Has "Alt" gone mainstream?

Added: 2026-05-19

[00:00:00]I thoroughly enjoyed the Winter Olympics. My personal highlight was the Olympic skeleton, and I'd rather show it than describe it.

[00:00:15]It looks so silly and it's delightful.

[00:00:17]Luj is when one is on their back and they sometimes do it in pairs, his and hers. That's my kind of date night. But for many, the hyo was Alisa Leo and her gold victory in figure skating.

[00:00:30]>> My name is Alisa Leo.

[00:00:32]>> Fun fact, I can ice skate backwards.

[00:00:35]Yeah, I'm bragging. Back to Alisa. She's been called the alt it girl. She is the moment. What makes her so remarkable is that she retired from figure skating at 16 years old to be free to be a normal teenager, but then returned under the condition that this time round she could be herself, to have control over her dress, her song choices during her routines, and her diet. If you aren't aware, figure skating has historically had strict dress codes. There's a lot of pageantry in it, and there's a grim track record of eating disorders and toxic working conditions in the industry. On a brighter note, Alisa's victory is proof that you can subvert the skating handbook and still win. She performs to Mitzky, Lady Gaga, Donna Summer, and Ley rather than the traditional Nutcracker or Swan Lake.

[00:01:24]She's not only challenging the cultural norms of skating, but also the artistic norms. The most visible marker of this is her alt style, her halo hair, her frenulum piercing that she did herself as the alt it girl or altgirl of the moment. Naturally, there are people debating whether she is truly alt. I've been very frustrated by some incessant Alisa Leol fans that believe she's the alt queen of figure skating. I find this to be a bit annoying because it gives me deja vu. I've suffered enough from Tik Tok's incessant watering down of existing alternative subcultures like Guyru or scene into weird core or scene core. This one is particularly bad into something more palatable for everybody.

[00:02:13]She literally just has horizontal chunky highlights and one smiley piercing. This is likely just how they are marketing her to people as the Olympics roll around, but it feels very performative to me and I feel not many people see this the way I do. You mean to tell me that an Olympic figure skater is performative?

[00:02:32]Now the replies. Bro, go touch grass. If I see anyone with a smiley and Alisa's hair, I'm going to assume they're alt.

[00:02:39]Maybe she isn't to people in the alternative space, but to the general public, she is very much alternative.

[00:02:46]While things like her halo dyed hair and smiley piercing may be mainstream in a lot of circles now, they are very much not in elite figure skating circles. For a figure skater, she is quite alt girl.

[00:02:58]And I think this is a perfect microcosm of the alt debate. So, let's explore it.

[00:03:04]But first, what is alt really?

[00:03:14]She's 14. Her name is Sarah. And find out what's going on here. Sarah, come on out.

[00:03:28]Sarah, what's the problem?

[00:03:31]>> There's no problem. They were booing me.

[00:03:33]I mean, I want to be like at least a little different. And this isn't trying to get attention. This is just me.

[00:03:41]>> You don't care. You don't care about your father. You don't care about anything.

[00:03:46]>> What the hell?

[00:03:46]>> You don't What is this that you don't care on stage? What the hell? Sarah, >> your mother is a beautiful looking woman. Just take a look at her.

[00:03:56]>> You could be just like her.

[00:03:58]>> Cuz right now you look terrible.

[00:04:00]>> So do you.

[00:04:03]>> Good day class. Professor Mooney here.

[00:04:05]Yeah, it's pronounced moo like cow and then knee like kneecap, not muknney. Fun fact, in case you're new here, this is the only channel on YouTube where all videos are written and produced by a cow. She couldn't be in the video today because she's actually at an all day rave and she didn't want to film in there with the strobes and lights because that wouldn't be considerate to our epileptic viewers. But if you like and subscribe, she might appear in the next video. First off, I'm going to discuss what alt/alternative fashion is as a whole. Not the alt style created by Tik Tok, which has become its own substyle. I mean alternative in the classical sense. Alternative fashion is basically fashion that is non- mainstream. It is fundamentally non-conformist and represents subcultures and alternative music genres. It is an umbrella term that encapsulates so much that it's no wonder that it leads to so much debate and discourse. And just to add, an alternative style doesn't have to be dark and moody and come in all black. It can be colorful. It can be super pink.

