*Please Note that this is an opinion/satirical piece!*
Remember back in the old days when society was all clean-cut, 50’s family, and do-gooders? As time progressed from the “Olden Days” to 2011, the types of people have changed; the way people act, think, dress, and find their way into (or stray away from) society. In the 50’s, 60’s, and 70’s the main categories people were often classified as were:
The Preppy, Clean-Cut Kids- The kids who wore polo’s, nice dresses, also had school work done, and never ever got into trouble.
The Hippies/Yippies/Druggies/Stoners- Yes, they are different, but then again, they all believe/revolve around the same beliefs. Hippies believed in “Make Love, Not War”, peace, and most of all, marijuana. Yippies were kind of the same; however, they only joined the movement because they were just trying to be “cool”. The Druggies and Stoners, well, that’s self-explanatory.
The Punks/Rebels: These were the kids that you’re parents would not want you to be friends with or be at all; tattoo’s, motorcycles, black leather, rock music, troublemakers, and outcasts would be the classification of what a “Punk/Rebel” would be from those times.
However, in today’s society, all are somewhat accepted, in the way of dressing and some actions. The Preps have their stores to dress how they like; Ralph Lauren, Hollister, Abercrombie…Hippies are now just the druggie/stoner kids or one of the newer styles which is called, “Scene” which includes the belief in peace, quite, being “cool”, expressive, and of course, getting high. In a way, the Yippies and the Druggies/Stoners have kicked out the Hippies and formed into one big trendy image. Last, the Punk/Rebels have been the most changed and deformed styles. Punk has been known as the “Fuck You!” music and attitude, but over the years, mainly in the 80’s-90’s era, there have been many subgroups of Punk:
1. Emo- It means “Emotional” and the music is just that. This style became very popular in 2005-2009 and the main uniform was black on black on black, cuts on your wrists, a sad, gloomy, “my life sucks I should die” attitude, and the annoyance to all other styles.
1. Scene- This trend slowly began to branch off from “Emo”, except the uniform includes colors! (OMG). It also REQUIRES: Big, poofy hair (it SHOULD be colored a magical color), gallons of make-up on your face (more for girls), being a picture whore on Myspace (this was during the time when MySpace was still popular, 2007-2009ish), being obsessed with Hello Kitty, Invader Zim, and any other “pop culture” icons that Hot Topic promoted (and still does) till no end. The attitude must be an “I’m better than you/I’m so hot and sexy” mindset, and being bisexual helps out too (all of the girls are doing it just for the attention! Lesbians=Cred AND boys! Boys, just do it because they are seriously bisexual [only about 2% of people worldwide are ACTUALLY, LEGITIMETLY, Bisexual] or because they want girls or attention), also being fun and bubbly is a MAJOR necessity. Oh also, this group is able to wear Hollister, Abercrombie and wear Hot Topic gear and be called Scenesters.
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| Must I say, I do LOVE this |
Indie/Hispters- These are the kids that almost everybody who is not in this subgroup can agree upon that are the MOST annoying, arrogant, rude, and posers to every breathe! Their attitude of “I don’t dress how you dress so I’m totally awesome and know awesome unknown music and I’m totally NOT mainstream because of it even though I LOVE Ke$ha and Lady Gaga to no end)” is the most annoying of all the off spun subcultures. These kids try to dress so different and out of the norm that if they didn’t parade around bragging about how different they are, could pull off the Punk image. But no, they are constant fame, popular, conforming prostitutes that are now the NEW “cool kids” of this day and age. This, personally, makes me want to shoot myself if this is what the alternative style has come to.
Straight Edge- These are the people who stick to the old school foundations of Punk, but choose to abstain from drinking, smoking, drugs, promiscuous sex (That phrase means you don’t sleep with every other guy/girl. In other words kiddies, not being a whore), and for certain people this also means becoming vegan or vegetarian. What is needed to be Straight Edge is a superiority “I’m better than you because I’m not stupid” attitude towards those who do all that you are against, and keep true to you’re Punk roots. *NOTE: Yes, I am Straight Edge, however, I have encountered many of individuals who are like this and also try to force their beliefs onto people. Key is to be upfront with your beliefs and hope others respect you. If they don’t, fuck them! :)*
Goth- This may or may not have come before Punk. It’s basically the question of “Which came first? The Chicken or the Egg?” Goth is the darkest and more hardcore style that has slowly disintegrated from when it originated in the 1980’s. The style was closely related to Punk, in the same “I don’t care what you think or me” attitude, although, the attire was much darker; heavy piercings, Goth pants (baggy, drenched with chains, yet extremely comfortable), fishnets (shirts, dresses, tights), combat boots (ESSENTIAL!), heavy black make-up, and pale skin. This subgroup was one of the most feared and looked down upon group out of all of the new branches. Merely because it was so different and darker from what society was used to. The few brave ones that sported this style were often shunned, but stuck true and proud. However, the style began to fade by 2008, and now it is a rarity to find a TRUE, HARDCORE Goth nearly anywhere.
Punk- Just like the Goth group, finding a true Punk is hard to find in today’s society where Hot Topic and Spencer’s have every shirt under the sun that is angry at something or other and has it printed on a shirt for just $20. Although, Punk is not being angry at everything or at society, but it’s just being whoever the fuck you want to be and not giving a second thought to it. The original uniform was a Mohawk, colored hair, piercings, leather, jean jackets, fishnets, studs, spikes, plaid skirts (for girls), and basically anything that would make any authority figure cringe. Being politically minded wasn’t a requirement but was widely known in this group for having strong opinions on government and society. While this group became widely popular in the 90’s, it died after not even a decade, but still thrives in underground music industries, and in some subcultures (even though those cultures are warped and completely terrible).
With the ever-changing culture and the unfortunate downfall of some great styles, or “labels” as it is now referred to, out of the ashes have arisen some terrible and disgraceful styles. The styles teens and young adults wear now give their group starter, Punk, a terrible name. Emo’s are known as being whiny little bitches that should go and die if that’s all they care about so much because that’s all they talk about. Scene kids are annoying with their style and constant changing music. Showing off by saying “I knew this new band before you did!” is only annoying and makes people wonder who the hell came up with Scenesters. The Straight Edge kids can be cool, if they don’t continually push their beliefs in your face and down your throat, honestly, sometimes; they remind me of the ultra Christian people that try to make you believe in God no matter what you say. The Indie/Hipsters…they just need to die. The Goth culture is a dark one, that is the hardest to pull off to ANY poser, and this reveals the true ones that actually are dark, deep, and believe in something. The one thing that sucks is that there are hardly anymore around. The final group, the originator, is Punk. Punk is the only other culture, next to Goth, that is true and free of posers all together. Punk’s go on their own path and if people don’t like it, they don’t give a shit, they are who they are! They are the TRUE nonconformists and the ultimate respectable style/group that is somewhat left in today’s society that does not whine about how much their lives suck, become a photo whore, stuff down beliefs down others throats, parade around saying their the best because their just SO different, but actually have firm, believable beliefs and opinions about society, politics, fashion, people, and so on.
The times are changing, but that does not mean that everyone has to conform and become an annoyance in society. If one individual can stay true to themselves while dressing how they would like to, and having a good personality, that person will be respected. They may be shunned by others who are so into one group, but they will have others respect. Those others being the non-posers, real, and true Punks in today’s conformist’s society.
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