(dis)connecting through headphones

Micro or macro? Over the ear or under the ear? Under $50 or over $500? The duality of headphones applies to the fashion world as well as the college campus. Headphones are simultaneously a promoter and inhibitor of communication. The act of wearing headphones is a statement – while the headphone wearer is tuning into another world, they are plugging out of the present.

During Milan Fashion Week 2015, Dolce and Gabbana flaunted blingedout headphones in glamorous shades. One headphone had faux fur protruding from the sides, and another was deep red with golden, crown-like spikes. The images are similar to earmuffs in aesthetics. The headphones, acting as accessories, complimented the stylish outfits on the runway. Eight years ago, Dolce and Gabbana ushered in the normalization of over the ear headphones as a glamorous accessory, a statement piece and part of the wardrobe. Dolce and Gabbana’s headphones retailed at $8000. The headphones spanned beyond the wardrobe as a piece of technology to visibly display wealth.

With blocky, chunky over the ear headphones, it is clear that the listener is tuning into a different world. Whether it be a positive podcast or a Taylor Swift song, headphones transport the listener to a new reality. One example of such headphones is the Apple AirPods Max. In a variety of chrome-enhanced colors, AirPods Max retail at $499.99. Social media, especially TikTok, featured videos entitled “that girl” or “clean girl”, accompanied with creators sporting slicked back hair and over the ear headphones. With the Apple AirPods Max, it is acceptable to show the world that you are listening to something else. The luminescent metallic shades command attention and acknowledgment of willingness to spend upwards of $500 on headphones.

A spike of serotonin hits when a friend waves at me, actively removing their headphones to greet me. I become a priority, taking a precedence over whatever my friend is listening to. Conversation is sparked and humanity is proven to be alive and well. The social aspect of headphones is also a juxtaposition. Adding the inhibitor of headphones, one must make an effort to communicate with others, like saying “hello” to a friend. It is far easier to select what you hear and who you hear it from when headphones are part of the social equation.

I love to feel the breeze as I walk home after a long day of classes. The wind greets me head-on, filling my ears with the rush of nature. Someone may prefer to unwind by donning headphones and tuning out, not-so-subtly telling the world that they are escaping to another reality – through music, videos or podcasts.

Headphones, like most pieces of technology, have their benefits and their drawbacks. Headphones fall at the intersection of fashion and technology. Now, headphones are accepted as accessories. Like all other material items, they are also a status symbol. By pressing play on music or a podcast, the headphone wearer is inevitably using their headphones to tune out and display its worth.

Now, any situation is appropriate for headphones – walking on the street, somehow evading traffic, sitting in class – all situations where social connection is cut off. Leaving University Hall in early May, a pair of friends were speaking with each other. One friend was wearing metallic blue AirPods Max while engaging in conversation with a friend sans headphones. It’s hard to tell if music is an activity to be enjoyed alone or with peers and friends. Imagine wearing headphones to a frat party on a Friday night –the situation determines the appropriateness of headphones.

The gradual shift on campus and chronicled throughout fashion weeks is the contrast between immediately noticeable over-the-ear headphones and minuscule earbuds.

Music also offers a significant boost in energy and mood. When I slip on my headphones in the comfort of my dorm room, and I turn up Hamilton, I am energized to finish my essay. Music does not have to be solitary, either. I do not need my chunky, over the ear headphones in Zumba classes. Collectively, my peers in the Rec Center’s weekly Zumba dance to one song. Humans have five senses, a fact which diminishes when one wears extraterrestrial-esque headphones. A choice must be made –tune into engaging music and podcasts through headphones or seek inspiration from reality? Perhaps sometimes it is worth sacrificing the fashionable aesthetic of headphones to promote human connection.