[00:05:11]The whole point is that it's out there and goes against the grain. Some define it in a you know it when you see it kind of way whereas others view it as a spectrum. You know where you can have on one end of the spectrum where someone dresses gothesque and then on the other end of the spectrum someone who is fullon goth. And I'm aware that some people may take issue with that definition and use a much higher bar.

[00:05:34]We'll get there my pretties. But I don't want to confuse you too early if I haven't already with the cow bit. So here's some examples of alternative styles. At least according to the Wikipedia page. Beatnick, cottagecore, cyber fashion, emo, flapper, goth, greaser, grunge, hiphop, hipster, hippie, mod, skater, steampunk, surfer, etc. Subg genres can have sub subg genres like with goths. Now, some goths would contest this notion and argue that the creation of all these subg genres is about the fashion aesthetic and not the music. So things like new goth and cyber goths aren't really goth. Others argue that there are subg genres in goth but it's about the music. You know like goth rock versus dark wave. Those differing music crowds might dress a bit differently. But again it's primarily about the music. Now knowing the minutia of goth isn't essential for this video.

[00:06:30]You just need to know that metal and goth aren't the same. Goths metal heads don't get angry with me. But there are people out there who will see one of you and call you the other, which is why I clarified the distinction. So, you're welcome. Many alt subcultures are music- based, but not all of them. So, remember that. But because of this, many argue that in order to be part of the subculture, you've got to be into the music. You want to be punk, you have to like real punk music. You want to be goth, you have to like real goth music.

[00:07:02]You want to be grunge, you have to like real grunge music. so on and so forth.

[00:07:07]Please don't call yourself a metal head or a punk if you're exclusively into bands like Imagine Dragons. The fashion is a physical manifestation of the music. As an example, there is New Wave, a poppier and brighter development of punk. New wave is described as twitchy with choppy rhythm guitars and angular riffs. And therefore you see this with the sharp shoulder pads and blunt shaped eye makeup along with bright colors. And you see the punk origins. Punk describes a music genre but also a subculture that was anti-establishment and anti- capitalism. And therefore the style was loud, prickly, and DIY. It was genderbending. Like many alt subcultures, punk women often had mohawks and masculine clothing, flappers challenged the gender norms of the 20s.

[00:08:03]Think of how metal head men often grow out their hair long. Alternative fashion is not a fixed aesthetic. And that's because what reads as alternative is relative to whatever the mainstream is expecting at any moment in time. For women and fem presenting people, being alternative has often meant pushing back against expectations of being things like palatable and soft and visually pleasing. They're supposed to look effortlessly attractive. And adult style has historically rejected that idea. It rejects it through heaviness and darkness and exaggeration. And that's why things like heavy boots, dramatic silhouettes, dark makeup, visually too much styling have read as alternative for women. Men's alternative fashion pushes back on a different set of expectations. Right now, the dominant norm for men is not trying too hard. So, when men dress with intention, with sensuality, or with some drama, that can read as alternative, not because of the clothes themselves, but because it breaks with what men are expected to be.

[00:08:57]In both cases, alternative fashion isn't about one specific look. It's really about resisting whatever version of normal you're being nudged toward.

[00:09:04]Furthermore, you can't separate subcultures from politics. I would argue that's what separates a subculture from a mere aesthetic. Punk was a movement that was anti-consumerism. Beatnicks embraced sexual and substance freedom.

[00:09:20]And hippies protested war. Duh. The motivation to join one of these subcultures doesn't have to be strictly for a political cause, but also seeking identity after feeling like an outsider.

[00:09:31]The overall driving force is anti-formity. And do you do it? Why do you do it? Do you do it for the the attention?

