SHACKLES OF SOCIETY IN THE MULTIVERSE AND BEYOND / MARIYAM QUAISAR

SHACKLES OF SOCIETY IN THE MULTIVERSE AND BEYOND

WORDS MARIYAM QUAISAR

Society doesn’t let us feel like individuals, but how much does it truly matter if our socalled individuality may just be replicated in another universe?

3.7 billion years ago, the earliest form of life made its way on to earth, and experienced predetermined conditions allowing it to survive, create, and evolve. Fast forward to about 200,000 years ago, homo sapiens—the first modern humans—developed. Over the past couple thousand years, mankind has transformed from lifestyle to lifestyle, and society to society… up until this moment.

Until now, groups of humans have dictated how their people will live in order to be accepted by society and its norms. Since conception, our decisions have been made for us, whether it’s by our parents, our teachers, our coaches, our peers, or the looming, invisible norm police. Everything we have done and will do is not a reflection of ourselves, but of the community we resonate with, and the greater communities surrounding us. And unfortunately, this will continue far, far beyond this moment.

Free expression of spirit is lost—or maybe it never truly existed—due to the interference of our conscious minds. We shut down and lock up the singularity that creates diverse human beings, and, consequently, our beings mentally and physically suffer the burden of conforming. In terms of physical scrutiny, the way in which we have treated and transformed our bodies is a reflection of how pressured we are to abide by the “unsaid” rules on body normativity. All communities have notions about the “normal” body which vary across cultures. The influence of a society’s values and traditions sets acceptable versus unacceptable standards on how somebody should look and live, stripping an individual of their individuality—the power of personal choices. Tremendous decisions like what college to attend, trivial decisions like what bag to bring to class, and tolerable decisions like what type of man to go on a date with are all shaped by what the collective society would condone. But society commands nothing as severely as it does the human body.

Body normativity crushes a person’s ability to feel control over how their body looks because it’s either accepted or not, with very little in between. In this white, American society, there is a pressure to have (basically) negative body fat, a grabbable ass, bouncing tits, sharp jawlines—whatever the current societal trend may be. These societal regulations block an individual’s path to recognize their body as their own. Instead, the body becomes a product of society that is shaped and toned in unnatural ways.

These pressurizing norms hold very little power when examined in the big picture, just as individuals do. In reference to the earth, we are so miniscule and insignificant; in reference to the multiverse, we are just another copy of ourselves. Despite these ever-changing, inconsequential body trends, individuals continue scrambling to meet the current (apparently deadly-ifyou-don’t-follow) standards.

Right now, there is a blend of early 2000s fashion trends mixed with modern day body standards—the ability (and confidence) to wear low waisted pants. In a few years, high waisted skinny jeans may resurface, so the pressure to have a flat waist falls away because a person’s stomach is no longer on display. The point is, while body normativity

“AT THE END OF THE DAY, THE NOTION OF INDIVIDUALITY SLIPS THROUGH OUR FINGERS NOT ONLY WHEN WE ALLOW OTHERS TO DICTATE WHO WE ARE AND HOW WE LOOK, BUT ALSO THROUGH THE PHENOMENON THAT A REPLICA OF EACH INDIVIDUAL FROM THIS UNIVERSE EXISTS IN ANOTHER.”

does not need to stay consistent, people still must diligently adhere to them despite all the arbitrary remodeling.

Past civilizations saw excess body fat as a sign of wealth and prosperity, now it’s looked down upon. Tattoos, which used to represent important cultural and societal symbols in a variety of communities, are now linked with a “rebel status.” Women used to desire smaller butts and thinner thighs so as to not be labeled “fat,” now we are exerting our lower body twice a week to grow our glutes, or getting plastic surgery to physically change our bodies to comply with society’s definition of an attractive body.

The list goes on. As societal norms in regards to how a person’s body should look have altered, the manner in which people react to them transforms with them. When will it end?

The answer: it simply won’t. Individuality does not exist— we are pawns of society and its rules. But, how important is it to take control of our bodies when our “uniqueness” may very well be limited to this universe? We are specks in the biggest picture—specks that are copied and pasted in dimensions across space and time.

At the end of the day, the notion of individuality slips through our fingers not only when we allow others to dictate who we are and how we look, but also through the phenomenon that a replica of each individual from this uni

verse exists in another. And if we are replicated in another universe or dimension, then what purpose do we really have on this earth to be or feel special. Our singularity ends right there: when the notion that another version of you, maybe one that’s just wearing a different colored sweater, exists right over the multiverse barrier.

What we do, who we are, what we feel is not our own. It is shaped by the environment around us that forces certain actions and reactions. As society collectively decides what way of life—especially how a being should look—is acceptable, individuals give up their power. We become products of societal norms, regardless of how hard we think we are fighting back. The laws of the collective society get stronger as another person comments on the size of their butt or the size of their jeans. Our individuality is struck down when we compare, which is a thing no human cannot do.

But, if someone else, someone very similar to you not so far away, may very well be doing the same and feeling the same, why does it even matter? It matters because whether we are specks or not, we are living a life that demands to be seen as special.

We are living a life that doesn’t deserve to be bound by social norms. We are living a life that deserves self expression that breaks the shackles tied by the norm police. We are living a life that deserves adventurous exploration into who we are as a unique part of a collective, not as the collective.