so, from my understanding, a subculture is created by a group of people developing their own values, music, fashion, and even slang.
an example is the scene subculture; it thrives on self-expression and nonconformity. crunkcore is just a popular genre of scene music. fashion includes raccoon eye makeup, teased hair, skinny jeans, and tight shirts. 1337 (leet) is a common form of slang.
more examples include punk, goth, emo, gyaru, et cetera.
but nowadays, i feel like subculture is dying. or more rather, the birthrate is declining. and i think it might be caused by the convenience of social media.
subcultures used to take years to form and then branch off into new subcultures. it gave communities time to develop those values, music genres, fashion, and slang, rather than just one (namely, fashion).
however, with the rise of social media, it has become incredibly easy to reach mass audiences. because of this, trends are created and then trashed within the same exact month. people no longer have the time or patience to spend years cultivating an entire subculture; it just starts and ends with the fashion, or the “-core”.
and there’s nothing wrong with starting a subculture based off of a fashion, but you have to develop the other aspects of subculture as well to actually have a subculture. without those aspects, you’re just left with a vacuous shell.
but everyone’s attention span is shot to hell (mine included) and now no one actually wants to spend the time creating subcultures. they want to buy, buy, buy, post their new wardrobe haul on instagram or tiktok, and then shove the clothes into the back of their already-overflowing closet. then the process repeats with next month’s trend.
ive even noticed myself falling victim to this mindset :/.
ive been getting really into the scene subculture lately, and ive found myself wanting to go on a spree to fit into the mold. however, ive been forcing myself to take a step back.
instead of buying a bunch of new stuff, ive been going through my mom’s old stuff. she has a ton of skinny jeans, and ive managed to score 3 pairs of blue skinny jeans, 1 pair of black skinny jeans, and 1 pair of maroon skinny jeans. she also has a bunch of simple, tight tops that work.
and as for the band tees i already have, i plan on altering them myself to make them tighter to more properly fit the scene silhouette.
for hair accessories, i just washed a bunch of my old baby/toddler bows that have been collecting dust in my basement for 10+ years.
most alt subcultures thrive on DIY and repurposing what you already have, and i think it’s important to remember that.
it’s also important to remember that subcultures are supposed to take years to form. your wardrobe is supposed to take years to be completed. that’s what makes it special; it’s a continuous effort to create or collect something. it took actual work.
im not sure if there’s a moral of the story here; i kind of feel like im just parroting the same talking point you see on every anti-trend video.
maybe being anti-trends is the new trend. that would be ironic, wouldn’t it?
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for example, with the goth sub culture, black lipstick and lace and thick eyeliner is expected on social media. when, in reality, morals are just expected with bands such as the cure and london after midnight being in peoples' playlists.
i dont know. its especially prominent in the emo sub culture too (aka my sub culture). for example, people think that being emo is wearing a black shirt and calling it a day - when in reality its wearing skinny jeans or baggy jeans, styling your hair in a certain way, band tees, the whole lot.
people like to fit what is more common on social media than actually doing research. it kind of really irks me, especially now with the rise of fast fashion companies such as shein.
i could rant more but i think ill end up in a loop and repeat myself :p