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I think the death of authenticity starts with labels. Labels used to be a quick way to identify if someone was a safe space of sorts (e.g., emo, goth, punk). It was a way for “different” kids to find out who they could trust, people who wouldn’t judge them. But with these labels came downsides. It also made them a target. Emo quickly became an insult. Similar to how gay was once used to describe anything bad, emo was used to label anyone who seemed different.
As the years went on, these labels splintered into countless subgroups: classic emo, goth emo, skater emo, soft girl/sad boy emo, theatre emo, hardcore emo, scemo, and so many more. Though they all still had the core term in common. Obviously, emo isn’t the only example of this, but it’s the culture I know most about, so I’m using it as an example. People began forming cliques within these labels, defining them further and further until they actually broke off and became their own subcultures.
This trend grew especially online as labels became something to put in bios to quickly find people you’d vibe with. The web of labels got deeper and more diverse. Subcultures became full-on cultures. They also got stricter. Poser was an incredibly popular insult during the rise of emo and internet culture.
I think that was the downfall. While it seemed like a good idea to have a little badge that said, “people with the same interests, I’m a safe space,” it didn’t stay like that. It spiraled, branching into all kinds of things. Everything had a label. No one could just be themselves; they needed a buzzword to describe their personality. As the internet grew wider and more mainstream, it became easy to get lost in it. So the easiest way to find like-minded people rather than scroll through hundreds of randoms was to use a label. Every year, these labels got more and more specific.
The word core became popular around 2020 to describe subcultures: weirdcore, fairycore, goblincore, all these random words thrown together to describe one specific interest or aesthetic.
Now, in 2025, labels are worse than ever. Everything has to be labeled. Even with sexuality, no one can just be ambiguous anymore, no one can experiment or simply not care about labels. Clean core, Y2K core, beigecore, office siren core, vanillacore, tweecore, grungecore, preppycore, 2000s core. Everything is a core. You can’t just wear what you like; you have to tell us the three aesthetics of your outfit. You can’t just have your own style, it has to be something.
Individuality is dying because Gen Z is too scared to be authentic. Everyone forces themselves into boxes because anyone who’s even slightly different gets ridiculed and bullied. There’s also the risk of being posted publicly, being bullied by thousands of strangers just for being yourself. Why would anyone risk that?
People are too scared to be themselves because it leaves them vulnerable. Showing who you really are makes it hurt more when someone doesn’t like it. People find it easier to bury themselves in the mainstream than to be happy, and I don’t blame them.
We need to kill labels to revive authenticity. Labels are the death of individuality.
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woodlouse
i cannot tell you how excited i was to see and read this blog on this fine thursday evening - i have the months-old start of a mindmap about this idea in a notebook and this blog and comment section have given me loads of branches to add!!
i also think part of the issue is the commercialisation of labels - it's not just for personal use, it's also a hashtag, a search term, a collection. the second a term is popular, it's already being searched up on shein and there are bits of plastic toot and polyester clothes to fit the theme.
i kind of appreciate the term -core, it feels more honest than a lot of other labels now. just saying straight away that this is aesthtics-based and no deeper than that. i respect it in an odd way
omg i just checked out ur profile,, its so cute i love it!!!
by woodlouse; ; Report
thank you! and im glad you enjoyed my blog
by Frankie ⚞•⚟; ; Report
nimipex
someone i know (i can't remember who) put it in a very good, succinct way: identities have become fast-fashion. it explains why there are so many mindless labels for something when truth be told NOTHING is a monolith, but nowadays its treated as if everything needs to be a hyperspecific name and nothing is broad/nuanced. i notice this with music genres a lot.
on a similarish note (re: Gen Z is afraid to be authentic), it doesn't feel like people actually want to live out the lives they dress up as. they want to just kind of copy the influencers/pinterest people they see on the internet that they THINK live cooler lives than them. if they were to be more themselves it would save them a lot of stress!!!
people often talk about how gen z is so anxiety ridden but its very true, because the pressure of labels and the pressure we put on ourselves like you talked about drives us insane. we all strive to catch up to these insane unrealistic expectations and lets be real, theres a new trend every week. its not possible, as you said, no one is a monolith.
by Frankie ⚞•⚟; ; Report
Corvus
This is so true. I remember a few yrs ago peopel were calling me emo cause I wore black and was a bit weird and like sure maybe I was but you dont get to assume. I am now more myself and dress more alternative and I guess emo that I did before, but thats not who I am. I wear so many different styles and I guess I coudl call myself alt but the term is losing meaning by teh day and tbh I dont care enough. Like it should just eb enough to say I like this style or im into these things. I should eb abel to call myself emo or goth or punk whatever other style or subculture I get into and not worry about having to box myself in or have people decide who I am for me. Its teh same with Sexuality, im gay but id also be into masc Nonbinary people and im also ace and mayeb somewhere on teh aro spectrum who who knows, and sure tehre are definitely specific labels for how I feel and im not uncomfortable with using those but people know what Gay means then understand that and tbh a stranger doesn't need to know more than that like I know the intricacies of my identity and I've told some people but I dont care enough to advertise it so if someone asks then im gay and I've got a boyfriend anyway so it's not like anyone else needs to know. Its important taht teh boxes are tehre for the people who want them, and sure at one point I probably wanted the box too, but dont force someone into one.its upto them yknow.
Ser4fIsTired
I dislike how labels became a way of forming fake communities. While friendships in subcultures are one thing, the other is having labels for every fashion or aesthetic sense or type of content you watch on youtube creating a false feeling of belonging, despite the fact that you've never actually talked to that alt person walking down the street, so why are you feeling connected to them in any way? Why am *I* feeling that way? Not to mention that it has become a trick to sell more stuff to people based off of that need of belonging. "Hey look! This isn't a shirt with seashells on it! It's an oceancore shirt! Buy it if you want to be a cool kid!"
No hate to people who do like having everything neatly categorized, maybe I don't see just something what other people see in it.
i completely agree, i feel like labels can be fun and harmless esp if youre alternative but the consumerism of it and the constant new trend core is so tiring. and youre totally right, it just is made to make people think they are apart of soemthing. i legit saw a girl wearing a white cropped teeshirt and she said it was "simplecore" .. youre allowed to be alone, youre allowed to just be you. you dont need a group to do everything
by Frankie ⚞•⚟; ; Report
luke.vomit.4
ths some real stuff, especially the way the word "core" gets thrown around so easily like alr I'm so homelesscore wow, lont even care abt it much but it pmo sometimes yk. Lemme be the walking sack of flash i am or whtvr lol.
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exactly, i think we should embrace the fact that we are all brains in a flesh body walking around in a world that wasnt made for us and leave it at that. we are all different and there is no way for any two people to be the same so why do we force the idea so much
by Frankie ⚞•⚟; ; Report