I’ve made no secret of the fact that I like hats, I wear hats, I own several, some fedoras and some sort-of hybrid styles, and generally I support the idea of men wearing hats again as a sort of vague statement of support for traditional masculinity. Not putting down or denigrating anyone, it’s just introducing the novel idea that masculine does not mean evil.
Not everyone agrees, but that’s fine. As we men have been compelled to realize lately, sometimes being a man just means that you Go Your Own Way regardless of who doesn’t approve.
Or wearing hats might not mean that. I went through several periods of hat-wearing in the past with no thought of making a statement of any kind, that didn’t come up even as a concept until hat-wearing was attacked, making me both more self-conscious about it and conscious of larger trends about it.
In a September 8th, 2016 news conference, Hillary Clinton remarked on a hat apparently being worn by a male reporter. The exchange was interesting:
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Reporter: Thank you, Madam Secretary.
Clinton: Like the hat.
Reporter: Appreciate that.
Clinton: Is this a new look?
Reporter: No, its kind of an old look, now.
Clinton: Oh, you’re bringing it back?
Reporter: I’m bringing it back.
Clinton: Went shopping in your closet?
Reporter: You got it.
Clinton: Yeah. I do a lot of that.
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Frankly, I’m not sure what to make of all that, and I’m not out to make a point of it here, but just in terms of my interest in this obscure subject and wanting to understand the cultural trends that involve it, I’d love to see the hat in question… but the TV cameras never wavered from Clinton.
Surely SOMEONE has to have gotten a shot of this hat? If anyone has a link to it I’d very much like to see it.
Thanks in advance,
– Robert the Wombat