Meet Gen Z’s Global Youth Culture
Scattered all over the world in big fast paced cities and slow-moving towns are young people discovering their identity. Gen Z is thriving in an age where they can be who they are and create what they want. They’re young, they’re fresh, and somewhat invincible. In the 60’s there was the American hippie, in the 70’s emerged Britain’s punk rocker. But who are we now? The distinction is blurred. But it seems that globalization and our interconnectedness to each other has created a freshly self-curated identity. Whether American, British, Chinese, German, Russian or South Korean, Gen Z encompasses a generation united by fluidity and acceptance.
Music is no longer back ground noise, it is now incorporated into every waking second of our lives. One cannot walk a foot without seeing someone consumed by blaring sounds in their ears, transporting them to a world of their own. Electronic beats have become the new disco. In Berlin, Germany techno has united a divided state. There, the youth culture’s identity is firmly grounded in trance music and dancing into the early morning lost between the strobe lights. In Seoul, a pulsating rave scene is also alive. In South Korea’s capital, international neighborhoods bring youth together to listen to some burning bass and make their worries evaporate. The same can be said for basement clubs in NYC and open court yards in American college towns. It’s less about where you come from and more about what you can enjoy together.
Turned off by the news and turned on by tapping into personal experience, Gen Z is the most accepting generation yet. In an age where our grandparents couldn’t fathom gay marriage, now transgender identities have become normalized. Sexuality has been liberated and LGTBQ communities thrive in all corners of the world. Toxic masculinity is out and actors like Timothée Chalamet are being praised for showing the world that vulnerability is not a social barrier.
This new-found freedom to truly “be yourself” has led to our young generation pushing boundaries in fashion art and lifestyle. In the past, graffiti was illegal but now, in creative districts art covers walls for miles. London’s Shoreditch, Miami’s Wynwood, Lisbon’s Bario Alto are hot spots for artisanal coffee shops and independent gallery spaces. They are havens for young thinkers bringing about innovation and creating new content every day.
Fashion has become such huge form of personal expression. Whether you’re rocking the big clunky combat boot trend or the hideous dad sneaker, you’re less likely to get a look of disapproval and more likely to get a “damn those are dope!” Each country has their collective identity when it comes to fashion. In China, firewalls have led to codified ideas of what fashion should be. The youth can’t access our Facebook, Twitter or Instagram leading them to think even deeper about their personal identity. And they do. There Gen Z is designing their own clothes. Since producing of clothing in China is so cheap, they’ve been able to manufacture their own pieces and sell it on the app Taobao. In America athleisure is the obsession but, even though it seems like every guy is wearing a hoodie and every girl is wearing yoga pants, if you look a little closer, you’re bound to find something unique to their style. Maybe it’s the neon yellow color they decided to wear that morning or the sweatshirt they got from their grandad’s closet, but it’s there. Everyone sporting what makes them feel good and confident.
Strike Out,
Writer and Graphic Designer: Alessandra Cruz
Editor: Savannah Tindall
Tallahassee