Men’s Fashion Freedom & Liberal Sniggers

[ziggy_encaoua]

John Stuart Mill along with Adam Smith & John Locke is considered one of the great philosophers of British Liberalism. Mill was a founding member of the Liberal Party & I’d like to be that much of what he wrote in his book On Liberty is still the foundation of liberal philosophy today. On Liberty is famous for arguing ‘That the only purpose for which power can be rightfully exercised over any member of a civilized community, against his will, is to prevent harm to others’. This is often referred to as Mill’s Harm Principle. This principle has become integral to libertarian philosophy but sadly though I’d like to be integral to liberal philosophy these days is very much less so.

In On Liberty Mill also argued against the ‘Tyranny Of The Majority’ to be used to impose etiquette & morality. This is basically a reaction against social control & one I agree with particularly considering I sit here writing this whilst wearing a dress & according to social convention men shouldn’t wear dresses.

Since the days of Mill liberal philosophy has changed, equality has become just as important component to liberalism as freedom & the Liberal Party has become the Liberal Democrat Party a party who I’ve been a member of because I to believe in freedom & equality. But if liberal proclaim to believe in freedom & equality why is it they snigger at the concept of Men’s Fashion Freedom & denounce it as silly.

The concept of Men’s Fashion Freedom is based upon the logic that if its socially acceptable for women to wear trousers then in all fairness it should be socially acceptable for men to wear dresses & have long hair. The concept of Men’s Fashion Freedom has a logic based on equality & freedom yet liberals who claim to advocate such just snigger & denounce Men’s Fashion Freedom as silly.

Is not freedom of expression an important civil liberty & don’t liberals proclaim they are defenders of civil liberties. If that were truly the case then no liberal would snigger at the concept of Men’s Fashion Freedom for it is very much about freedom of expression & the right of any man to be free to express himself how he wishes so long as he isn’t harming another & a guy wearing a dress ain’t harming another.

Furthermore liberals have often claimed they defend non conformity, in fact its printed on the back of every Liberal Democrat membership card that no individual should be enslaved by conformity. Yet liberals seem somewhat unwilling to defend a men who don’t obey conventions surrounding male self expression when they aren’t harming others & I can’t help thinking that liberals have forgotten what Mill wrote about not allowing the tyranny of the majority to dictate etiquette & morality or in other words allowing the tyranny of the majority to dictate social convention. Basically liberals should be advocating that if there is to be a state one of its roles should be to protect individuality & ensure respect for individuality.

As the most famous Mill quote goes ‘Over himself, over his own body and mind, the individual is sovereign.’
Its far greater respect for individual sovereignty which is sorely needed Of course I often have said that the greatest benefit to Men’s Fashion Freedom isn’t going to come from some lobbying group trying to get protection from the law but from more practitioners of Men’s Fashion Freedom to be seen in public demonstrating they can lead constructive & worthwhile lives.

However it does anger me when those who proclaim to believe in freedom & equality don’t when presented with proof of restriction & inequality which Men’s Fashion Freedom was born out of.

[Ryan]

ziggy_encaoua,

Your reference to works by John Stuart Mill to support and explain the concept of Men's Fashion Freedom is admirable. But if you also wanted to use Mill to justify your choice of fashion, then I must take issue with that because I never felt the need to justify my choice of fashion. Does a man need to justify why he wears a tie? Does a woman need to justify why she wears a pinstriped pants suit? The answer is "no" for both. So why must I justify why I like to wear a grey skirt suit with two-inch heel black pumps and black opaque pantyhose?

As for "sniggering," people sometimes snigger when they see me in my fineries. That, unfortunately, "comes with the territory," but fortunately, I'm not bothered by it. As for the political affinity of these sniggerers, I imagine they hail from all over the political map. You complained about sniggerers, but you complained specifically about "liberals" who snigger "at the concept of Men’s Fashion Freedom & denounce it as silly." You also complained about the hypocrisy and inconsistencies of modern Liberals.

