I wish I were gay.

Well, no. That’s only a little bit true. That’s actually barely true at all. I don’t want to be saddled with unfair prejudice in the workplace, social and religious spheres, and military. So let me refine that statement a bit.

I wish I could be into dudes.

Not quite the same thing, really. I’ve always been a fan of the Kinsey scale when it comes to human sexuality, since “gay” and “straight” are so painfully restrictive. So let’s just say I wish I could ding my rating up a few points or two.

I’m perfectly happy with women, of course. Ladies, you guys are great, and I mean that. It’s not like I’m not getting enough variety in my sexy diet or anything. And honestly, friendship-wise, I tend to be one of those wimpy boys that has more female than male friends and always gets called “a really nice guy”. So what’s up, man?

Why the thirst for testosterone?

It’s a matter of principle. See, I’ve always believed that gender expression is mostly socialized. Girls get dolls, boys get dump trucks, that sort of thing. Switch them around and little girls would grow up to be seven feet tall with full Thoreau neck beards - no kidding, man. And from a very young age, us dudes have basically been told: “Hey! Check it out! Boobs!” Read More »

I’m pretty sure microtrends were something we learned about in Sociology. That was also the class in college I had to force myself to sit through for at least 45 minutes.

Then I would just walk out.

Even though I know nothing about them (I got a C in Soc), I can understand them on a level I can see.

I see people knitting on the subway everyday. The rise of stitch and bitch groups is just as prevalent as getting tattooed during undergrad.

And apparently, tattoos and knitting among our age demographic are quite telling microtrends.

And Mark Penn, a “pollster” as this article calls him, says that mircrotrends “reveal the often baffling “under the radar” shifts that are reshaping American society—from one based on group identity and forces of circumstance such as race, religion and education to one based on personal choice.”

By the time everyone else has caught on to the microtrend “it is ready to spawn a hit movie, best-selling book or new political movement.”

But, why knitting and tattoos?

Grandma isn’t the only one knitting these days. Knitting is most popular for teens and twenty-somethings. Between 2004-2005, yarn sales rose 56%. And this rise in knitting shows that our generation is turning away from the virtual world and searching for something tangible to express ourselves. Read More »