[00:09:38]>> Well, coming from a conservative state, I have to rebel. I have to I cannot be like everybody else.

[00:09:43]>> Emos went against the grain by creating and listening to music that was unapologetically emotional and raw and some called IT WHINY >> BECAUSE TONIGHT WILL BE THE NIGHT THAT I WILL FALL FOR you again.

[00:09:57]>> Granted, they were often right, but there's something refreshingly real about emo music, especially as someone who grew up in Britain. Stiff up a lip and all that. I was an emo kid or want to be emo or whatever. The music became my special interest. I felt like such a misphere and so alone as an undiagnosed autistic tween girl. I needed an outlet.

[00:10:20]So, thank you Jimmy World and thank you Paramore. I also remember that back in the day a lot of pop punk musicians wore to write love on her arms merch, which is a nonprofit helping those affected by addiction and mental illness. And they probably had the right crowd for this cause. Now, the bummer about all of this is that one might join a subculture because they feel like an outsider, but then get further otherred for being identifiably part of a subculture. Or you join said subculture, not even as a conscious choice, but because you happen to like goth music and wearing black, so that's where you end up. But then you're accused of being the spawn of Satan and a threat to public safety. Yeah, let's talk about Coline.

[00:11:02]>> It's what's known as the Gothic boot.

[00:11:05]violent and black.

[00:11:06]>> Black relates to the dark side. Gothics usually dress in all black. They a lot of times put white makeup on their face to appear dead.

[00:11:13]>> Now we're going to get blamed for a lot of reasons like this. People are going to start blaming >> the music.

[00:11:19]Blame the clothes.

[00:11:20]>> The shooters were identified or misidentified as goth by the media. And as a result, there was a moral panic.

[00:11:28]>> There have been a series of violent episodes around the country linked to teenagers who called themselves goths.

[00:11:33]Schools created policies banning goth dress styles and goths were targeted by the public due to the scaremongering.

[00:11:39]Several school districts in the Denver area are banning students from wearing gothlike trench coats and kids told us that police are rounding up some gothic teens. This young man's friend was brought in for questioning.

[00:11:51]>> One of my friends gets arrested off the street for wearing a black trench coat walking down the street for doing nothing wrong.

[00:11:56]>> And you know it's Taylor's oldest time.

[00:11:58]People are stigmatized for challenging the status quo. This morning, we've invited five punk rockers to come here and explain and tell us why they are the way they are.

[00:12:09]>> Everybody's into their own thing, you know? I mean, there some people are into heavy metal. Some people are into being junior executives. We're into this just because this this scene gives you the opportunity to be an individual and you get to say what you want to say and do what you want to do. And if anyone disagrees with you, they can come up to your face and tell you so instead of, you know, >> but you know, when they write about it, the writers always say, "This was born out of a frustration that uh you guys had somewhere along the way with your parents, with your family with super experts keep writing all these stupid books and having these stupid talk like Phil Donnie, you had this ridiculous show on. I'm sorry, Phil, but you really blow." And uh all he did was all he did was put words in our mouth. He kept coming up and going, "You hate your parents, right? You hate your parents.

[00:12:52]You're all fascist Nazis, right? Right.

[00:12:53]And we're like, where are you getting this from, Phil?

[00:12:56]>> Well, he's getting it from the same place we get it from, from what we read about it.

[00:12:58]>> Well, where do you read these things?

[00:13:00]>> Well, New York magazine for Okay, let's start with that. That was just out a couple months ago.

[00:13:05]>> Peter Browner should not be allowed to write for bazooka bubblegum comics, guys. Completely incompetent journalists.

[00:13:11]>> Well, then tell me where it comes from because it is kind of an eccentric way of >> You know what it is? These people get these ideas. All right, we're going to do this great story on on this like bizarre cult, right? They go down to bars and they they eaves drop in on conversations and then they don't even print the whole truth. What they do is pick the most sensational, you know, stories, sex, drugs, orgies, you know, I mean, like the whole article is supposed to be on the music scene and he ends up writing about my sex life. Who cares about my sex life?

