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amateur-heretic · 7 months

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Introduction to Aesthetic Aspiration Personality Theory (AAPT) V. 0.2

Releasing an update to AAPT(formerly AEPT) that builds off of months of utilizing the system and my evolving thoughts and terms for the system. I hope you enjoy! I've also finally made a discussion group for AAPT, you can join here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1043756753302068/ .

If you're interested in a body neutral, gender expansive framework for exploring beauty made by a queer neurodivergent person this is for you

"Personality is the supreme realization of the innate idiosyncracy of a living being. It is an act of high courage flung in the face of life, the absolute affirmation of all that constitutes the individual, the most successful adaptation to the universal conditions of existence coupled with the greatest possible freedom for self-determination." Quote from Carl Jung

As a queer, gender non-conforming, neurodivergent person I've oftentimes felt I didn't have my experiences reflected in Yin Yang based style systems despite finding them fascinating. So using my experience with personality theories and eclectic wisdom traditions I've crafted my own system that prioritizes personality and authentic preference over others’ perception of who someone is or is supposed to be. I aimed to avoid unnecessarily boxing people in. I've tried to create an accessible structure that can model complexity and supposed "contradictions" while allowing fine-tuned articulation of preference in different contexts. I avoid gender essentialism in how I am exploring these concepts as well. Gender is multifaceted and socially constructed, and I am looking for more specific atomized ways of looking at people's relationship to being and expression. AAPT mostly only relates to gender in terms of how certain kinds of relating, or power dynamics have been stereotyped as relating to certain genders.

I credit Northrup for her original application of Yin and Yang to fashion. I also owe a lot of my aesthetic awareness, and the foundations of this system to later innovators in the Yin Yang style tradition like McJimsey, Kitchener, Kibbe, and Schemmel. As much as I think it's important to have a body-neutral space for exploring personality and style, there's a lot of nuanced insights in systems that focus more of physicality too. These systems have interesting points about making particular visual impacts, different ways of relating to your body, exploring different aspects of identity, and navigating societal expectations. At the same time I'm critical of focusing on ascribing archetypes or personality traits to body shapes, or constraining expression or joy by focusing on body shape.

AAPT is focused on inner beauty first and foremost. AAPT isn't built to give tips on how to dress for your body. I may make posts with advice on how to use AAPT for style, or common associations with fashion elements. However, it isn't the foundation of the system, and AAPT isn't here to give constraints. As a personality system AAPT is an exploration of some differences in preferred ways of moving and relating to oneself in the world. As a framework it helps people articulate which ways feel more or less pleasurable, enlivening and resonant. It also serves as a framework that helps people integrate different ways of relating to themselves and others they have an antagonistic or unconscious relationship with. Despite each persons’ unique emphasis on parts of the range of who someone can be in relation to power and vulnerability, accessing the full range of sensation and regulation there is core to a sense of wholeness and flourishing.

AAPT works as a description of core long-term motivators for style. It is useful for exploring what people feel is authentic to their empowered self and resonant with their yearnings in life. While I think certain kinds of styles can be more congruent with people's internal experience, fashion is very situational and cultural as well. I encourage people to be able to experiment and play with style and expression lifelong, rather than feel they need to quickly land on an identity or consistent presentation that might be restrictive.

Aesthetic Aspirations

I've shifted from the Yin Yang of other systems' framing to alternative conceptualization because I believe they are more specific and carry less gendered cultural baggage. Instead of Essences like other systems have labeled similar phenomena, I chose to refer to them as Aspirations in my system to reflect a focus on them as active processes and ways of relating people taken on rather than an innate state. I've also used terminology for the aspirations I believe are gender expansive, inclusive, and intuitively graspable.

The Aspirations in AAPT are as follows:

Innocent: soft, cute, dependent, delicate, gentle, and guileless

Charming: interest in enticing activities, and eliciting desire and pleasure in themselves and others. Charming Aspiration can seem alluring, captivating, titillating and warmly inviting.

Visionary: inspirational, entrancing, wise, otherworldly, sagacious, mystical

Mischevious: light-hearted mischief, boisterous, fun-seeking, silly, and frisky

Hardy: tough, wants to be strong for themselves and others, focus on sturdiness, endurance, strength, asserting one’s capacities onto the environment.

