Thank you for having the words and knowledge to put into words what me and a lot of other people have been thinking. when is spotify going to realise POV isn't a genre? This has been an issue in the queer community as well, that continues to divide and further alienate us. I wonder if this is individual to social media or if something similar has happened in the past
I've really been seeing the queer division thing recently. I have a friend who is very straight-coded on the outside, but inside, that dude is anything but straight. Unfortunately, he doesn't really feel comfortable with any of the labels like "bisexual" or "genderqueer", because on the surface he doesn't have much in common with people in those subcultures. It really just makes me wish people could just call themselves "queer" and everyone would be okay with their identity, even if it doesn't fit into any of the predefined subculture boxes.
I know, right? I've had several friends like yours who mentioned a difference between 'the community' and simply people who are queer. They have a point. At least in online spaces, these 'micro identities' probably have the same use as microlabels that Adam pointed out in this post. Convince people that enbies all love frog plushies, and we all NEED fake vines in our rooms!! Perfect for business.
Personally, I think it has something to do with a lack of personal expression. In past subcultures like "Goth" a lot of it was based on art. Hell, the Japanese "Lolita" was fashion-based, but it was still based on art. Art is inherently transforming and unique, and it helps define a person, but when you only have what you buy/consume to define you, then of course you're gonna micro-label it to hell and back! There is nothing of real substance to make it unique so it has to be done through language. This was a very short version of a much longer culture essay but I do think that in the end you're right, the best way to avoid this is to be cautious! And make art!
I just finished reading "Expulsion of the Other" by the philosopher Byung-Chul Han and reading your post on almost the same topic right after was just serendipitous. Highly recommend the book, it's barely 100 page long.
I very much agree that there is an obsession with trend and micro-niche right now (two overlapping but non-identical constructs) but I think this might be more a product of the internet and how the internet works more broadly - and maybe a littleee less due to algorithms? Though the algorithms and the platforms doubled down on it for sure. This all just feels like the broader shift from 20th century pop culture to 21st century internet culture, people just gather into like minded niches and chase trends when there isn't a media monoculture feeding everyone the same thing through a filter (and it's not the worst thing that ppl can easily find their kind) - but now the shift to niche/core everything is getting monetized in a majorrr way. And the microniche becoming the identity benefited no one. Hopefully this makes it all a little less cool to be #core, and we'll view this obsession with 'trend' to be a 2020-2024 thing? I could see things starting to shift away honestly ...
this post is so etymologynerd core
Thank you for having the words and knowledge to put into words what me and a lot of other people have been thinking. when is spotify going to realise POV isn't a genre? This has been an issue in the queer community as well, that continues to divide and further alienate us. I wonder if this is individual to social media or if something similar has happened in the past
I've really been seeing the queer division thing recently. I have a friend who is very straight-coded on the outside, but inside, that dude is anything but straight. Unfortunately, he doesn't really feel comfortable with any of the labels like "bisexual" or "genderqueer", because on the surface he doesn't have much in common with people in those subcultures. It really just makes me wish people could just call themselves "queer" and everyone would be okay with their identity, even if it doesn't fit into any of the predefined subculture boxes.
I know, right? I've had several friends like yours who mentioned a difference between 'the community' and simply people who are queer. They have a point. At least in online spaces, these 'micro identities' probably have the same use as microlabels that Adam pointed out in this post. Convince people that enbies all love frog plushies, and we all NEED fake vines in our rooms!! Perfect for business.
This is so realcore!!!
Personally, I think it has something to do with a lack of personal expression. In past subcultures like "Goth" a lot of it was based on art. Hell, the Japanese "Lolita" was fashion-based, but it was still based on art. Art is inherently transforming and unique, and it helps define a person, but when you only have what you buy/consume to define you, then of course you're gonna micro-label it to hell and back! There is nothing of real substance to make it unique so it has to be done through language. This was a very short version of a much longer culture essay but I do think that in the end you're right, the best way to avoid this is to be cautious! And make art!
I just finished reading "Expulsion of the Other" by the philosopher Byung-Chul Han and reading your post on almost the same topic right after was just serendipitous. Highly recommend the book, it's barely 100 page long.
PRESCRIPTIVISM VS DESCRIPTIVISM STRIKES AGAIN
I very much agree that there is an obsession with trend and micro-niche right now (two overlapping but non-identical constructs) but I think this might be more a product of the internet and how the internet works more broadly - and maybe a littleee less due to algorithms? Though the algorithms and the platforms doubled down on it for sure. This all just feels like the broader shift from 20th century pop culture to 21st century internet culture, people just gather into like minded niches and chase trends when there isn't a media monoculture feeding everyone the same thing through a filter (and it's not the worst thing that ppl can easily find their kind) - but now the shift to niche/core everything is getting monetized in a majorrr way. And the microniche becoming the identity benefited no one. Hopefully this makes it all a little less cool to be #core, and we'll view this obsession with 'trend' to be a 2020-2024 thing? I could see things starting to shift away honestly ...
another etymology nerd banger
so truecore
thank you!
I wonder how far we are from the 𝘤𝘰𝘳𝘦 event horizon 🤔