[00:13:37]>> I do.

[00:13:39]>> This was nothing new. Hippies of the 1960s were associated with promiscuity.

[00:13:44]And of course, it goes beyond just disliking people for being different.

[00:13:48]People often attack subcultures because of their association with minorities.

[00:13:53]The motivations can be hate, as in hate crimes. So, one might attack a punk woman because she looks like a lesbian.

[00:14:02]And what I'm about to talk about is a subculture that was targeted because of racism. Zoot suits were popular in hipster, not how it's defined now, or hpcat subcultures around jump blues and jazz music in the 1940s. Zoot suits were also popular among pachukos. Chucana youths wore these suits as self-empowerment. It spread to women wearing these suits who were referred to as pichukas. They were stereotyped as gang members and in turn there were the zoot suit riots, a series of riots in LA in 1943 where American servicemen and white LA residents targeted Mexican-American youth. They attacked and stripped children, teens, and youth who wore zoot suits, accusing them of being unpatriotic. Following this, the LA city council voted to outlaw the wearing of zoot suits.

[00:14:50]But I hope this helps to demonstrate how fashion is politicized. Therefore, a zootsu is more than a suit that just looks cool. It is that deep. Now, let's bring it back to the more trivial. I have to mention the media trope of curing goths. What would you do if your daughter came home looking like a freak?

[00:15:06]Colored hair, body piercings all over, and in places you don't even want to know about. And everywhere she went, people thought she was a Satan worshipper. She got so fed up with her daughter Mikey's freaky appearance that she kicked her out of her house. Oh, Ricky, it's awful. You ought to see my daughter. She looks like a freak.

[00:15:25]>> What do I say? She's embarrassed. Well, I think she's going to get over it.

[00:15:35]>> Real mature.

[00:15:37]>> That's real mature. You ready for Halloween, though? Halloween is every day for me.

[00:15:44]>> Yeah, but you're hurting MOM THOUGH.

[00:15:46]>> I DON'T MEAN TO HURT MOM. I'M SORRY. For normifying alt people, think of Allison's makeover in the Breakfast Club. And I have a 2000s reality show in mind that is the prime example of anti-alternative propaganda. Snog, Marry, Avoid. It was a British reality TV show broadcast on BBC 3 from 2008 to 2013. This show had two categories of contestants. The former were people who were just a bit orange and dressed a bit skimpily and the latter were alternative people. Sometimes they were both.

[00:16:21]>> Yeah, it's working for me.

[00:16:22]>> Well, it's not working for me. You, Villa, look like a demented hedgehog.

[00:16:27]>> Yeah, but I like that look. They would make under these freaks so they could be attractive to the general British public because the British public famously always has the correct take on things.

[00:16:40]An angel dies.

[00:16:46]And I suppose that brings me on to my main thesis that subcultures are only embraced by the mainstream if they are able to be branded in a way that doesn't truly challenge the status quo. I.e. if they can be used to sell things. There is nothing wrong with liking an aesthetic, but the nature of Tik Tok algorithms is that they're short and snappy and enticing. If your style is influenced by novelty and micro trends rather than music you're deeply connected to or your hobbies or community, you're less likely to develop your own personal style and instead just cycle through various cores. Fast fashion kills creativity. By definition, an alternative subculture, or more so described as alt, is a genre outside of the mainstream which is mainly defined by music. But smaller implements can consist of ideas such as fashion and progressive ideologies. This is why many alternative subcultures who have long been in the scene have based their advocacy in increments of pro- marginalized groups and supporting local underground artists rejecting capitalism. And this has been the case with most subcultures. You know, whether it's goth or the invention of the alt aesthetic on Tik Tok and even rave culture. Rave culture has historically been associated with embracing race, gender, and class equality. But the commodification of rave fashion waters it all down to just partying and drug use. Granted, there is a lot of that.

