This blog is for my honors youth cultures class to reflect and share their thinking.
Thursday, December 8, 2011
Does any of it matter?
We talked in class today about whether youth subcultures have changed the mainstream. Closer to home, how would you say youth subcultures have influenced your life?
I would say that youth subcultures have influenced my life greatly. I agree with what Rosie said in class; although some subcultures get absorbed into mainstream, they also change mainstream. Mainstream affects my life so that is one way that subcultures affect my life. Youth subcultures also demonstrate that it is possible to be creative and resist mainstream. I have found acceptance in some youth subcultures, and that has had a profound influence on making me who I am today. It helped me find out what kind of person I want to be and allowed me to find out what I believe in and what ideologies I adhere to.
I think subcultures have made a big impact on my life. Being part of different subcultures has really changed the way that I think about things. My role as a hardcore gamer has helped me in numerous ways such as improving my time management and leadership abilities. So, yes. I do think it matters. I also agree with Rosie in that when a subculture get absorbed by the mainstream it does force changes, however minor they may be, to take place in the mainstream.
I feel that subcultures had a very strong influence on my adolescent life, but as I grow into my adult identity I become more certain of who I am as an individual and rely less on constructions of identity within any one specific culture. I no longer "need" certain aspects of cultures to help me understand myself. I realized that I can still be a resilient woman without a mohawk, a political activist without birkenstocks, spiritual without my dreads, independent without isolating myself with screaming double bass drums, healthful without vegan vengeance, and shave my legs and paint my nails pink without losing my edge. None of these things are bad things to do, believe, or participate in, but I don't feel that I need to do any of them, or be a part of a culture that does, to truly embrace who I am. I actually very recently started feeling like I'm a whole person who was sure of my identity, and I think I actually had to let these things go before I could fully embrace that person. Without the preconceptions of how a person with my beliefs should behave I am utterly free to wear and act however I see fit. How appropriate, since that's what I was searching for all along.
I would say that youth subcultures have influenced my life greatly. I agree with what Rosie said in class; although some subcultures get absorbed into mainstream, they also change mainstream. Mainstream affects my life so that is one way that subcultures affect my life.
ReplyDeleteYouth subcultures also demonstrate that it is possible to be creative and resist mainstream. I have found acceptance in some youth subcultures, and that has had a profound influence on making me who I am today. It helped me find out what kind of person I want to be and allowed me to find out what I believe in and what ideologies I adhere to.
I think subcultures have made a big impact on my life. Being part of different subcultures has really changed the way that I think about things. My role as a hardcore gamer has helped me in numerous ways such as improving my time management and leadership abilities. So, yes. I do think it matters. I also agree with Rosie in that when a subculture get absorbed by the mainstream it does force changes, however minor they may be, to take place in the mainstream.
ReplyDeleteI feel that subcultures had a very strong influence on my adolescent life, but as I grow into my adult identity I become more certain of who I am as an individual and rely less on constructions of identity within any one specific culture. I no longer "need" certain aspects of cultures to help me understand myself. I realized that I can still be a resilient woman without a mohawk, a political activist without birkenstocks, spiritual without my dreads, independent without isolating myself with screaming double bass drums, healthful without vegan vengeance, and shave my legs and paint my nails pink without losing my edge. None of these things are bad things to do, believe, or participate in, but I don't feel that I need to do any of them, or be a part of a culture that does, to truly embrace who I am. I actually very recently started feeling like I'm a whole person who was sure of my identity, and I think I actually had to let these things go before I could fully embrace that person. Without the preconceptions of how a person with my beliefs should behave I am utterly free to wear and act however I see fit. How appropriate, since that's what I was searching for all along.
ReplyDelete