The new Goths?

[VforVienetta]

It occurs to me that every generation has its movement for disaffected youth; punks, hippies, goths, etc etc and so on and so on for every generation.
There are 'true' punks/goths/hippies still today, who truly identify with their movement's tenets etc, but most grew out of it as they got older. Plenty of ex-punks with chintz sofas and 9-5 jobs, looking forward to their pension. De-punked, if you will.
Of course, the trans trend is affecting laws and rights, so is a hell of a lot more concerning than some moody looking teens in black hanging around the town centre.
Do you think trans is this generation's 'thing'?

Have any of you read about the Harry Potter fan base link among the fan fiction writing mid to older teens - lots of self harm and trans talk apparently. Bizzare but real according to a friend who's teen DD is getting sucked in.

anothernotherone
There is plenty of really vile stuff regarding HP fandom, apparently it attracted paedophiles.

I think trans fills the same space for young people as past youth movements so in that sense I agree.

What I find striking is that punks, goths, hippies, mods, emos etc. etc. were grass-roots youth movements. They were a form of rebellion against mainstream norms. Parents, teachers etc. didn't approve, they would roll their eyes, quietly take the piss and encourage the youngsters to at least smarten themselves up for job interviews and to 'turn that music DOWN!'

Compare this with the multi billion dollar worldwide trans industry with seemingly the whole of healthcare, education, whole governments, vast swathes of the third sector etc. cheering along.

This is not a youth movement in the true sense, it's a top-down pseudo youth movement. It's astroturf.

I was a goth from the mid 90s to mid 00s.
Most of the guys wore make up and some wore women's clothes, but very few of them claimed to be trans. I can only think of one out my large circle of acquaintances at that time that had a female name.
However, it was very fashionable to be bisexual, for both men and women.
For the people I know, for 100% of them it was a trend that was over before they were 30, and they all totally heterosexual now and a little embarrassed about that phase of their lives.

FishCanFly really . That's so dark. I think most parents assume it's innocent and harmless - I was shocked to hear even the little I did.

Some old guy said its a "conspiracy to make everyone bisexual". I laughed at him back then, but now look like his senses were right.

There are a lot of things old square people said when I was younger, that I thought were crazy. And now they seem like they were prophetic.

It's not anti-establishment though, is it? The establishment (main political parties) seem to be all for it, leaving anyone GC with no political home.

And being taught we must be Goth because we felt we didn't identify with, say, Kylie Minogue, was not something we encountered in the classroom.

I think there are far more similarities with a cult than with youth culture.

I was an 80s-90s goth and punk, didn’t fit in at school, wasn’t skinny and pretty, so decided to be fabulous instead and go to the other extreme. Plus I loved the drama of dressing up, and experimenting with makeup and hair. I really did find “my tribe”.

There was also a pecking order and kind of orthodoxy about it: you were supposed to be vegetarian, and not smile, and hate disco and country - well I just scoffed at that, as a cheerful omnivore Boney M fan. But then I didn’t have social media jumping all over me if I stepped out of line, and my only body modification was getting my nose pierced.

I think most parents assume it's innocent and harmless
that's the thing. As a parent, you don't know what to be wary of. You can block pornhub and similar filth, but you can't really ban your kids from being interested in art, literature or fandoms that are meant for children. Thank goodness mine aren't interested in anime or furries because that's one scary rabbit hole. But I won't be surprised if something sinister creeps up in Minecraft or Fortnite communities