You've got to Express Yourself.

Well, I'm now officially humming Madonna's Express Yourself as I sit here and write this post.

"Express yourself

[you've got to make him]
Express himself
Hey, hey, hey, hey
So if you want it right now,
make him show you how
Express what hes got,
oh baby ready or not"

Of course these lyrics don't have a lot to do with what we're discussing today, but I thought it was interesting how in a society of people commanding us to "express yourself," we fail to actually pull it off without upsetting someone else, which brings me to my point today.

Can you express yourself effectively through custom t-shirts without upsetting someone?

In custom t-shirts news today, I read two more articles on people being upset with custom t-shirts representing what they feel to be inappropriate subject matter. The word "controversy" keeps popping up alongside custom t-shirts, making me wonder why we have such a problem with the concept of "express yourself."

I received a comment from ValleyGirl on yesterday's post and I wanted to explore it a bit in today's post. Thank you ValleyGirl for leaving a comment. I really appreciate it.

"I think people should wear whatever they want, as long as its not spreading hate."

I completely agree. We should be able to wear custom t-shirts without offending someone else. Is the problem then that some people are just too touchy, or that we (as a culture) just have too much to say?

Freedom of Speech is supposed to allow us to discuss whatever we want, but what do we do when some people are discussing socially or morally taboo subjects? What about those who don't believe the Holocaust happened? If they wear custom t-shirts saying "The Holocaust Never Happened" are they spreading hate? It's a fine line we draw. It all leads back to the question of what is truth? And what are we allowed to say? Freedom of Speech definitely has some flaws.

Custom t-shirts are supposed to be fun, but at the same time allow us to express our opinions, our viewpoints and our personalities. Create a design, generate some discussion and make a difference.

Want to contribute to this discussion, or suggest another? I love hearing from you. Leave me a comment below.

-Katie