[00:18:11]But these communities are also places for people to connect. You know, nightclubs are third spaces. Being alternative isn't something you can just become because you like the look of eyeliner and fishnetss. Being alternative truly entails belonging to an alternative ideology. If one turns to a non-conformist subculture to conform to the cultural norm, then the point of the counterculture has been defeated.

[00:18:32]Now that being alternative has become a ubiquitous idea, the power behind being alternative is lost. And that brings me to the question of can you be alt and conservative? In the literal sense, yes, you can dress alt and listen to alt music and have conservative beliefs, but some would argue that it's antithetical to the cultural history. Here's a case study. Skin heads. Skin heads were slash are some still exist a workingclass subculture originating in London in the 1960s where youth would shave their heads and wear dog martins. It was rooted in scar and mod culture. However, down the line it became strongly associated with neo-Nazis.

[00:19:15]There have been skin head groups to counteract this like skin heads against racial prejudice sharp. That being said, their public image is still very closely tied to racism, and I think people fear them. So, here's the thing. Alternative subcultures are relative to the establishment and the status quo they live in. They're whatever's countercultural.

[00:19:36]So, if you go right-wing enough, I guess you can be alternative. That being said, what is becoming more socially acceptable is uh getting alarmingly more right-wing. So, but if you simply believe in just maintaining the status quo, i.e. MAGA, then can you really be alternative? Some of you may be watching this and thinking, "Oh, so you're progateing. That seems exclusionary."

[00:19:57]Hear me out. Firstly, making it all about the aesthetics does take away from the music. Let's be honest, if you saw someone wearing a t-shirt of your favorite band and you tried to talk to them about it and then they said, "I don't know who they are." You'd be disappointed. You know, it's a let down.

[00:20:12]And on the flip side, one might be a diehard fan of emo music, but told that they don't look emo enough when really it should be about the music. You know, their family, culture, or job may not permit them to commit in the way they look, but they know all the songs. In traditional subcultures, membership was often earned through participation in real life spaces, attending shows, contributing to zenes, or immersing oneself in the music and ethos. Today, these markers of authenticity are increasingly replaced by social media metrics. You know, I see folks on Tik Tok stressing about whether they look alt enough or what aesthetic they fit into. And that just takes away focus from someone, you know, exploring the art they like, you know, rather than finding which box they fit into. Oh, and an important note, the idea of looking naturally old. I think the idea is that, you know, you have dark hair, pale skin, and you look a bit gaunt. you rang that just further reinforces the exclusion of people of color in alternative spaces.

[00:21:17]Moreover, the performative nature of Tik Tok encourages creators to cater to an audience. This can create pressure to conform to a specific look or trend rather than exploring subcultures as a form of genuine self-expression. As a result, the platform risks turning subcultures into mere costumes stripped of the values and ideologies that once defined them. Not to sound like, you know, those gosh don kids, but the nice thing about, you know, MySpace back in the day and Tumblr, even now, actually, you know, Tumblr influences aren't really a thing, is that subcultures, you know, are proper communities where people bond over shared interests. You know, whereas on Tik Tok, you don't have that same community hub. And with an alt fashion creator, your relationship might be more transactional. Secondly, watering down these aesthetics to make them palatable for mass appeal takes away their social and political impact.

[00:22:12]You know what makes grunge uh punk and/or goth so remarkable in my eyes is that they challenge gender norms. The idea of what's pretty, how a woman should dress, look, or behave. She doesn't have to conform to traditional femininity. She can be a freaky little goblin if she so wishes. You know, that is defying gender roles and watering down grunge to soft grunge just feels like a letdown. Flattening down subcultures to the aesthetics isn't just a problem for the members of those subcultures, but also for outsiders looking in who fetishize those subcultures. And you know, there's nothing necessarily wrong with wanting a big titty goth girlfriend, but goth women have talked about how they've felt objectified, that men treat them as mere sex objects to exoticize, or if they do get in a relationship and find out that they really are goth, they try to strip away the gothness and dim their light.

[00:23:12]If you're alternative, you'll understand this, but some guy really looked at my dating profile, looked at my pictures, looked me up and down, and had the audacity to say that he loves goth girls.

