The Death of Subcultures

Lani Masaki

At a school renowned for having unique, artistic students, everyone can end up looking surprisingly similar — even those under the “alternative” label. When seemingly anyone can now be “alternative” just by buying a band T-shirt off SHEIN and painting their nails black, what actually makes someone “alternative”? What makes them emo, punk, scene, preppy or hippie?

Subcultures that were created specifically to exist outside the mainstream are no longer niche, instead being reduced to merely the clothes someone wears. When a subculture is simplified into an aesthetic, the beliefs, values and social context behind it get lost. The personal meaning behind why someone may have chosen to join a subculture or community outside of the norm is completely overlooked. When symbols of a subculture become more popular than the reasons behind it, people begin to participate in the appearance of a culture without participating in its meaning. A major cause of this is undoubtedly the internet. Global connectivity jumpstarts massive trends that anyone may see on their For You page and decide to copy. Something once viewed as “different,” carefully kept within one community for its symbolic significance, may suddenly appear everywhere with just one upload that starts another microtrend. 

Take, for example, the studded belt. Originally, bikers who had to develop creative methods of self-defense used metal-adorned belts as a form of self protection, with the belts sometimes doubling as a weapon. They were later adopted by metal and punk cultures as an anti-fashion statement because of their unique appearance and intimidating aesthetic. Once the emo subculture began branching off from its punk counterpart, the belt transitioned with them — serving as a homage to the harder styles of its music and fashion. Now, it’s seen in every Hot Topic and Target, being sold in mass quantities by fast fashion and dropshipping companies like Temu and Amazon. And with fast fashion brands capitalizing perfectly on these ever changing “product of the summer” or “don’t walk, run” items, cultures become commercialized and fitting into those cultures becomes the product. Ironically, most alternative subcultures were born in the first place to rebel against capitalism and established structures of power. 

If we buy into aesthetics so much that they encompass our identity, what will we make of ourselves if we simply wear something else? Identity has shifted from internal self-recognition to external performance. The trending desire to look “different” can distract us from the actual meaning of being different, unique or rebellious.

Instead of questioning what aesthetic you fit into, perhaps question why you were drawn to it in the first place. Dress a certain way, pick up a hobby or use particular slang not because it’s what will socially validate you, but because it personally validates you.