Subculture Apocalypse
Growing up, some of us desperately yearned to be part of a collective or clique. There was always a group of kids in school who could sum up their identity, aesthetic, musical, and fashion tastes in one word, concept, or idea that captivated it into the distinctive subculture that differentiated itself from what was deemed “popular” or mainstream. The Oxford English Dictionary (OED) defines a subculture as a cultural group within a larger culture that separates itself from what is popular or traditional in that culture.
Photography by Rebecca Lewis for Sleazenation, June 2002
Today, most people listen to and wear a bit of everything. Everyone is blended together with the popularization of TikTok and Instagram and the rise of internet aesthetics within online content's virality. Things that were once "alternative" or edgy are now commonplace everywhere. Subcultures are no longer synonymous with the counterculture of the generation. Elements once specific to a group continue to exist online without the social and cultural parameters that once pulled them together in real life. No one is prescribed to an individual identity per se. Social media has placed societal groups amongst each other, mixing various identities—allowing people to pretend or fake aspects of their personalities for clicks and views. As we try harder to differentiate ourselves from one another, elements of subcultures are essential because of their connection to perseverance in standing out from the crowd. It wouldn’t necessarily be ethical to prevent the youth from separating themselves into cliques based on their chosen identities; teens continue to do this through gender nonconformity and sexual orientation. Yet it’s almost like pre-social media allowed the youth to define themselves in a way that was due to who they were without having to scroll mindlessly through algorithms to decide on their chosen identity. The cycle of eventually replicating niches by the mainstream has happened over generations. Still, the internet has accelerated this process, making people present more disingenuously than ever before.
Zendaya and Hunter Schafer, Euphoriavia Tumblr
These days, cultural niches that are more or less similar to a subculture have been co-opted by someone else or a group of people who’ve probably never heard of or explored said ideas. This concept isn’t new, as the fashion industry has commodified identity subcultures since the 1980s. But, combined with the rise of “core” culture, different cultural touchstones are now a dress-up commodification box for Gen Z. This new mix-and-match approach to fashion, music, and popular visual media means we, as a digital society, now value trends over individual tribes or authenticity. E-girls and e-boys essentially repackage emos but with the online attractiveness and allure of having social media fame. But in our bid to be different, we are potentially even more similar or merely copying each other than we were back then. Subcultures or the alternative counterculture all contribute to the popular culture for Gen Z. Still, even if it feels like it's in decline, we’ve become more tribal than ever with the rise of internet gatekeeping, divisive online fandoms, and influencers being the new celebrities. Subcultures were the safe spaces of yesteryear, but in many ways, identity in terms of gender, race, class, and sexuality has taken its place in subgroups. Political affiliation, flag distinctions, and pronoun preferences are how we now understand ourselves and try to be understood. Who knows how the next generations will make sense of themselves, as the generational need to label ourselves isn't going anywhere soon.
