I went to high school in the ’80s during the Reagan era where the labels yuppie, preppie, alternative, and indie all got their start. These labels were used to define parts of our culture that based themselves largely on the level of their conformity to a single, narrow vision of behavior, appearance, and belief system. Yuppie and preppie culture embraced conformity as a path to acceptance and communal self-importance. The alternative, indie, and punk cultures all promoted a lifestyle choice that was directly counter to the conformity being pushed by yuppies. It was a conscious act of non-conformity that served as a rejection of that single, narrow system and also promoted a cultural identity that supposedly championed personal, individual creative expression. Popular culture vs. counter-culture is a common experience throughout history, but in a society that thrives on it’s labels and boxes of identity, is the counter-culture merely just a reflection of the exact same conformity it’s trying to escape? Is it merely replicating the same narrowness, just with a different set of rules?

I’ve been running into a prevailing sense of what I call Conformist Non-Conformity lately that I have found both personally and professionally frustrating. I choose to not get involved in “scenes” or adopt one particular way of dressing. One day a person might put me in one category, the next day they might put me in a completely different category based purely on what I’m wearing. I wear what I like and how I choose to represent myself at any given moment. But why do so-called non-conformists seem to take issue with this? Why do I get disdainful looks or a cold shoulder just because I am not wearing the unspoken uniform of the non-conformist?

Some times I like to wear a suit and tie. I have very nice suits that I think look sharp. They aren’t the same suits one wears at a car dealership. They aren’t insurance salesmen suits. They are for dressing up, going out, and looking good. But when I do this, some people, including people who should know better, look down on me as if I just got off the plane with George Bush and am about to go to my CEO job at AIG. Somehow I’m not accepted merely because I’m not wearing a t-shirt (or a flannel), jeans, and Vans as an every day uniform. By straying off the path of this conformist non-conformity I have ostracized myself and get shunned, often by people who have gotten shunned by the so-called “mainstream” crowd.

I know it happens and I call bullshit. What is the point of going against mainstream culture if you only create a counter-culture that is just as restrictive and exclusive? Isn’t the point to get away from being like everyone else? Not listening to the same music, not wearing the same clothes, and not ascribing to the same belief system just because everyone around you is doing it? If I wear a t-shirt and jeans, it’s my choice. If I wear a suit, it’s my choice. The quality of my character and what I have to say are not altered in any way by that decision. So why treat me like it is? Why treat anyone like that? It’s just conformity with a cooler name tag and I don’t accept it.



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