Normal?
Why should we be normal? What is normal? What is the New Normal?
Normal changes over time, events and circumstances. What is normal today was not normal yesterday, last year or last century.
At point men and women would not think of leaving the house or going outside without a hat or a head covering. Refer to movies even as late as the early sixties. At some point, the culture drifted, so in today’s world, the new normal is men and women without hats. It’s atypical for either sex to wear a non-functional hat. Baseball caps seem to be the exception – they are more decorative than necessarily functional except as a sun visor or a sun blocker.
In New York City, no fashion-conscious female would be seen on the street without their high heels. During the Transit Strikes, because they had to walk distances to their work, they would wear their athletic shoes on the street, replacing those shoes with the “normal” footwear – high heels. Heels for women were usually mandated by an office dress code.
In this time of Work from Home, the dress code is more likely to be – just have clothes on. Forget the hats, high heels, suits, and ties.
In this time of normal: Please wear clothes when you are video conferencing.
Wearing a hat is to make a statement or for protection. Even though wearing a hat at the Kentucky Derby or the Royal Ascot is the appropriate dress – they are still created and worn as a statement. The flashier and more absurd, the more likely they are to appear in the media.
Of course, bringing up the media means more change from normal. Into the late 21st Century, your choices of media were limited, and the presentations were very structured. If you wanted news, there was the paper newspaper delivered in the morning or in bigger cities, an afternoon edition. The television delivered the news but only at a time of THEIR choosing, not ours. “Breaking news – video at 11.” Plus, there were only three channels to choose from.
Today, there is news on demand, the TV stations with newsrooms have extended their news broadcasts – In Atlanta, one station has morning news from 0430 to 1100. Another has their “evening” news starting at 1630 and going to 2300. And of course, there are the 24 Hour news networks. All clamoring for your eyeballs and ears – they do still sell advertising as their main revenue source.
Just remember that NORMAL is relative. But then again, why be NORML?
