I think there few topics I am considering for my paradigm shift essay is the shift in workout culture, dating culture. Firstly workout culture has shifted from a secluded art limited to the wealthy and athletes taken on a more casual role in society. It is a accessory to one’s life in present while it originate as what feels a professional undertaking it is something that can be found on every level of society. It has become more powerful and meaningful, in someways spiritual, as excises are pushed into the increasingly obese american society. Workouts now involve groups, goals, and some like the Murphy challenged -inspired the workout of a Navy Seal who attended Penn State- have become something to bring communities together. Exercises have even breached into the american mindset as something every one should undertake weekly. The intensity and type of workout individuals undertake is flexed around as a sign of status. Workouts used to be generally limited to men, but as gender dynamics have grown and evolved over the past 200 years so has how the genders workouts. Women even had to do workouts in “athletic” clothing, similar to the swim wear in their respective periods, both clothing showed hardly any skin and cover the women near head to shoe. In each decade approaching the present women’s athletic clothing has gotten more and more freeing. There is not as much an impact in the prospects of men’s clothing in the athletic department, but we have seen in both realms of male and female is the athletic clothing is also attached to the fashion trends of each era. In 2019 women and men, boy and girls, can be seen wearing athletic gear in everyday life despite doing no workout in the mean time. Even grossly overweight people ironically wear athletic clothing. Athletic brands like Nike and Under Armor have followings and fan bases. Other brands like Champion who is riding the waves of a new revival and comeback see themselves grow as people consuming the product have associated it with clout.
Without getting too bogged down in one idea, which I think I like more than the next because I came up on my own. Dating culture was something we talked about in class and I feel multiple people may cover this topic so I view the topic as a whole less appealing. I feel very passionate about dating and I’m sure so many of us do. On top of that none of us are really qualified to speak on dating but at the same all of us are in our own experiences. To be honest dating has and has not changed in a lot of aspects. There has a been a paradigm shift in who is “wearing the pants” in the relationship because we are no seeing the rise of more Matriarchal relationships and more egalitarian ones. As women have grown in their empowerment, women has gained more control in their relationships, consequently men lose some control. It is now abnormal to see the man calling all the shots in the relationship, it is viewed as backwards and bigoted. In my personal life I have always looked for equal status, control, and significance in a relationship. In 2019 I and most men I feel do not want to be the lead in a relationship, and sure there are times when one partner has to lead, but that should not be 24/7/365, if anything the leading should be equal and mutual going forward.
So certainly control aspects of dating culture has seen a paradigm shift. The big picture may be slowly changing but what is indisputable is the short game changes in dating. People who want to date used to have to only pursue people they could physically meet and make acquaintances with. Now you meet people over the internet you would have otherwise never crossed paths with. Online dating also provides the advantage of a new medium to meet girls and to shot your shot with out risking public shaming, but at the same time it enables cheaters and players to run game on multiple people all across the world with out any knowing.
That is all I will touch on for the time being with some key ideas and remarks for each paradigm shift idea. Have a great day!
-ya boi James