[00:23:26]Like, me too, bud. Do you see any anywhere?

[00:23:28]>> Goth girls blind date seven nice guys.

[00:23:32]>> Can this hot goth mommy find herself the perfect good boy? With the help of her goth sisters, they'll grill these guys based off looks, beliefs, and kinks. But are you a good boy?

[00:23:43]>> And let's just say the top comments were not glowing. How to ruin a subculture 101. As a goth, seeing all these comments calling out the BS is such a relief.

[00:23:52]>> I need to stop falling for mentally ill bisexual girls who just don't even know I exist.

[00:23:57]>> Why are you assuming so much [ __ ] about her?

[00:23:59]>> This is literally me every time I see a girl like this on my for you page.

[00:24:03]>> What the [ __ ] You know, you wouldn't stand a chance with that woman.

[00:24:06]>> Dude, I don't care if I have a chance with her. I would literally drag my balls across a mile of glass shards just to hear her fart.

[00:24:13]>> Yeah. How'd you know?

[00:24:14]>> Not the first time I've heard that, buddy.

[00:24:15]>> Dude, and she has brain rot humor.

[00:24:17]That's something you never see nowadays.

[00:24:19]Not in women, bro. Women don't have humor like that. She's actually funny, bro. She literally looks like the bulb fiction girl.

[00:24:25]>> Mia Wallace. Did you even watch the movie? Aren't you like super rightwing and you think she's alternative?

[00:24:31]>> Well, it doesn't matter. I'll change her. You know, it's very dehumanizing and objectifying. Goth women don't exist for men. Gh. That being said, you can have a goth non-goth couple who are very happy and live in harmony. Seeing how subcultures have been policed in the past and people who have been ostracized for participating, I can understand how people get protective over those communities. That being said, perhaps we shouldn't dunk on miners. Shrug.

[00:25:05]So, I've made a case in defense of gatekeeping, but let's talk about the pitfalls of gatekeeping. Not only does having rules around being alternative kind of defeat the point of it being self-expression, it also flattens people into one-dimensional caricaturures. Most people don't listen to one genre of music. And I'm always inclined to just say, "Let people dress how they want."

[00:25:29]If you want to dress like this, but listen to hip-hop, you know, why shouldn't you? And of course, putting people in these boxes creates unnecessary divisions. Like, you can be friends with people who dress differently and listen to different music than you. And the way some people talk about alternative subcultures is very clicky. And a lot of the rhetoric veers into I'm not like other girls territory. And calling someone a poser is always just a very obnoxious and pretentious thing to do. It's like when I found this Tik Tok of someone who said that she looks alternative but doesn't listen to alternative music. And two people asked me like I just have to know like what kind of music do you listen to? And I feel I feel so embarrassed. And then someone commented, "Oh, so you're a poser." And it's like she never even claimed to be alternative. She just looks it. So you've identified her as alternative, but she never claimed to be. Let people explore their own style in peace, especially young people, adolescents, kids. Criy getting angry with teens and tween for experimenting with their style and identity is not cool. You know, even if it's just a phase for them, let them.

[00:26:39]And I have to say, if you're a young person trying to join a subculture and you like the music, then some bitter adult comes over and is like, "Go away, child. You're just a poser." Gh. Well, that's very off-putting and it's a shorefire way to ensure that your subculture that you love so much dies with your generation. Let's take Scenecore, something that the Reddit post I showed at the beginning complained about. Scene Core is a reincarnation of Scene from the 2000s, but in the 2020s adopted by Gen Zed, similar to the Y2K revival during co, the Scenecore entry on aesthetics.fandom.com, site your sources, describes how scene back in the day revolved around a localized music scene, whereas scene core is an internet aesthetic. The former was tied to physical gatherings at malls and scene hairstyles, whereas the latter was developed primarily through digital avatar customization and short form video. The aesthetic became closely associated with the Roblox community. Seeing Co's worldview is based around rejecting cringe culture, a pervasive internet behavioral trend characterized by the mass harassment and mockery of niche hobbies, neurode divergent traits, and earnest self-expression. So in scene they use furry motifs, hypersp specific media fandoms, LGBTQ pride. Therefore to say that, you know, if a subculture isn't about the music, it's just vapid, you know, is evidently untrue. You know, Singor was born out of aesthetics, but promotes an ecosystem with, I'd say, a noble mission. Reject cringe culture.