Sovereign:commanding, forceful, imperious, and powerful

Formal: balanced, regimented, orderly, even, controlled, and refined

The Aspirations are based on two different lenses.

The first lens is Attunement vs Opposition as two contrasting modes of framing interactions with oneself and one's environment. Attunement Aspirations share a soft responsivity, a focus on attracting towards oneself what it deems valuable, and a strong sensitivity towards latent, delicate and idealistic matters. Opposition Aspirations share a hard edged directive focus, a focus on taking action on its environment, and an awareness of what ways it can push and make use of objects and people around it

The second lens is Scales of Agency. Those framings of scales of interaction being Personal, Relational, and Transcendental. Personal Aspirations are focused on what is located in the self and how that self is impacted in the here and now. Relational Aspirations are focused on building out, managing, and proactively shaping their environment. Trascendental Aspirations are focused on the meta-framing of encapsulating power dynamics, the context that shapes the flows of influence and prioritization within a domain.

These lenses generate the Aesthetic Aspirations as follows:

Personal + Opposition = Mischevious

Relational + Opposition = Hardy

Transcendental + Opposition = Sovereign

Personal + Attunement = Innocent

Relational + Attunement = Charming

Transcendental + Attunement = Visionary

Relational + Balance = Formal

3 Layers

There are three layers which independently have different Aspiration stackings. Aspiration stackings are the ordering of Aspirations that describe who one is. The three layers are:

Layer A: Lifestyle

In this layer what people’s sense of preferred activities is articulated, it often relates to the kind of career someone wants, as well as the purpose of the activities one likes to take on.

Layer B: Affiliation:

This is the layer of camaraderie, friendship, typical presentation, and the specialized roles or flavorings in the activities and interactions one prefers to focus on.

Layer C: Intimacy:

This layer articulates the flavoring and roles one prefers among chosen family, and lovers. It articulates any other relationships or kind of activities that defines the core of what home is to someone, or a kind of sublime renewal of oneself.

Stackings, Accentuation, and Baseline

In each of the 3 layers people first identify Accentuated and Unaccentuated Then people rank their Accentuated Aspirations in each. People can have different amounts of Accentuated Aspirations.

An example typing would be

A: Innocent, Mischievous, Hardy, Formal

B: Sovereign, Innocent, Formal, Visionary, Charming, Hardy, Mischievous

C: Charming, Mischievous, Innocent

All the seven Aspirations are fundamental to a life that is wholly lived. However, some are Accentuated in the sense there is a clear active desired intensification and identification of self with that energy. Everyone can be mischievous, everyone has innocence, it is healthy for people to be connected to all 7 Aspirations as part of their regulation. This connection to all 7 Aspirations in a healthy balanced way that enables self-regulation and wholeness is crucial and I will be referring it as the Baseline Integration of each Aspiration. In future posts I will further elaborate on what having or lacking Baseline Integration of each Aspiration looks like. However, not everyone feels these as an aspect of self they wish to accentuate as part of their creative being beyond a foundational sense.

There's an unmitigatedness to the Accentuated Aspirations. Accentuated Aspirations are a core aesthetic in the sense that they describe a kind of beauty that people feel drawn to resonantly fully embody. Not superficial beauty but the kind of beauty that feels like a shining emanation of someone's self-determination and vital self expression. When one of the Aspirations are Unaccentuated, there is a neutrality or aversion towards it as an actively maximized way of being. To be clear people can feel adverse because of trauma or shame, but from a self knowing and empowered awareness there can still be internal incongruence.

There are patterns to how different positions within a ranking manifest. The primary Aspiration of each layer establishes the overall tone that people maximize. It is the most strongly identified and expressed. The secondary Aspiration frequently combines with the primary Aspiration for a particular spin on the primary Aspiration's agenda. It is also flexibly and loosely engaged for its own sake. The tertiary Aspiration is more subdued but still obviously flavors the overall impression. In spikes of activity it will often be engaged on its own terms for variety. The quaternary Aspiration and those that follow tend to be subtle. These Aspirations have a low, deemphasized, sustained baseline, or are brought in for contrast from usual way of being. The quinary Aspiration and onward are often hard to notice but have a subtle sense of deepening a sense of wholeness of being. These descriptions apply to the number of Aspirations people have in the first place, some people may only have a few Aspirations in a layer.

