[bangs], [TERF], [manic pixie dream girl], woman, [fringe], [meme], identity, [traits], aesthetic, interpret, beauty, ideology, [control], [hair], [femininity], [archetype], unquestioned, [gender]
In Mythologies, Barthes writes of the film Julius Caesar, that “all the characters are wearing [fringe]s.” And and in the fall of 2019, it may appear as though we are in a similar moment, where for some reason or another “all the characters are wearing [fringe]s.”
As I hold a pair of scissors to my own forehead, finding solace in one aspect of my life I can [control] (this being, the admittedly impulsive cutting of my own [hair]), I am struck by how completely and utterly absurd it is to have a few short strands covering my forehead. I [real]ized I had done it— joined the legions of (mostly) women with this bizarre and childish [hair]style who still have the audacity to look down upon the mullet.
But it wasn’t until after I’d chopped the [hair] from over my eyes that I was able to see my [real]ity. Everywhere I looked— [bangs].
Who started this trend? Why am I following it? What does it mean? Surely this is a force larger than a single poor decision or random choice; possibly even as far as some dictatorial ideological bang apparatus. Almost unknowingly, I had entered some kind of political discourse, or rather, had made myself applicable to some subset of a surprisingly categorical “[fringe]” [meme] culture.
There are many tropes commonly associated with [bangs]. For one, we have the “[manic pixie dream girl],” a term coined by film critic Nathan Rabin to describe “that bubbly, shallow cinematic creature that exists solely in the fevered imaginations of sensitive writer-directors to teach broodingly soulful young men to embrace life and its infinite mysteries and adventures.” Basically, the [manic pixie dream girl] is a filmic trope used to guide our male protagonist to his greatest potential. You can point her out by her quirky, youthful, and most importantly effortlessly beautiful nature (as may be conveyed through wispy [bangs] and girlish style).
[Woman with brown hair with bangs and large blue eyes; text reads: “Manix Pixie Dream Girl” with hearts”] (ManicPixieDreamGirl.jpeg)
https://www.dailydot.com/via/zimmerman-tangled-web-win-manic-pixie-dream-girl
Second, we have the “Break-up [bangs].” A preliminary internet search of [bangs] will give you various article titles, asking questions such as “Are you [emotional]ly stable enough to get [bangs]?” (Don’t ask me this question if you already know my search history, Google). Deduced to an act of impulse and [emotional] collapse, opting for [bangs] may be some of the collateral damage of a break-up, or more generally, just a physical manifestation of [emotional] instability.
https://aww[meme]s.com/i/when-youre-in-the-middle-of-a-treacherous-breakup-and-19315851
Another more politically charged and controversial bang trope is what is known as “[TERF] [bangs].” With somewhat elusive origins, [TERF] [bangs] refer to the short, “baby [bangs]” donned by “trans-exclusionary radical feminists.” Regardless of whether these too-short [bangs] signify a home chop gone awry, a poser art student and/or a problematic, [gender]-essentialist brand of white feminism, they’re usually not (ever) a great look, which is probably why they’re associated with some bad [archetype]s.
https://juiceharleyy.tumblr.com/post/177847378030/a-handy-diagram
Regardless of if any of these tropes ring true, there’s a clear theme of associative representations of [gender] and sexual identities lying within that sweaty [hair] curtain. And whether one decides to change their [hair]style to fit into a certain category or if the category arises based on demographic truths, [bangs] are inextricable from ideas about [femininity] and sexuality. Although different than in Barthes’ essay, “Romans in Films,” there remains a similar nature as signifier, wherein “the sign is ambiguous: it remains on the surface, yet does not for all that give up the attempt to pass itself off as depth.” There may be some truth and great ideological implication in physical appearance, but it is also still [hair], and its cultural meaning is subject to change (or the [bangs] can just be grown out).
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