[00:28:12]Hell yeah. But, you know, to bemoone that, you know, the youth do all their countercultural stuff online rather than in person neglects the critical fact that young people today do not have the same third spaces that we millennials had growing up. Getting pissy at people for finding their interests and community online when they grew up online, especially because of a pandemic, is not a valid grievance.

[00:28:39]Also, scene core has given a new life to scene. So, elder scene kids, you should be thanking the scene core kids of today. I also found weirdcore, which is delightful. I love that the youth are celebrating early internet culture. You know, this brings me back to the days of Bibo. Anyone else remember Bibo? And I will say that to repeat the mantra, you know, it's about the music denigrates fashion as an art form. Fashion is art.

[00:29:07]Fast fashion is not art, but fashion is an art form just like music, film, visual art, etc. Fashion can connect people just as music does. In this article about black girls reclaiming alternative fashion, a creator called Aaliyah Bar, who started the hashtag Aaliyahore as a style mixing aspects of 2000's Y2K fashion and street wear with Japanese inspired Harajuku and Garu culture. It transcends fashion, Aaliyah said at the moment. It starts with not caring about how you're being perceived, not caring about who or what anyone has to say about you because you know who you are and you carry that energy with you in your day-to-day life. # Aaliyah core also speaks to the issue of black girls, specifically darkkinned girls, not feeling welcome in the fashion world due to colorism and other negative stereotypes. So there's an example of someone taking a pre-existing subculture and making it their own. And to further illustrate the power of fashion, you know, there have been subcultures born out of fashion rather than music. Guaru is an example of this. The term guaru is a Japanese transliteration of the English slang word gal. In general, it challenges the traditional Japanese feminine ideal of dark hair and pale skin, and instead they wear fake tan and lighten their hair. They wear skimpy clothes and lots of makeup. And this is less of a single subculture, but has been described as a style stream. So there's many sort of substyles underneath it. Early in its rise, the Guaru subculture was considered racy and associated with juvenile delinquency and frivolousness among teenage girls. It's also associated with clubbing culture in the '9s/2000s.

[00:30:50]And you can get a Guaru makeover in Tokyo. So yeah, to say that a subculture can't be born out of an aesthetic is demonstrabably untrue. If anything, the Guaru is thriving. Now, to wrap this all up, in terms of alt, as in the alt aesthetic on Tik Tok, that is perhaps more mainstream. Given all we've talked about, that to me does seem like less of a subculture and more of a trend.

[00:31:14]However, when we talk about alternative subcultures, they remain countercultural. I mean, even in London, if you were to wear this, you know, you're going to get some glances.

[00:31:25]Perhaps not as many as you would get in a provincial village in the English countryside, but I'd say that this is by no means mainstream. So for the people who are bemoning that fast fashion and the youth are killing subcultures, I don't think so. They may make imitations of them, but there are still people out there who take creative risks and commit hard. So I am not part of any alternative subculture. This is quite literally a costume for a video, but I do love to see it. You know, whenever I see someone have their own style and embrace being called a weirdo, you know, that's always something to celebrate. If I had to pick a subculture, I'd probably go for skater. I've wanted to learn to ride a skateboard anyway, and I think it would fit my music taste. I've been relisting to a lot of Sum 41 lately.