Ziggy, your problem is you confuse the liberalism of John Stuart Mill with the liberalism of today's liberals. To show you the difference, I refer to "the most famous Mill quote" you referred to which goes ‘Over himself, over his own body and mind, the individual is sovereign.’ Here, Mill talked about the individual. He is concerned for the freedom of individuals and their protection from the majority imposing its will against them. His "Harm Principle" eloquently states how [governmental] power "can only be rightfully exercised over any member of a civilized community, against his will, is to prevent harm to others." Again, Mill is concerned for the individual.

Today's Liberals, or "Left-Liberals" could care less about individuals. They see people not as individuals, but as collectives that belong to certain groups or tribes, such as "minorities," "middle- and working class," "poor," "rich," etc (they have no "Men's Fashion Freedom" group).

As for "freedom," while you're under the impression that Liberals are concerned with freedom of expression, equality and civil liberties, you are sadly mistaken. Today's liberals advocate big government policies that actually take away freedom. The "Health Care Reforms" they advocate is a glaring example, as are all the Welfare State policies they advocate "to help the poor." Liberals want to push you around and make you do things you don't want to do. That is why they want big powerful government to implement their policies and to "tax and [over]spend" on their pet projects. Indeed, today's Liberals are liberal not with compassion, care or empathy; they're liberal with other people's money. As for "equality," well, today's Liberals see some as "more equal than others."

I'm sorry you joined the Liberal Democrat Party because you mistook Mill's liberalism for the liberalism of today's Left-Liberals. But it's understandable, since today's liberals do their best to confuse people and hide their true anti-individual and anti-freedom agendas. (BTW, if you like, you can see how you really stand politically by taking the "World's Smallest Political Quiz" at http://www.theadvocates.org/quizp/index.html)

And when you said,

Furthermore, liberals have often claimed they defend non conformity, in fact its printed on the back of every Liberal Democrat membership card that no individual should be enslaved by conformity,

do you now realize that this is just more modern liberal hypocritical claptrap? Indeed, the only "non-conformist" these liberals support are those who conform to and obey their agendas. Anyone who don't conform or obey (did someone mention "enslaved"?) are "enemies of the state," punishable by long stays in Gulags or concentration camps or short trips to gas chambers. Do you also now realize that only deaf Liberals will hear you when you said, "[b]asically liberals should be advocating that if there is to be a state one of its roles should be to protect individuality & ensure respect for individuality"?

And I felt uneasy when you said,

Is not freedom of expression an important civil liberty & don’t liberals proclaim they are defenders of civil liberties. If that were truly the case then no liberal would snigger at the concept of Men’s Fashion Freedom for it is very much about freedom of expression & the right of any man to be free to express himself how he wishes so long as he isn’t harming another & a guy wearing a dress ain’t harming another.

While I agree with what you said about Men's Fashion Freedom, I need to remind you that liberals can be just as closed minded and bigoted against men wearing dresses, or, in my case, a skirt suit.

To wit: In November 2008 I attended a forum presented by a "liberal minded" group, some of whose members were no doubt members of the Liberal Democratic Party. I've attended previous forums held by this group, but the November forum was the first one I attended wearing a skirt suit. Although the head of the group said she liked my outfit and I looked nice in it, and no one at the forum sniggered at me, I was not warmly received. I did receive many bemused looks and some glares. Attendees mostly avoided me. And when I asked attendees what they thought about my outfit, none really seemed comfortable to talk about it. This "liberal minded" group never invited me to another forum again.

Still, despite your confusion over Mill's liberalism and that of today's Left-Liberals, I was glad when you said at the end, "Of course I often have said that the greatest benefit to Men’s Fashion Freedom isn’t going to come from some lobbying group trying to get protection from the law but from more practitioners of Men’s Fashion Freedom to be seen in public demonstrating they can lead constructive & worthwhile lives." To that, I can only say "amen."

I thank you for providing your thoughtful comments and for reading my reply.

RYAN