Today's youth stereotypes

A recent conversation with a rather prematurely wizened granddaughter, all of 13, awarded me some pointers on the kind of youthful urban denizens she has to contend with. Well, not exactly contend, but more of — given her cheery outlook and penchant for seeing humor in everything — navigate through, especially in terms of social relationships.

It all started when I asked her oh-so-innocently what the difference was between a so-called “hipster” and a “scenester.” In no unclear terms did she perorate on the distinctions as she knew them. I felt that I had tapped a virtual mine of teen-age wisdom as far as character types go.

Whereas in our time one was either promdi or street-smart, innocent or badass, these days it seems that randomization has also naturally taken a grip on the kinds of sons and daughters or grandchildren we raise.

Oh, great dread. But here, for parents and lolas and lolas, is part of the account I asked Ava Amica a.k.a. Pooh, in Grade 7 at St. Paul’s College Pasig, to write down for me, for a better understanding of today’s stereotypes (inclusive of “emo” and “goth”).

I turn over this weekly space almost entirely to her roster and respective descriptions/distinctions:

Common in schools (especially dreaded high school) are the stereotypes. Although the Philippines is more safe from groupings than, say, America and/or other countries, there are still (unfortunately) some cases of stereotype phenomena running around the country (Emo being the top competitor.) This is a list of the other so-called stereotypes.

The Popular Kids — Otherwise known as the “A-listers,” the “In Crowd,” or “School Royalty” of the student body. To be “in” you’d have to be one (preferably all) of the following: (a) Rich; (b) Pretty/Handsome; (c) Know how to take the royal rein (there will be competition, of course); (d) You’re dating an A-lister; (e) (If you’re a guy) A top varsity player or a “surfer dude” OR a “bad boy”; or (f) You’re very nice and/or charming.

In movies you’ll see them as snobbish, bigheaded, insanely rich, arrogant, and usually as the antagonist. This, however, is not always the case. There have been some examples of A-listers who have found their way to the throne because they made it a point to befriend and be nice to everyone, thus making them popular.

There are supposedly three levels of popularity: low-level popularity, mid-level popularity, and high-level popularity. The lower class consists of usually just copies of each other or the higher classes. This class has more of the possibility of being (*cues dramatic music*) booted out or being chosen as minions by the mid- or high classes (speaking more generically, re girls).

(Columnist’s note: I skip the lengthy part on the minions and sub-groups among the “popular” and move on to the more distinct stereotypes.) 

Goth — Someone who likes the darker side of things. A person is considered or considers him or herself a goth in many different ways. People say they are goth because of the fashion, some because of the music, and others because of the attitude. The fashion generically consists of black, crosses, and skulls. Gothic girl garb also includes lace and corsets or corset-fashioned tops. Music is usually metal and goth music.

Makeup includes a lot of black eyeliner for girls and also a few of the boys. Red or black are the usual eye shadow colors applied around the girl’s eyes. The female goth’s lipstick can range from black, violet, plum, brown or red. The goths share mostly the same palette as the “minimalist” — which are basically red, white, black or any color related, like a dark plum.

Sub-types among goths include the cybergoth, perkygoth, mopeygoth, romantigoth, and punk goth — the last quite different from the next category. 

Punk — A person who listens to punk rock, hence the name Punk, and whose ideology is basically to rebel. “Punk is all about being yourself, liking what you like, doing what you do and not having to live up to someone else’s expectations but your own.” Sub-types include the steampunk and the cyberpunk, the last entirely different from the cyberprep (a sub-type of the “Preppy”) who is actually knowledgeable about technology. 

Scenester — tries hard to fit the stereotype of a certain trend, often having to do with a specific genre of music (e.g. emo, indie, rock, or punk). Scenesters dress and act in a certain fashion, and are quite vain. They also often know all about books, poetry, movies, and other art genres to “fit in with the crowd.”

Hipster (or Art Freak) — different from the scenester who wants to be like other people. The hipster wants to be his/her own individual self — as this generation’s Beatniks.

Indie Kids in turn would be the “younger” version of hipsters.

Emos — We all know what emos are — in tune with emotions, quite like goths and punks but even more sensitive. There are two main types: the cool emo kid (the real one) and the wannabe (most likely a poser). 

Geek — The term “geek” originally referred to the carnival performers. Nowadays, it is a term given to a person who is exceptionally good at what he or she does. 

Stoner — Somebody who smokes marijuana, often.

Floater — Someone who can fit into or has friends in any of the stereotypes mentioned, making it easy for this person to float in and out of a group. Hence the name, Floater.

Then of course there’s the Nerd, who are like geeks, but tend to thirst for knowledge in various subjects. And Nerds are not like you and me.