Idea: fashion blogger meets Occupy Wall Street protester

Like my friend Rachel I’m somewhat fascinated by “it girls”. I feel that it’s a seduction one should fight - but other times I’m not quite certain why I should. Yes, they are famous for being famous (or photogenic). But I think so long as the attraction remains superficial, rather than being elevated to ‘role model’ status, there’s no harm. To love the sight of a beautiful woman is to simply love life, right?

(BTW I think you can see the male equivalent in the film Crazy, Sexy, Love where Ryan Gosling plays a rather old-school playboy. His charisma is skin-deep. It’s all about how he carries himself and his style, rather than the substance of his character or content of his words.)

I also wonder what are, exactly, the ingredients of creating an “it girl” and whether they would be so difficult to adopt.

I have been similarly fascinated by the “Asian feminine ideal” - modest, humble, sweet and gentle - attributes I don’t really have. (My fake Chinese uncle recently contrasted me from my sister, her being ‘feminine’, me being ‘lively’.)

I am thinking of playing with these two feminine ideals, but inserting some social messaging in them. (For example, replicating a classic pap shot while wearing an air pollution mask, or with a caption “on my way to a gay marriage rally”.) It wouldn’t really be subversive, more exploiting the language of beauty and celebrity to carry out a campaign.

Basically it’d be activism for non-activists. Think fashion blogger meets Occupy Wall Street protester.

But I’m hesitant. Maybe it’s a lame idea. Need your thoughts.

Probably will later regret this post

But I told myself I would tumblr uncensored.

I just watched Crazy, Stupid, Love on the plane which isn’t really that crazy a film, but it is kinda stupid. As for the love bit, well, Ryan Gosling is in it, but it’s probably his worst “love film” of his many, many “love films”.

Anyway watching it reminded me of the fact that the last guy I hooked up with looked a bit like Ryan Gosling (I know, lucky me).

The night we met he was coming out of a cab heading to the same warehouse party as me in Beijing and from the get go I thought he was pretty cute. We hung out all night and at some point we were on the dancefloor and he pulled me over and kissed me.

I didn’t have any intention of sleeping with him when we got in a cab together to take us to our respective homes, but I guess it didn’t take that much convincing.

He stayed the night at my place and the next morning we lay in bed and chatted lazily and I thought he was pretty cool and funny.

Up till now the story has all the makings of a Ryan Gosling fantasy. But Ryan Gosling fantasies are totally removed from reality which is why at some point the supply of RG sparkle runs dry and the prosaicness of the real deal kicks in.

When we met up again three days later it was kind of awkward but OK, and we were chatting away, drinking cold beers in a hutong cafe. At some point he tells me he has a house in Dublin and I ask him who’s living there while he spends his one year in China. And he says, “my girlfriend.”

And I’m like, “oh, OK then!” But I still don’t object when he puts his hand on my leg and arranges another date with me.

Well the rest can be summarised in one sentence: we had a few more adult sleepovers that were very sexy but the feeling was entirely friendly rather than romantic. And when he didn’t answer my last couple of texts I didn’t push it seeing as he had a girlfriend and all.

So that’s what an in-real-life Ryan Gosling is. No undying devotion. No bad-boy turned good. Just a few, friendly, meaningless one-night stands that disappear into the ether.