For those who are interested in interpersonal compatibility, in AAPT people have an AAPT dual which they can hypothesize, explore, and type. It can be homogeneous with one's own type or heterogeneous. It can really be any type. I've seen all kinds of unique complementary pairings. Authority Chain

The Authority Chain characterizes a bidirectional flow of consent and influence, with a Foundational end and an Executive end. In a duality or otherwise interaction of two people. The Aspiration towards the Foundational end has the role of accentuating sensitivities, pluripotent potentiality, and capacity for regrowth, insurrection and rebellion. In the integrated baseline sense Aspirations on the Foundational end support the capacity for connection, renewal, creativity, and freedom, and lead by embodying these values. Foundational aspirations have a bottom-up approach in these senses. The Aspiration towards the Executive end has the role of accentuating consolidating factors, path-finding, hosting and configuring spaces towards particular ends, and utilizing power. In the integrated baseline sense Aspirations on the Executive end support the capacity for efficacy, control, and intensification and collection of power. The Executive end embodies a top-down approach. In a duality or other desired interaction of two people, the person with the aspiration closer to the Foundational end is the Foundation, and the person closer to the Executive end will be referred to as the Executive. If the two people are the same aspiration, they will be referred to as identicals. At the same time I want people to keep in mind each interaction of two aspirations have unique qualities that have unique flavoring and potentials outside of the Authority Chain. Also, people who have integrated Aspirations are whole people who have the potential for interaction beyond this bi-directional pattern, and often times the positive capacities of each end will not be actualized, or done so in a toxic way if Aspirations are baseline unintegrated. Foundational <- I-M-C-F-H-V-S -> Executive Conclusion

I want to elaborate on how AAPT overlaps with gendered phenomena and the ways it doesn't. Gender norms often keep people from fully expressing who they are in an AAPT sense. And a lot of what gendered styles or presentations are communicating can be explained using AAPT. However, AAPT does not encapsulate what gender is entirely. It does articulate aspects of self that are often assigned to gender, particularly those related to power dynamics and softness or firmness.

AAPT is an affirmation of the body-neutral beauty that is in each person that emanates out in joyful, self-determined, powerful expression. I hope that AAPT can help people reflect on parts of themselves that are often policed or suppressed by society. I believe that the right self reflection frameworks can be an empowering tool to liberate oneself from shame-based expectations and gain agency. Additionally, resonating with these kinds of foundational ways of being in the world can be a source of joy and nourishment that unfortunately many people are disconnected from.

You're beautiful just because you are~ ✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

#kibbe #queer #essence #personality theory #body neutrality #personality typology #aesthetic #aesthetics #enneagram #animix #socionics #attitudinal psyche #style #carl jung #gender #beauty

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earthling-wolf · 10 months

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Se Actuality

Heightened Focus

The Se user will constantly be receiving a photographic feed from the outer world, and thus will have a heightened receptivity to sensory information, which can be both overwhelming when undesired and highly stimulating when accepted and honed. If this data absorption is sought after rather than rejected, the Se user will become so immersed in the ‘one thing’ in front of them, that everything else suddenly disappears. The Se user’s attention is cinematic; causing them to take in the world just as it appears with very high fidelity and this can lead to an appreciation for “realism” in the arts and other mediums. The focus of an Se user is linear, rather than divergent. They will want to sink deeply into the experience of a thing, rather than spread themselves thin and broadly. Unsolicited tangents can be too distracting for them; jarring their attention and focus away from their present obsession. Even if the Se user has multiple interests- which they inescapably do – whenever they are immersed in the subject at hand it is with an acute intrigue. This dedicated attention can create a hyper-vigilance and capacity to refine an art-form faster than others if they choose to attend to it, although each skill will be domain-specific and not necessarily translate to acuity in other areas. If they're learning about a handmade craft they may notice all the bumps, lumps, scratches, and dents in objects and be quick to see the subtle differences in colors and shapes. Volumes of non-verbal information will collide with their attention constantly and guide them to calibrate their personal experiences accordingly.

