Posers, Parties and Passions

As often happens when blogging, comments (like the ones on yesterday’s post) can trigger inspiration; in this case, I have my newer friend, Professor Taboo, to thank. If you’re not following him yet, you should click the link and check him out. I find him to be immensely entertaining and unique in his thought processes, so I’m very grateful to Renee for “introducing” us. I’ll be honest, I’m not exactly sure how I went from point A to point B on this particular post, but it’s what stuck.

When I was in high school one of the biggest insults a person could hand you was “poser”. Looking back, it’s kind of funny because high school is all about discovering yourself and I’d hazard that most people “posed” at some point. Maybe there are some of you who haven’t heard the term. Who knows… Maybe it’s a generational thing? If so, let me give you a short clip to give you “context”.

Probably the biggest examples of stereotypes came with The Breakfast Club, but oddly enough, my high school wasn’t really like that. There wasn’t as much cliquishness as I’d expected going in my junior year after having spent my first two years in private school. Looking back, I think it may have been because we had a fair amount of Dead Heads and “Alternatives” who were also popular or prominent in the different clubs, music programs and athletic teams. It wasn’t until after I left that I realized it was probably pretty unusual for schools to have environmental clubs, jewelry clubs or some of the other 50+ clubs we had. It never occurred to me that most schools probably didn’t have their top male vocalist in madrigals with blue hair, wearing a kilt or being openly “bi”. Or that the stars of both the lacrosse and soccer teams were “alternative”.

Student Ambassadors retreat (left alternative chick, middle hippie, right me)

It was cool to be who you were…. The worst crime you could commit was to be untrue to yourself. It happened quite more than I would have thought, actually. Some person would assume that “being alternative” meant dying your hair black, looking like what folks call “goth” these days, and throwing on combat boots. The things that gave you away? Your taste in music was usually a biggie, but there were a bunch of other little tells that I would’ve been mostly clueless to. (Though it was this crew that introduced me to Front 242, Ministry, The Revolting Cocks, Erasure, EMF, Anything Box, Morrissey and The Smiths–before many of them were considered cool.)

The funny thing was, I wasn’t really part of any of these “groups”. My sunshine-y disposition and my taste for bright colors made it obvious that I wasn’t considered a part of their crowd. Somehow, though, I probably partied more with them than I did anyone else in high school. And if it wasn’t with them, it was with the rock band boys who were all about classic rock. Because I didn’t try to fit in…somehow I did…

The lesson I learned? Be yourself… It’s a lot simpler that way.

As many of you know, I’m not exactly what people would term as “vanilla” in the way I think about sex and interpersonal relationships. For those of you who’ve read my posts, there have been clues along the way. Just click the sex tab at the left side of my blog if you don’t believe me. Don’t get me wrong…I pass no judgment on those who aren’t. I just find that I have a preference for a bit of kink with my play. Looking back, I shouldn’t have been surprised…things always gravitated in that direction (both people and situations)…even in high school.

When I was a junior/senior in high school there was a club called Medusa’s in Chicago. The link gives you a taste of what the club was like (part of the evening allowed for minors, then everyone was kicked out to admit adults only…and a list of musical selections). The first night I went to this club was with a bunch of gal pals. They worked so hard to perfect their make up, to wear the “right” clothes, to look sexy (we were 18). I just wanted to hang with my friends. I didn’t bother with makeup, threw my hair up in a ponytail, grabbed a pair of black leggings and an oversized crew neck shirt and headed out the door. When we got to the club, the ones who tried so hard to “be cool” pretty much hung out like wall flowers. Me and the Australian exchange student got on the dance floor and started shakin’ it. Before I knew it, I was dancing in a sandwich. One guy at my back, the other at my front. My Aussie friend found a friend of theirs to dance with and got behind one of my partners until we had a 5 person dirty dancing chain…LOL!

The lesson I learned? Guys appreciate girls who don’t try too hard (and who could take them or leave them).  😉

One of my closest friends through high school and college was definitely an “alternative chick”. In fact, back in the day she used to work part-time at Crobar, Chicago…when it was Dennis Rodman’s favorite hang out. Her favorite club, though, was a place called The Dome Room. Why did this place make such an impact on me? Because… I realized something. I may not always recognize “posers” when it came to cliques, but I recognized posers when it came to sex. You see, Dome Room had a theme night…one of her favorites… She’d been dying to take me knowing I’d be entertained. The theme? Bondage Night.

It wasn’t until her “last hurrah” that I finally agreed to go. Oddly enough, the thing that held me back was my concern of “feeling uncomfortable”. Ha! The fact that I’d been 18 the first time I’d restrained a boyfriend to play with him should have been a clue, but it never crossed my mind. In my head I pictured what many people imagine when thinking about BDSM. Men in leather, women barely dressed and being dragged by dog collars attached to chains. Make no mistake…we saw that…along with people dressed in pvc and latex…. BUT….

As my best friend was pregnant (hence her last hurrah–and we weren’t drinking), she needed to use the restroom. We headed upstairs to where the bathrooms were located and she hit a stall. While I was waiting for her, two girls walked in to “touch up” their makeup. After a quick glance in their direction I was dying for my friend to come out while I bit my tongue to keep from laughing. One of the young ladies was wearing a black spandex top with heart-shaped and sheer see through black nylon-like materal that covered her upper body and arms. What I saw when I glanced over was that she’d also attempted to shade in some cleavage lines…maybe using eyeliner? The lines were uneven (I hope they’d just melted away with the sweat from dancing rather than by oversight.) It was the first time I’d ever seen someone try to pencil in some boobs. Cause, you know, guys wouldn’t notice the size difference once they got you nekkid.

Her…I mostly felt sorry for (though I couldn’t help laughing).

What was worse was the two girls that got up on one of the raised platforms to dance. Ever watch two women try to draw male attention by pretending to be into one another? Yeah…it’s painful….not to mention insulting to women who truly ARE into one another. Mind you, at that time, my experience (as I knew it) with lesbians was pretty limited. So how did I know they were faking it for attention? Ladies who are really into each other don’t spend time kissing each other with one eye open looking to see if any hot guys are noticing. Just sayin’…and that’s for starters.

The lessons I learned? Never try to draw in your own cleavage (something embarrassing could happen) and never fake sexual interest in something/someone you’re truly not interested in.

As uncomfortable as I was afraid I’d feel at that club…it never happened. In fact, the people who tried hardest (and there were a few in the dog collar set…) were obviously not designed to be there for anything but playing dress up and the music. It became obvious when the floor show started…. It was only a mild D/s floor show, but some of those guys in the dog collars got very nervous when the floggers came out…probably afraid it was giving their girlfriends ideas they weren’t prepared to handle. 😀

By the way, for those of you paranormal lovers…The Dome Room is now closed, but was considered to be haunted…. If you’re interested, here’s a clip from when they were featured on Sightings.

What kinds of clubs did you go to when you were younger? Were you a part of any clique? If so, which one? What recurring themes have you noticed through the course of your life? What kind of music were you into in high school?