Middle-American Gothic

Middle-American Gothic by Jonathan Ames, made me think about the stereotyping that I see happen everyday. I have friends who claim to be gothic as it may seem but, categorizing my friends in a stereotype like they want makes me feel like I'm filing them away in some dusty old file cabinet along with all of the worlds stereotypes.

I'm no stranger to stereotypes, being called a geek freshman year of highschool, and then a prep after that. I know that stereotypes are not fun when they demoralize someone or break down someones self esteem. Ames' article made me think about how often people break the mold, or fight stereotypes. I love how he chose a morbid stereotype to throw his audience into. Concerts full of people who someone may not think fits in that mold made my heart happy, in a sense he was breaking the mold most people grow up in.

I can't remember a day sitting with my parents going through old yearbooks that they didn't say oh yeah that was the head jock, or cheerleader, or something along those lines. It made me wonder what children in highschool would be like if they were striped of those stereotypes. I would hope that each person would see someone for who they are and less of what they are labeled (much like Sufjan's introduction of reading food labels). I can't help but think the world would be a better place.