Nicholas Tolen

Dr. Schneider

Period 7

Conformity vs. Individuality

The Irony of Conformity

      Today it is hard to become an individual. Our society is plagued with media images of beauty and fashion. Our lust for individuality is trapped or cut off by our need to fit in. Our social fears of not dressing right, not being normal, and even being too fat grow into a jungle of depression and low self-esteem. So how do teens, which at a young age were sucked into a pop culture world, break free from its iron grip? Well, it’s not easy. Many teens who build up the courage to walk into their high school, be themselves, and stand out against the background of the norm fall into another deep, dark hole of conformity.

    I would say one of the biggest conformist labels today would be the “preps.” “Prep” look is a cheery, colorful, sexy look. But why throw away individuality and adopt “prepism”? The stereotypical preppy girl is a dumb blonde/brunet who is getting through life on her looks. An Anna Nichole, if you will. Her bought look, which is basically 100% fake from her clothing to her smile, is many times an overpowering knife of happiness, which decapitates the person under the clothing and replaces her with a happy-go-lucky robot. Nothing screams individuality in her image; instead, it screams, Do these shoes match my bag?

    What is the easiest way to change one’s image and placement in a labeled society? Money, of course. Money can do just about anything in society today. It can make someone fit in, look cool, and in the nobility of the teen world, be top dog. Clothing lines like “Hot Topic,” “Zummies,” and “Abercrombie and Finch” know teens have money and want to spend it. These companies sell clothing and other merchandise at high prices, because they are certain that if a teen wants it, he or she will find a way to buy it. These companies don’t just sell clothing; they sell looks.   And teens kill for these looks.

    But what about those teens looking for a way out of pop culture? They are in luck. Being a rebel is a trendy thing to do these days. Being different is becoming a new fad. Looking as weird as you can and standing out from everyone else in society is becoming the norm. Get the hint yet? Many parents are wondering where they went wrong in the upbringing of their starry-eyed young children and seeing them turn into “Goths” or “punks.” Why are teens these days buying clothing with spikes, chains, and rips? And what is with all the black? Why are these teen rebels conforming to the same look? How are they trying to become individuals, if they keep trying to look as outrageous as everyone else? These kids who wear ripped-up jeans and black novelty t-shirts to high school are the same kids who wore khakis and plaid shirts in fifth grade. But their new look falls into the irony of trying to stand out. The teens buy clothing and listen to the music that is supposed to make them cool among their other “punk” comrades. These teens tried to step out of pop culture but just ended up tripping over themselves and arriving back face first into another conformist group. Meanwhile, businesses like “Hot Topic” are laughing all the way to the bank.

    So how does society’s youth climb their way out of the money traps of conformity?   Being an individual in the world of teens is worse than a bad dream of going to school naked. Image is everything in the bloodthirsty halls of high school. Only the well dressed survive. How do teens learn to be comfortable with their own sense of styles, likes, and dislikes? Can they really show their true colors? Maybe this is one of those lessons they have to learn on their own. Maybe one day in the future they will look at pictures of their teen years and laugh at what they wore.

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