typically, we don't fall into the whole mainstream cutter cutter society that most people fall into. We don't wear our pants hanging around our knees, and when we buy skate shoes, we actually use them to ride in...