The other day I went to the wedding of the son of a good friend of mine and one of the bridesmaids (I think it was the bride's cousin) was a manly looking woman with short purple hair that honestly made me wonder if she wrote for the Mary Sue, Star Wars, or worked for a video game company or Marvel/DC.
The actual ceremony was no more than 25 minutes and I couldn't help wondering why she couldn't just wear a dress (of course she dressed like a dude and stuck out like a sore thumb amongst the other bridesmaids) for that little bit of time. I said a prayer for her because she is young and maybe one day she will realize that she looks silly trying to act like a man.
I remember when I still worked in HR the first time I came across the phrase "gender non conforming" or "doesn't conform to traditional gender roles". This was like 07 so I didn't think anything of it, but I never would've imagined it would get as insane as it has.
I've always felt that people with lots of tattoos, piercings, or "unique" hair colors are just showing the world that their individuality is only skin deep.
Add clothes to that list as well.
If you need weird clothes to "express" yourself, you don't have anything worth expressing.
Interesting clothes can be fun, in moderation. Agreed on not making it your personality or a crutch, but having some unusual fashion can be fun.
Its even less than that. Most of them get them as a masochistic dopamine hit to counter thier depression.
Girls like it are constantly posting "need a new tattoo" everytime they get sad because it gives them that temporary relief from their own pathetic existence. Same with the holes and dyes.
The appearance change is just a secondary benefit, the bigger purpose is the needle and bleach giving them pain and a feeling of "rebellious taboo" that keeps the darkness away for another day.