The Guys Who Wore Dragon Shirts Before It Was Cool, the House Arrest Kings of TikTok and How to Pick Your Emergency Contact

First day into spooky season, and I’ve already scared myself half to death reading this piece about how screwed I’ll be if something bad happens to me because my mom’s my emergency contact. Sure, she’s 3,000 miles away in Massachusetts, and doctors would have to reveal every last detail about my medical history, but I love her, alright?

Must Read

“‘Joker’ Has A Todd Phillips Problem”
Making Joker in this current political climate is somewhat concerning in and of itself, but somehow, the dark origin story manages to be a terrific, thought-provoking film about violence and mental health. And yet, there’s still something holding it back: Director Todd Phillips. Best known for comedies like The Hangover and Old School, Phillips’ usual fare rarely deals with the types of subject matter that Joker attempts to dissect. And so, he’s a bit in over his head when attempting to articulate what exactly his film is trying to say. READ MORE

Imagine Dragons

Dragon shirts, i.e., oft-silk shirts with embroidered dragons on them, aren’t just for your Oakleys-wearing*, puka-shell-necklace-sporting**, Guy-Fieri-energy-having uncle*** anymore. Yup, the dragon shirt is cool now:

But now that they’ve found a home on both high-fashion runways and on the backs of Gen Z hypebeasts, let’s find out what made them so hip-to-be-square in the first place.

Kurtas, Kurtas, Everywhere

Speaking of style, the kurta is having a moment as well. Cool dudes like Hannibal Buress and Odell Beckham Jr. are just some of the names recently spotted in the traditional Indian garment. But for some young men who used to feel extremely uncool in a kurta, it’s a little uncomfortable to see it co-opted in this way. Ashwin Rodrigues examines the cultural history of non-Indian guys wearing the item (see, the Beatles circa 1968) and how the kurta plays into the conversation around appropriation. 

Justice Served

Shit Where You Eat

Stop reading real quick, go get some rubbing alcohol, hand sanitizer or disinfectant and wipe down your cell phone. For real — your smartphone is covered in shit; yet for some reason, we’re constantly reading on our phones next to the one thing we should really keep them away from: Our food.

Bro-On-Bro Crime

Over the last few years, men have made it into a transitional period of sorts where it’s totally Okay and Good to talk about their feelings with their guy friends, but simultaneously Okay and Good to still bust each other’s balls about it, too. Sometimes that goes over fine; and sometimes they hurt their bro’s feelings, or their bro hurts theirs. It’s all extremely confusing — thankfully Brian VanHooker is here to make sense of when and how to open up to your bros.

The TikTok Clout of the Ankle Monitor

Being under house arrest is an isolating, not to mention boring, experience. As such, social media is both a remedy and a painful reminder of the outside world. Guys on each side of that spectrum, however, have turned to TikTok to document their experience. 

Marvel’s Evil “Nice Guy”

Before Thanos became the supervillain who wiped out half of humanity, his villainy leaned more in the “Nice Guy” direction. In the comics, in fact, Thanos is portrayed as sort of a proto-incel, constantly being creepy to the women in his life. According to MEL contributor Brendan McGinley, “If you had to summarize ‘The Thanos Quest’ in basic Nice Guy terms, it’s a book about a guy who thinks a woman’s affections automatically unlock after a certain amount of due diligence.” Basically, toxic sexual politics dictate the Marvel Universe. 

What the *, ** and *** Are All About

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Magdalene Taylor

Magdalene Taylor is a staff writer at MEL. She covers internet culture, sex and the online adult industry. She lives in Brooklyn but is from God's Country, Western Massachusetts.