It’s hard to
By Tanya Mott
avoid stereotypesBEGINNING at the junior high school level, teens find themselves searching for "something." In their search for that "something," they almost always place their families and other responsibilities at the bottom of the priority ladder and follow other members of their peers into diverse cliques. Teens might gravitate to groups such as the "punk rockers," with their extreme, outlandish fashions and spiked hairdos, who hang at punk shows to hear punk bands.
There are "gangsters" with their jive language, baggy and saggy clothing, who ride around in vehicles that go up and down with the help of hydraulics. They feel that belonging to a gang is exciting and gives them a sense of power.
The "gothic" group is yet another of these diverse cliques. They wear black clothing, dye their hair black and pierce their noses, tongues, breasts, navels, toes, buttocks, eyebrows and anything else they can.
Goths are into sadism and masochism. They hang out at nightclubs where chains and leather ropes hang from the ceiling. Whether they truly inflict or receive genuine pain is only their business, but S&M is definitely their idea of fashion.
Yet another group known as "Soljahs" worship the sun. This group is by far more subdued than the others. Their thing involves going to Soljah parties which consist of reggae music and beer. They spend most of their daylight hours on surf or body boards.
Their wardrobe preference is aloha attire with trademark names such as Loco Motion and Billabong.
Then there are the "skaters" (guess what they do), "hippies" (throwbacks to the flower children of San Francisco's 1960s Haight-Ashbury scene) and "greasers." The latter wear jeans and grease their hair in 1950s style.
And there are the "hobrahs" who speak mostly pidgin English, wear "cherry clothing" (flowers, pastels, etc.) and platform shoes.
"Rock-a-billies" listen to a cross of rock and country/western music, dress in blue suede shoes and two-toned clothing.
The list continues with "hip-hoppers," "break dancers," "skinheads," "anti-racist skin heads," and as always, there are the "nerds," whose description is universal.
DID my stereotyping of these individuals make you feel uncomfortable?
Yet, after seeing a list like this, were you immediately able to form a picture in your mind of these individuals?
I have to ask why or what could it be that allows us to do this?
My stereotyping of each of these cliques represents a pattern that has always existed. The rich, the poor, the racist and so on, all are guilty of stereotyping others, even if it is done subconsciously.
Even the people in these groups segregate themselves. They're usually drawn to those who share the same interests. So, today, the youth have their own societies, defined by the clothes they wear, the music they listen to, their likes and dislikes. They often consider each other family.
Could it be that the pattern for this development resulted from a lack of the old form of family, where there was always a parent at home, where neighbors actually looked out for each other and the community was a safe haven?
Are teens today drawn to each other due to the no-parent-at-home syndrome?
Maybe these young people need to belong to something, someone. Could it be that the changing times have pushed young people to evolve into a society more cliquish and fractured than ever before?
Whatever the answer, this is definitely a pattern of life.
Tanya Mott is a senior at Kaiser High School. Rant & Rave is a Tuesday Star-Bulletin feature
allowing those 12 to 22 to serve up fresh perspectives.
Speak up by fax at 523-8509; by answering machine at 525-8666;
snail mail at P.O. Box 3080, Honolulu 96802;
or e-mail, features@starbulletin.com