Flow & Improvisation

The most direct way this sensory calibration happens is through an active flow. For the Se user, flow is when the body/mind moves in rhythm with everything else in the environment, as if pulsing with the same energy. During these moments, the Se user exists in direct contact with life, which creates an intoxicating feeling. One gets lost in the moment as they fine-tune their rhythm with the situation. This can happen when they’re singing, playing an instrument, freestyle rapping, hugging turns on a skateboard, locking in trigger reflexes in an FPS and the like. The Se user will get “in the zone” and feel most in their element when they can perform in real-time, making up their next move as they go. Adaptation is essential to an Se user and there is nothing more adaptive than reacting instantly, elegantly and with no delay to every twist and swerve life throws at you. The closer they are to this flow, the more aligned they’ll feel. Life is most invigorating when they are perfectly aligning the needs of the body, their own desires, and the situation. It may feel like a symphony coming together in harmony, and indeed many Se users take to music production for its capacity to create this lucidity and fluidity. In all their activities and ventures, whenever life is not flowing in this manner, the Se user senses it and will feel out of alignment.

Vitality & Volition

Se is also characterized by a sense of volition, as their linearity of focus quickly translates into a clarity of desire. There's an implicit knowledge of what is wanted and, as a Pe function, a craving for its attainment. The Se type will be a go-getter; motivated to gather what it wants in a literal sense. Se will leverage the environment to work for them, being opportunistic and making the best of what they got. And the quest for this attainment will carry a delicious zeal, giving Se users an added layer of vitality, but also of a self-assertion in reality. The Se user occupies the place where they stand, making their will known by their very composure. Then, as they lock onto their target, they inadvertently create adversity as opposite wills always exist and chase after the same or competing resources. This only greater fuels their thirst for stimulation and arousal, as they get immersed in the hunt. The challenge of going after their pursuits will be part of the very flow they so delight in navigating, and this quest for vigor can often manifest in hobbies such as racing, martial arts and other daring activities. But this ambition, while capable of leading to sprints of great productivity, is not motivated by any type of fiscality or conscientiousness. For Se the desire to win is not sought for the long term procurement of resources, but is instead motivated by some stimulating challenge that reality posits and which is invigorating for them to flirt with.

Movement & Restlessness

By the same token, not having dynamic movement happening will feel like an absence of thriving. While Se users are prone to over-stimulation if the stimuli is unwanted, they also are prone to under-stimulation if their environment is not allowing an outlet for creative flow. Se will have a low tolerance for being forced to attend to things they dislike. If they're denied of freedom to explore the world actively, suffocation sets in like a depressive weight. The Se user has a need to "move" and see; to scan the next corner. They'll be prone to pack up their bags and head off into town on a whim. The Se user lives a mobile life, constantly making things happen as they encounter different situations. But this necessity for motion can also be a curse; interfering with family plans or the practical constraints of life. As children, Se user may be overly active an it may be hard for their parents to find a constructive outlet for their energy at all times. The Se user may have little tolerance for routine and get into trouble for misadventures undergone in an attempt to abate the dread of idleness. Family members may pressure them to stay indoors or not go out as much, but often the Se user will not listen and either sneak out or find a way to explore without permission.

Persistence Effect

At other times, however, life's sensory stimuli is highly unwelcome - making the Se user more keenly aware of disturbance than all others. The Se users' sensitivity to stimuli becomes a double-edged sword when there's a nagging noise in the environment such as an insect's hum, a squeaky fan or crying baby. Temperature differences and potent smells can also be sources of frustration. Their Se won't be able to ignore the aforementioned since, as an explorer function, every new "refresh" of the environment yields the same output - leading to a very real and somatic irritation. Ironically, their quality of attuned focus sinks more heavily in on the irritation rather than putting it out of mind, causing it to grow in their mind until it's the only thing they hear or see; debilitating all concentration. At best this guides the Se user to seek the most pleasant sensory atmosphere available, and at worst it can cause open complaints and outbursts. Because of this tendency, whenever possible the Se user will craft their environment to match what their sensations can tolerate. They will play close attention to minimizing potential inconveniences and maximizing comfort.

