RE: the appeal of lowercase text
i recently read puppy's the appeal of lowercase text and wanted to share my own perspective. i also use predominantly lowercase text, but i never considered the aesthetic implications. after chewing on it for a bit, i think capitalized, punctuated, and formatted text more aesthetically pleasing, but lowercase text is more functionally pleasing and feels more relatable. in short, the former is good for the mind, and the latter is good for the soul.
the only times i use proper capitalization and punctuation are when im writing a professional email, or texting my dad. when texting casually, i dont even denote contractions. this results in a dichotomy where i follow all of the rules, or none of the rules. as puppy points out, the deliberate misuse of capitalization serves a worthwhile purpose. for me, it is a sort of rebellion. working in the corporate world and feeling like society is being ever bent toward corporate interest, i dont want to enforce their standards in my personal life. it feels dehumanizing.
like puppy, i think uppercase letters are professional, but where i disagree is with completely uppercase letters. im a loud girl. obnoxious even. when i have something to say, i say it with my full chest. whether its expressing excitement, affection, or joy, i find myself frequently using fully uppercase letters to communicate how i feel. its the capitalization equivalent of barking and wagging my tail.
i also think punctuation plays a role. i sort of agree with puppy that periods can be read as someone being short, or communicating that theyre upset via tone. i think it depends on how the person normally texts and whether a period is actually intended to be a tone marker. when i use punctuation, especially in this context, it is often an exclamation mark, and usually a lot of them!!!! i use commas a lot too, but mainly so things read correctly.
all of this is to say that i like lowercase text and it feels like the authentic version of my voice. i used to be much more proper pre trans, so i think that plays a role too. liberation is the theme for me.
THANKS FOR READING!!!!
puppy's post - the appeal of lowercase text