The shape of the world

by: SOPHIA BOYCE editor-in-chief The ‘Norm’ in Society T h e S h a p e o f T h e W o r l d

“Do you want to be a boy?”

My aunt has asked my ten year old cousin, Mia, this for the past few years. You might ask why has she been asking this question? It’s actually quite simple. For around three years my cousin has been asking for, what she classifies as, ‘boy’ clothes. My cousin thinks that sweatshirts are just for boys. She actually has quite a few qualms about stores, and how they market clothing to children. As she recently went into a Disney store, she realized only the boys’ section sold sweatshirts. The girls’ section only had the option of princess dresses. Normally she would have just settled for a sweatshirt out of the boys’ section, but she didn’t want StarWars or Avengers merch, she wanted a hoodie with a princess on it.

On the one hand, society has evolved so much, but on the other, we’re still pushing old fashion stereotypes onto boys and girls. Societal norms are something that affects our lives from the get go. As kids grow up they are told that pink is for girls, and blue is for boys. Girls are classified as tomboys if they want to play with trucks, and not wear dresses; boys are seen as not manly enough if they play with Barbies. What we as a society regard to be ‘acceptable’ conduct for individuals as well as groups is very limiting.

For years many people have been arguing that societal norms are harmful, yet we still perpetuate them. Saying that, I do believe that in the past decade things have changed dramatically and in a short span of time. After gay marriage was legalized in America, there was a big shift towards PC culture, aka Politically Correct culture. We started talking about things deemed ‘socially unacceptable’ in the past in a much more open way, which is a drastic shift to make when you’ve grown up thinking the opposite.

When it comes to controversial topics, it always goes back to those generational shifts and political power. Most people who are a part of Generation Z (1995- 2012) grew up under the Obama administration: The first black president, a very anti-bullying, accepting presidency. Baby Boomers (1946-1964) grew up in a society where racism and homophobia were the norm. Those are two completely opposite mindsets that reside in the same social environment. The younger generations are pushing towards open-mindedness, while the baby boomers are still in positions of power. On top of that we have Generation X (1961-1981) and Millennials (1981-1996) who are in the middle. Millennials are, much like Gen Z, more inclined, and accepting towards PC culture. My aunt is a good example of Gen X, and the conflict they face with PC culture. It’s overwhelming, and they don’t fully understand, and people aren’t explaining it to them. Instead they get attacked online for something they did ten years ago. But on the flip side of that coin, younger people now just assume it’s common sense that it’s okay for boys to play with Barbies, because most people just don’t care

Racism

Conservative LGBTQ+

Homophobia

Gen Y Liberal

Politics

Ageism

Baby Boomer

grow, learn more, and do better. But after the introduction of the portable internet through cell phones, and social media, that change has been happening much quicker, particularly -- in the public sphere. Perhaps part of the problem is that the people in power have such starkly opposing views to those seeking change. Older generations think that the way they grew up, and their opinions on what is ‘acceptable’ or ‘normal’ are right, because that’s how it was in their day. This is not a new concept. Younger generations always butt heads with older generations; and more specifically, they blame each other for the world’s problems. People can ignore change, but not prevent it.

Take, for example, a shape sorting toy for babies. There are slots for the triangle, square, circle, etc, and in a perfect world they fit every time. But more often than not, the baby tries to put the square in the round hole slot -- spoiler, it doesn’t fit. These politicians who are 70, 73, 78, are the square pieces that are inserting themselves into a board that they no longer fit into.

In the past people would retire around the age of 60-65, because there were younger people who could do their job better by the new standards of contemporary society. Why do current politicians think they are exempt from this idea? There is always going to be a younger generation that better understands the social environment that they grew up in, better than those in power, who, let’s face it are rooted to the past. It’s the natural chain of succession. As the common saying goes, “if you can’t stand the heat, get out of the kitchen.” Unfortunately for us, our government does not even believe in the heat. It is one thing to be nostalgic, it’s another to force the younger generations to fit into an outdated mold.

Fundamentally, people want to be right, but when it comes to societal norms it’s not ‘oh this is right or wrong’ it’s ‘this isn’t working anymore.’ When you know better, you do better. While there is something to be said about the people making a change, government backing helps solidify that change.

I do not believe that as a nation we would be as open to the LGBTQ+ community as we are today if the Obama administration had not supported legalized gay marriage. I’m not saying that everyone is open and welcoming to the LGBTQ+ community, but it is not longer socially acceptable to call people ‘faggots,’and the world is a kinder, better place because of this change.

Society is changing at a much faster rate today. It took hundreds of years to tone racism down to the level it is today, while it only took 20 years to go from the first ‘modern’ computer to everyone having smart phones. Change is moving exponentially, and for people who grew up with that concept of change, it’s easy, but for those who didn’t, it’s hard to grasp. Gen Z kids are not exactly empathetic towards Boomers, but when they put their head in the sand and ignore reality as it is today, it’s not necessarily unfair. The world is different now than it was three years ago, let alone 100 years ago, and it’s only going to keep changing; the only thing that is ‘norm’ in society is the fact that it is in constant transformation. //