Ergonomics & Aesthetics

Due to this careful crafting of sensory experience, Se users will often take to ergonomics. The look, feel and appeal of something becomes very important. How it fits in your hand, how the grip holds, how it throws, sounds and moves are all heavily considered. The Se user will want "the experience" of a thing to be enjoyable and free of micro-irritations. They will go to great lengths to make that happen in their own life; selecting objects based on their ergonomic and aesthetic appeal. They may be fans of designer brands, which are simply those that take the most efforts to maximize user experience. This leads inescapably to an appreciation for luxury, which is an extension of their need for completeness of sensational exposure. And although they may not always afford the highest luxury, the Se user will often take steps in that direction whenever possible. More than others, Se users understand how to create something seamless and often pave the way in domains of design and fashion. They will create things with beauty and convenience as priorities, while being simplistic and to the point. And due to being an explorer process, Se perpetually seeks newness of experience; leading it to be very contemporary. Se gravitates to the latest, causing them to be trendy or at least have a keen understanding of where the trends are and how they're evolving.

Sensual Energy

While we all have an appreciation, capacity and need for the sensual dimension, Se being the sensory exploration process receives a double dose of this facet of our nature. No sensation is more direct, potent and contrasted than the sexual, and from this raw contact with the body Se receives a level of natural eroticism. The amplification of their senses extends to a type of libidinal awareness and intelligence. However, each individual can choose to explore or repress this tactile energy and indeed many Se users - whether by culture or moral verdict - will select to shun this part of themselves. However, for those who decide to explore it, this can add a contagious chemistry to everything they do. The Se user, so predisposed, can be a vixen and leave a seductive trail behind them as they explore and express themselves. They may not shy away from making themselves attractive and showing a little skin or muscle. As Se wishes always to explore all sensory domains to the utmost, this leads to a pointed interest in the subtleties of flirtation, pickup artistry and more exotic art-forms. However, this can cause many Se users to grate against social repercussions and taboos. A girl may be frustrated by her mother's old-fashioned conservatism or a man may be accused of sexual harassment for playful teasing or banter. Se, like Ne, is constantly crashing against the establishment as it seeks to break boundaries, peer around the corner and dabble with all available information with less consideration of restraint or temperance.

-Behaviors Under Stress

Addiction

Like most people, the Se user is no stranger to a bit of wine or hard liquor. But due to the acuteness and physicality with which they experience life's stress, the temptation to exhale problems through stimulants or sedatives is all the more pronounced in them than others. It is here where the Se user may dive into their vice to an excess until it becomes a source of debilitation. More than a few Se users have met a short end at the hands of an overdose. Given their sensitivity, an Se user would require an inordinate strength of will to resist sourcing to a physical outlet when times become roughest. Under stress they will seek for an immediate alleviation to the unbearable "here and now." Their ability to think long-term may suffer or fade altogether as they become consumed only in how disquieting the present feels. This is especially the case if their Ni has made a pessimistic forecast, allowing them little hypothetical escape from their situation. Addiction then acts as a form of escapism and relief; one which is unsustainable at best and fatal at worst. It is in these moments when the Se user most needs to channel from external stimuli. When substances act as a replacement for external stimuli, the Se user may withdraw from the physical world; forgetting that out there is where all life, vigor and vitality is to be found. Substances act as a quick, but ultimately less stimulating replacement for the bliss that is better found in the music, rhythm and flow of a dance and in direct contact with reality.

Delinquency

In other situations, the Se user's stress can manifest in an unhealthy opportunism. The Se function will always be seeking, quite advantageously, the best experience possible and when distressed this impulsiveness can lead to certain unethical behaviors. As their spiritual reserves become depleted from psychological injuries, they may help themselves to the grace and resources of others; perhaps taking more than may be polite. In heavier cases, they may take more than they were explicitly allotted. This can develop into a habit for the Se user, escalating to shoplifting, and eventually to outright robbery. The Se user feels that scarcity of resources is the cause for their sufferings, and attaining more objects is the solution to their deprivation. As with addiction, the Se user feels robbed of sensational release, suffocated by an unpleasant environment and is seeking somehow to remedy the situation through tactile means. However, real poverty or scarcity may not be the cause of their delinquency but instead may be a sort of greed for that which is unattainable. It may be a relative poverty they wish to abate when compared to a higher tier/class that taunts them with the faraway luxuries and experiences they crave.

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