I have a vivid memory of when I was in middle school. A guy was saying to a new friend of mine, “Thank God you didn’t know her when she was in elementary school. She was a total dork.” I also remember immediately laughing this comment off, but it’s still a concept that’s stuck with me today.

Sure, I was kind of a nerdy kid interest-wise, but I was also a kid that was still growing into my personality. This left me to wonder, why does our society enjoy hating on things that other people like?

For some reason, it’s cool to be apathetic. It’s weird to show that you care deeply about things. Therefore, when someone shows too much interest in something, the people surrounding said person will often make fun of them for it.

Additionally, our culture says that it’s only cool to like certain things. Even then, if too many people love something, this will lead to a counterculture forming solely to dislike that beloved thing.

Throughout the history of pop culture, this has largely affected women. For example, in the 1960s a disease called Beatlemania swept the USA. While this sounds like some sort of evil plague, all it referred to was the fact that so many young women liked the Beatles. It’s as if the world said, “Women? With opinions? No thanks,” and then brushed the legitimacy of the band’s talent aside.

A more recent example of this is the notorious Pumpkin Spice Latte (PSL). Why is this drink so notorious? Did it accidentally poison random Americans like romaine lettuce in 2018? Did it blow up in customers hands like Samsung phones in 2016? No. Younger women enjoyed them “too much.”  

It’s time to stop shaming people’s interests. There’s too much negativity in the world today to not let people express what brings them joy. It shouldn’t matter if someone likes romcoms more than foreign films; both were made to be viewed by people who’d appreciate them. Let people like whatever they want.