'alternative' = antisocial (?)

grtwhtgrvty · 05-12-2015, 03:50 PM

I don't think that alternative trends are inherently antisocial. I think an alternative trends can be antisocial, but it isn't because it is alternative.

Take Antony Hagarty for example.

She used to walk around NYC in the early 2000s wearing a trench coat, combat boots, and the words "**** off" written on her face. This is objectively antisocial, both in the antagonistic, psychology sense, and in the more general "don't talk to me, I don't want to interact" sense.

You can look at Leigh Bowery, for example

Someone who took drag and turned away from the 'feminization' of the male sex, instead opting for an abstract, almost masculine aesthetic -- very tall, very big, very imposing, very intimidating. This was incredibly antagonistic in the culture Leigh Bowery exposed his visual and performance art to (1980s-1990s England). It wasn't necessarily avoidant, moreso antagonistic, and counter to the very stiff, rigid, uniform, almost aesthetically communistic mindset of England at that time.

Ignoring the psychology definition of antisocial, and looking it from a social standpoint, I think that the concept of being antisocial is, nowadays, very subjective. You could argue that nothing is really antisocial in the same way you might argue the nonexistence of universal morality. It's all a matter of perception, really.

If I saw someone dressed up like Leigh Bowery walking down the streets of NYC I would definitely want to interact with them. I think that in contemporary culture, it's less a matter of antisocial and more a matter of mainstream stigma vs things misunderstood, or a sheer lack of even attempting to understand.

You could argue that in the deep, rural south of the US, being gay is antisocial. In Russia, the punk group Pussy Riot is seen as antisocial. We can look at it objectively if we deem the concept of being antisocial as counter to the mainstream, but that would be the easy way out.

I think that in contemporary society, with the way culture is now, there is a place for everyone with the internet. No matter who you are (generalizing for the sake of fluidity), there is a community or culture where you are an antisocial and one where you are normality.

05-12-2015, 03:50 PM	#18 (permalink)
grtwhtgrvty jiojoijoi Join Date: Feb 2015 Posts: 398	I don't think that alternative trends are inherently antisocial. I think an alternative trends can be antisocial, but it isn't because it is alternative. Take Antony Hagarty for example. She used to walk around NYC in the early 2000s wearing a trench coat, combat boots, and the words "**** off" written on her face. This is objectively antisocial, both in the antagonistic, psychology sense, and in the more general "don't talk to me, I don't want to interact" sense. You can look at Leigh Bowery, for example Someone who took drag and turned away from the 'feminization' of the male sex, instead opting for an abstract, almost masculine aesthetic -- very tall, very big, very imposing, very intimidating. This was incredibly antagonistic in the culture Leigh Bowery exposed his visual and performance art to (1980s-1990s England). It wasn't necessarily avoidant, moreso antagonistic, and counter to the very stiff, rigid, uniform, almost aesthetically communistic mindset of England at that time. Ignoring the psychology definition of antisocial, and looking it from a social standpoint, I think that the concept of being antisocial is, nowadays, very subjective. You could argue that nothing is really antisocial in the same way you might argue the nonexistence of universal morality. It's all a matter of perception, really. If I saw someone dressed up like Leigh Bowery walking down the streets of NYC I would definitely want to interact with them. I think that in contemporary culture, it's less a matter of antisocial and more a matter of mainstream stigma vs things misunderstood, or a sheer lack of even attempting to understand. You could argue that in the deep, rural south of the US, being gay is antisocial. In Russia, the punk group Pussy Riot is seen as antisocial. We can look at it objectively if we deem the concept of being antisocial as counter to the mainstream, but that would be the easy way out. I think that in contemporary society, with the way culture is now, there is a place for everyone with the internet. No matter who you are (generalizing for the sake of fluidity), there is a community or culture where you are an antisocial and one where you are normality.