ART DIRECTOR AND DESIGNER PAYTON ALONZO

MODELS

LINDSAY ROGERS, JOEY RYAN, ANA GASTELU, QUAYE MEADOW & JANAE MCINTOSH

Rizz Is Out

Whimsy Is In Rizz Is Out Whimsy Is In

WRITTEN BY MAYA MCLEROY ART DIRECTOR

AMA ALLEN

PHOTOGRAPHED BY GUSTAVO DEL REAL FIGUEROA MODELS

AMANDA CHANG, MILLY GAMLEN, SOPHIE DAVIS, SAMANATHA JOH, ISABELLA CHIMIENTI & KEIR VAN NIEUWBURG DESIGNER

ALLY WOODRING

AsI flopped into bed on a Thursday night, my dorm room was illuminated by the red glow of my salt lamp. I turned to my roommate and began the nightly debrief. Our conversation soon turned towards dating, flirting, and boys, as conversations with me often do, and I asked her for her input.

“You know, Maya,” she said, “you don’t have rizz. You have whimsy.” I gasped. I had no rizz? In college? Some days, it seems like rizz is the most valuable form of social currency here.

I didn’t get what my roommate meant until I was at a house show, where fairy lights lined the room and the loud drawl of college bands played in the background, and I found myself Irish dancing in a circle with a line of men waiting their turn to spin me around.

After witnessing that night, I think anyone could say that I don’t have rizz. I don’t know how to bait, hook, line and sink. Following Urban Dictionary’s logic, I don’t “have game” or “get bitches.” I don’t follow the Bible of college attraction. I haven’t cracked the code of when to glance, touch, whisper, smile, swat, and, to be honest, learning how to do that now sounds like a lot of work.

So, I’ve hacked the system. Maybe unknowingly, but I hacked it nonetheless. Through trial and error and some embarrassing situations, I’ve found that there’s another way of attraction. And that’s throwing rizz—meaning calculation, games, and tactics that sometimes feel like you’re trying to win a war—out the door for a less intense, more authentic way of moving through the world.

Enter whimsy. A branch of the word “whimsical,” whimsy has been used throughout centuries in various ways. To describe children’s books and outfits and pieces of art, having whimsy really just means full, unabashed self expression. Being whimsical means being comfortable in being your authentic self. It means showing up fully dressed the way you want to dress. It means speaking your mind instead of nodding your head in polite agreement. It means knowing when to listen, because you never know how someone else’s whimsy can help you unlock your own. Some people you meet in life are so unapologetically themselves

These people serve as reminders, not blueprints. Our job isn’t to become them, but to notice the magnetism that comes with being yourself.

What makes you laugh—like full body cackle? Do you wear glitter on your eyes during the weekdays? Do you love how you’re caring, or how you don’t back down from a fight? Do you make your friends playlists and hum to the songs that are stuck in your head? Are you not afraid to say yes? Are you quick to laugh and forgive? Do you play “Stir Fry” by Migos after Fleetwood Mac when you’re on aux? Some will call that last one bad music taste. I still think it’s whimsical.

The main difference between whimsy and rizz is that rizz is focused on the other person. Rizz asks, how do I make myself seem cool or beautiful or mysterious or fun so that this other person is attracted to me? Whimsy, however, is focused on the self. Being whimsical means holding true to your spark and not conforming for the sake of being wanted or seen as beautiful. It may take a little longer for someone to be brave enough to approach, but I think having whimsy weeds out the people who aren’t really interested.

Whimsy attracts whimsy. Like attracts like. The other day at the river, there was a group of friends blasting country music on the shore. One of the guys found a bucket and took it out to the water, where he turned it over and perched on it to read his book. He was the memorable one, because he was simply doing what he wanted to do.

I promise having whimsy is more lasting than being pressed against a sweaty body in a frat basement, with a bunch of guys screaming “W RIZZ!” as you kiss someone. That is rarely good.

Being whimsical is a radical act in this world. So wear the red rain boots to a party. Break into a headstand every time the sun is out. Sing songs too loudly and keep that big fat smile on your face. Wear the ladybug dress with ribbons in your hair. Be whimsical, unwaveringly so. Forget about games. Or remember them, whatever your prerogative is. Having whimsy just means following your own path.

The right people will join along for the ride. And it’ll be a beautiful one.