[00:32:10]Anyway, let me know your thoughts. Feel free to roast me if you disagree. All engagement is good engagement, unless they're death threats. Oh, and uh here's some personal news. I go by Row now, so call me Row or Rowan. You may have noticed that my channel name has changed. I'm not sure if I'm going to change it to Row Mooney or just keep it to Mooney. Uh I worry it's a bit too similar to Moon Cat and people might get us confused cuz we're both British and video essaists with fringes. So if you have any thoughts on that, please let me know. I'd love to hear. So yeah, the options are Row Mooney, Mooney, or Rowan Mooney. Let me know. Let me know your thoughts, please. Oh, and also I got my braces off. But yeah, if you enjoyed this video, give it a like and subscribe because it tells the algorithm that you want to see more from me. If you'd like to see more of my work, I have a series called Politics which is all about the politics of breasts boobies. I've released six episodes so far and there's another one to come and the latest is titled Boob Jobs Suck but I still want one. It's about the bizarre history of boob jobs. Trust me, it gets weird. Um, and my own personal experience with boob beauty standards and insecurities as someone who has quote fashion boobs. I get quite personal in this video. So, if you'd like to go see that, go on over to Nebula to watch the Nebula exclusive series, Politics. Nebula is a video on demand streaming platform built by and owned by creators. It's a streaming service with its own original films, documentaries, sketch shows, news shows, history shows, so many shows, all curated at a high quality. Politics is my first exclusive series with Nebula, which you'll have access to. You'll also receive my videos early and get to watch them adree. I've also put my deleted videos on there and there's some bonus content on there. But not just from me.

[00:33:55]There's bonus content from creators like Pinley and Jacob Geller. I especially enjoy Jacob Gella's food related content. You know, he and his wife recently branched out with a tutorial on the perfect picnic, which is delightful.

[00:34:09]You know, if you're not going to go outside and touch grass, at least watch someone else do it. Now, I don't want to feed into the autism stereotypes, but god do I love content about trains.

[00:34:18]Public transit, so that includes trams, which my flatmate incidentally hates.

[00:34:22]Weird hill to die on if you ask me. But anyways, my favorite new Nebula original is Day Pass with Jason Slaughter, the creator of Not Just Bikes. And the premise is this. How much can a single day pass get you before sunset? Jason explores the public transit of Na, Luxembourg, and Copenhagen. I personally avoid public transport as much as I can because the noise of the tube makes my ears feel like they're on fire and buses make me feel queasy, but I do enjoy living vicariously through Jason.

[00:34:54]Perhaps the solution is for London to introduce finiculars. Replace the London Underground with a vast finicular network. That would be my first action if I ever became dictator. If you'd like to come on over and support myself and my fellow creators, click the link below or scan the QR code on screen to get 50% off a Nebula yearly subscription. It's just $30 a year or $250 a month build annually. To pay monthly, it's $6 a month. They even offer a lifetime membership of $300 with my code. It's usually $500, so you can pay upfront once and enjoy Nebula forever or until you die. If you're ahead of the curve and you're already a Nebula supporter, you can share one guest pass per month with a loved one where they get free access for a whole week. You can get them to watch politics while riding a finicular. So, thank you Nebula and thank you to my patrons for supporting this channel. I also post bonus content on there and I post some life updates.

[00:35:50]But last but not least, here is today's subscription pet shoutout. In fact, I'm going to do two today because so many of you have submitted cuties and I just want to be able to share them all. So, first off, we have a Chihuahui, a Chihuahua Daxund called Gigi. Gigi is a very sweet little girl. She can never get enough attention and will shove her head into my hand if I'm not petting her. She loves playing with her brother Winston and hunting for gophers. I had to Google what gophers were. Gigi likes to be held like a baby and is always down to cuddle. Next, we've got a kitty, an alt kitty, a sphinx. Her name is Juno. She's clingy, outspoken, and very vocal. She starts to purr just standing next to someone and she's very patient with babies and young kids and that's more than you can say for many humans.

[00:36:34]So, let's give these cuties a round of applause.

[00:36:41]Thank you so much for watching and I will see you in the next one. Bye-bye.

[00:36:44]Bye-bye now. Bye-bye. Bye-bye now.

[00:36:46]Bye-bye.