, later, reggae. It was the sheer joy of the music, I think – music which was genuine, undeniably from the streets, and as far away from middle-class hippies as you could hope for. And the connection with alienated black youth. So we got all that Skinhead Moonstomp and the like, which was built on by Madness and the whole Two-Tone thing. But I digress…
Now, recently, this perpetual style revolution seems to have stopped. Teens are stuck in their bedrooms, on social media. They're prey to all these social contagions, like gender dysphoria. They (seem to be) miserable, anxious, wondering which particular form of mental problem suits them best.
Back in the day there was always this thing about corporate culture catching up and taking over. The Man. As soon as a youth movement was established, the suits moved in and soaked it up, and rebellious youth moved on to the next style. That was part of the dynamic. Now the suits – the tech bros – seem to have won. Elon Musk, and Mark Zuckerberg, and TikTok and the rest. With, on the other side, the dictates of DEI and identity politics providing the predetermined categories into which you're allowed to fit.
Hadley ends with the hope that things get better:
It will be fascinating to see how young people define themselves in this Trump era. I hope they find a way to do it with more joy than last time around, when Greta Thunberg’s anxious, unhappy face seemed emblematic of her generation. Say what you want about 1990s magazines as a youth movement, but at least they had a sense of humour. And I hope they find something that allows for a collective experience, rather than the atomised loneliness fostered by the internet. Yes, things are bad, but the style magazines emerged in the Thatcher era, so you can create fun in the bleakest of times. It’s your turn now, Gen Z: put your best Face forward.
Well…we'll see.
Leave a Reply