Streaming media’s invisibility pushed men to express identity through tangible fashion
Evidence
This shift came after the collapse of spending on physical media. In the nineties, men often built their identities around collections of albums, CDs, DVDs, and film or TV preferences, with logo T-shirts serving as shorthand for cultural affiliations. But as streaming rendered those markers invisible, fashion filled the void, as you can’t download a blazer. In a digital era, tangible goods like clothing became even more valuable, crossing gender lines to occupy a bigger role in the zeitgeist. — W. David Marx, Blank Space, 399
Categorization
Category: Causal Relationships
- XREF: Direct instance of the book’s core omnivore-monoculture thesis: material cultural markers (collections, logo tees) dissolving under digital abundance, leaving clothes as residue. Excellent evidence for the ‘blankness’ chapter.
- QUESTION: Does this claim that streaming made collections invisible actually hold? Vinyl records and music merch have resurged as tangible identity markers in the same period — what made fashion win where records didn’t?