EXPLOIT THE SCENE With Kyle “Kore” Parsons Episode 10: Scene Fads Pt.2: “I’m Bisexual” I guess this is another one of those “touchy” subjects where I should attach a disclaimer, but I realized after I railed on the “suicidal” scene kids that I don’t really need to give some impression of an apology before I dig into the subject – especially when I’m not sorry. This continuous obsession with establishing a false identity on Myspace will keep progressing until every scandalous nook and cranny is turned inside-out and adopted by these scene kids. The next piece of the puzzle that I would like to exploit is the fabricated “bisexual” lifestyle. I don’t know if this topic is something that is notable or relatable while looking on the outside in, but it has increased with frequency over the past several years and has been a consistent joke among many of us. The idea of being bisexual is not the joke; the joke is on those who are taking all these scene kids seriously. To make sure I cover my ass on this, I am not trying to disprove bisexuality – what I am trying to point out is that calling yourself bisexual and advertising it on Myspace while fitting a particular persona has nothing to do with sexuality at all – it’s strictly about building false character traits to fit in with the scene. In other words, I’m calling every 14, 15, and 16 year old out that is pretending to be bisexual on the internet. In many cases they are too young to have any idea about their sexual identities. Again, this is not about sexuality – this is about following a fad. Let me take a step back for a moment and really explain where I am coming from. I feel like the entire concept of the scene [as a whole] is just one giant contradicting game – that I don’t want to play. Somewhere along the scene’s progression, somebody decided to take every socially awkward stereotype, collect them together, and popularize it. Let’s put it in different terms; remember several years ago (back before the My Chemical Romance boom,) when a typical high school setting had only a few “weird kids” that kept to themselves, wore black, and were often referred to as “Goth kids?” Well, they weren’t Goth – that died in the 90s, they were just the first generation of the current scene, and they happened to rock Hot Topic wear. The point I want to make is that it began as a socially awkward, or outcasted, scenario, and as a result the scene has now become a catch-all for any kind of socially awkward persona. Kids that are socially awkward will gravitate toward a group of people or a concept that they feel is going to represent them and give them an opportunity to feel welcome and eradicate those feelings of awkwardness. In this case, emotionally influenced music represents that type of outlet. An outlet where suicidal kids can dive into their sorrows, an outlet where the socially repressed can find peace, an outlet that embraces all sorts of “unorthodox” subcultures and makes them feel some normalcy in their own skin. To come full circle, I believe that emo and hardcore music started out as an outlet for legitimate cases of self loathing and lack of social acceptance – BUT, as the scene exploded – so did these fads, these socially awkward characteristics associated with the scene, i.e. being bisexual, suicidal, and many more. As the scene style/music grew, so did the fads that were stereotyped and connected to the scene. How does this relate to being bisexual in the scene? Prior to the scene and Myspace – people pretended that homosexual tendencies did not exist. It was looked down on, not socially accepted, and not discussed. Now, it’s cool… Do I think there are several million very young teenagers running around who are legitimately bisexual, to the actual definition? A few might hang out in the closet for a couple years, but generally speaking, no – and the main reason is that it is following such a perfect pattern. “Brittany Bisexual” who is 15, wearing gobs of make up, with a very typical scene attire and Myspace that says “I’m bisexual and I don’t care what anyone thinks.” Sweetie, yes you do care – you care about protecting your utmost scene image that is backed by your false “bisexuality.” “Alexis Awkward” is 14, likes “boys and girls” and has her details section on Myspace set to “swinger” and “bisexual.” Apparently this 14 year old is a slut on both sides of the fence? UrbanDictionary.com, which is a fun little site where popular new words and concepts are clarified, defines “Myspace bisexual” as: “A girl who makes out with other slutty chicks at parties and then claims to be bisexual because it's trendy to say so and gets people's attention on Myspace.” Not that this is a viable resource whatsoever, but it is funny to see that this false identity has become such a wildly known concept that it shows up on web sites like this. Of course, my definition is not only directed towards girls. Little boys on Myspace are relentless and follow a very similar pattern that consists of a bold statement announcing their bisexuality, followed by some sort of image of two scene boys making out, etc. I would give you some examples but the boys write details that I don’t need attached to my name. The overall consensus for advertising one’s bisexuality in the scene is, like every other fad, directly related to a need for attention (thanks Tila Tequila.) The attention comes from all angles with a topic like this because the kids naturally get haters and debaters that want to argue their fabricated sexual identities. Negative attention is still attention – and attention at any level helps to fuel the fire of a hollow scene kid. The biggest reason for seeking this attention is to heighten that sense of self worth and receive feedback from both sexes. Kids are able to get feedback about their looks and the false persona they have created of themselves via Myspace from both male and female perspectives. Being “bisexual” opens the flood gates to all sorts of potential feedback that would not typically be warranted by the same sex. Regardless of the explanation these scene kids give for calling themselves “bisexual,” i.e. making out with the same sex for a picture at a party, giving in to the “emo faggot” repute, or just cause the other scene kids are doing it – doesn’t mean there is any relationship between this fad and an individual’s sexual identity. It’s clear that this is just something fun for them to flaunt, but in most cases, holds zero bearing on their actual sexual identity – and is probably making things more difficult for the kids that are truly facing this issue.