Monday, May 15, 2017

normativity

We’re all normal, because none of us are normal, and therefore that makes us all normal. It could be easy to deduce that normality no longer exists, but a more refined and correct statement would be that perfectionism no longer exists.


We all have problems. Let’s say that somebody bites their nails. Although this would be considered a problem and therefore make this person not normal, they’re indeed actually extremely normal. Not only do a large amount of people also bite their nails, but even those who don’t likely have an equally or even worse problem of their own.


When one does choose to embrace their personal normativity, they are then living a more honest life with themselves and those around them. This will reduce stress and anxiety, build deeper relationships, and teach the valuable lesson of normativity to people around them.


People are afraid to embrace their personal normativity because society as a whole shifts as one single unit, those on the outskirts are either too far ahead or too far behind. Outliers of this spectrum are rarely welcomed and are therefore often left behind. Society only welcomes another cog in its machine, not outliers.


A perfect example of society shifting as a unit would be the recent hipster epidemic in the United States. Now, more than ever before in the history of the United States, do more people identify as hipster. At this current rate, the amount of hipsters will soon surpass the amount of mainstreamers. In a way it’s funny, because mainstreamers are now becoming the hipsters and vice versa. This specific example of a unitary societal shift could also be identified as a classic role reversal.


Role reversals often happen on a cyclical basis. This is due to minority groups winning an abnormally high amount in comparison to the total pool of players. Just a few short years ago, the average age of my alma mater’s college graduating class was 22, as expected. Nowadays it’s up to 26 because of nontraditional students, the minority. However, what we will see over the next few years is that once nontraditional students move from the minority to the majority, they will then become traditional students, and the formerly labeled traditional students will become nontraditional students and will begin to drive the average age back down to 22 years old again. Role reversals almost always eventually find an equilibrium.  


Note: Minority in this article is not used with any connotation about race or ethnicity, only a less populated group than the majority.

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