questions for the culture

Questions for the Culture - an edgy poem i wrote over a year ago.

Please tell me, why have you curated aesthetics like “cottagecore”, “dark academia”, “baddie”, “old money”--defined, sought-after ways for girls to dress?
Why is a movie-screen romantic relationship the expectation?
Why is offending content considered humorous if it does not advance our humanity and only proves one’s uneducated ignorance and inappropriate lightness?
Why is music taste a judgment factor for a person? Why are there stereotypes behind listening to specific artists?
Why is Taylor Swift “basic”? Why is it bad to be “basic”? In fact, is anyone actually authentically unique if we purposely strive to be quirky and different?
Why do we condemn those who over-conform, then avoid our eyes at those glowing with originality or not dressing in fashion?
Why do man-made labels exist that do nothing but differentiate us?
Why does the latest slang perpetuate misogyny, even if it’s supposedly “sardonic”? (And why am I not surprised?)
And most of all, why have I lived my past years seeking your approval and validation as a proxy for my confidence and individuality?

(Quoting Kat Stratford: “You don’t always have to be who they want you to be, you know?”)

But why do you make it so difficult?

(Do not blame me as I am not to fault. I am merely a result of what humans like you have created together. This is what you fancied, I presumed?)

Maybe before, as a way to find meaning
Now, I want from you the liberty to express, dress, and possess with the utmost sense of self.

(As I have said before, humans decide their own future. Perhaps you can start…)