On "Cringe Culture"

 We’ve all cringed at ourselves. Whether it’s listening to a recording of your own voice, looking at old pictures, or randomly remembering something stupid you did seven years ago, it happens to all of us. It’s a natural emotion, and we all hate it. Thank god, then, that the Internet allows us to cringe at others as much as we want, mainly in the form of “cringe” content and culture.

Cringe culture involves mocking individuals for their perceived lack of social awareness, unconventional interests, or unconventional self-expression. Whether through cringe compilations, leaving comments on a piece of original content, or talking about a group of people directly, cringe culture permeates much of the online space. It’s indisputable that the Internet has been a great outlet for a myriad of subcultures, each with its own norms and taboos. Several online communities have been frequent targets of cringe culture. Among them are fandoms, which include passionate fans of various TV shows, movies, books, and video games. Oftentimes, these fans show their love for the franchise in zealous and unconventional ways, attracting the attention of cringe culture enthusiasts. Additionally, subcultures such as furries, cosplayers, and certain online gaming communities have also been stigmatized by most internet users. More on that later.

However, the acceptance of some communities has changed in recent years. Anime, for example, used to be heavily criticized, mainly through the derogatory term “weeb”. This term was used to describe those that watched a large amount of anime and displayed their interest externally, through merchandise or even talking about it. Now, it seems that everyone likes anime, and the mocking of anime culture has reduced significantly. This is true of the role-playing game D&D as well, as entertainment sources like Critical Role have normalized its play. This year, in 2023, the game Five Nights at Freddy’s has suddenly become popularized due to the movie produced in its namesake. Just a few years ago, kids were bullied for playing it. Now, it seems, these same bullies declare that FNAF was “their childhood”. Funny how their perceptions change the moment it becomes popular.

It’s not that I’m angry that these things have been popularized. I’m all for communities being destigmatized and enjoyed by more people. If D&D didn’t get the attention it did from Critical Role, we would never have gotten the D&D movie (which was great, by the way). The rise of video games in general will allow for new media to be made in the future, which is really exciting. The issues I have with cringe culture are several fold, so let’s dive in.

My first qualm is that, obviously, it’s bullying. Straight up. Those who partake in it might say that it’s just in good fun, that these people “deserved” the hate. If you truly believe that, you’re a lost cause and I’m actually sorry you lack the basic empathy to see what’s wrong with that. Although it’s fully within the responsibility of the individual to foster their own empathy, the Internet does breed a lack of empathy for the victims of cringe. By viewing this content, you can disconnect from the humanity of those you criticize. The faceless nature of the internet allows us to forget that behind every cringe-worthy moment is a real person with feelings and passions. Perhaps this is why cringe culture is often so vicious.

Of course, this content is not made out of confidence. Those that are part of cringe culture laugh at others on the internet to hide their own insecurities. They laugh because they know if they place themselves above seemingly “lower” groups online, they can save their own skin. Doing this, of course, will never heal their own inner troubles. It merely postpones their own feelings of cringe about themselves for the future, when they no longer have some innocent person to torment. Cringe culture, essentially, is a manifestation of societal norms and the desire for conformity. 

Next, I take issue with the demographic of those affected. For the most part, those harmed by cringe culture are children, or those on the neurodivergent spectrum. Take the trend “acoustic”. When someone does something strange or unconventional online, there’ll be a storm of comments asking, “is s/he acoustic?” This grinds my gears so fucking much, ESPECIALLY when said person is clearly on the autism spectrum. These same people will claim they’d never make fun of an autistic person, yet they relentlessly bully them online the moment their mental disability isn’t front and center. The funniest (or perhaps most sad) part about this trend is that “acoustic” was initially started by the autistic community to joke about their own traits. It was started with good intent, and was stolen by neurotypical bullies all in the name of cringe.

In any case, the interests often made fun of in cringe culture are the special interests of neurodivergent people. The amount of bullying received by the creator varies inversely with quality of content. For example, really well made cosplays are often praised in the comments, whereas less well made cosplays are clipped for cringe compilations and teased. This makes sense, and you might say that’s all fine and dandy until you realize that the lower quality cosplays are often created by children. Sadly, cringe culture in general is focused on children, who are the most vulnerable to become depressed, anxious, or even suicidal from this negative attention. Some members of cringe culture will even go so far as to doxx or send ploys to “KYS” to these kids, who may decide to act on these threats.

Also, I guarantee none of these idiots would ever say any of these things in real life. Since the internet allows for complete anonymity, the worst qualities about people come out when they see something they don’t understand or agree with. I do wish the internet didn’t have this quality. I wish there was some kind of accountability for this behavior, but there never will be. People will be shitty no matter what you do, and that’ll never change.

The last thing is more personal. For context, I’m a furry. I have been since the seventh or eighth grade, so I’ve been in the community for 8 or 9 years now. In that time, I have received a significant number of death threats and horrendous comments. That’s not new to me, and they’re bad enough that I won’t share them here. When I finally confide in friends and tell them I’m a furry, though, I get a wide variety of reactions.

“You’re too pretty to be involved with that garbage.” (What does this even mean?)

“Oh, I didn’t know you wanted to fuck animals.” (I definitely do not, what the fuck?)

“You’re into some sick shit, aren’t you?” (I’m not. I just think standing animals are cool.)

“Oh! That's not...” (Then proceed to never speak to me again)

People might say, “why’d you tell them if you knew you’d get hate for it?” And well, frankly, I’m fucking fed up with people saying that “furries should kill themselves”, that “they should be hunted for sport like all the other animals”, and “they’re just a bunch of zoophiles and pedophiles that don’t deserve to live”. I’ve had so many friends, even previous romantic partners, say this to my face, not knowing that I was a furry myself. Did it hurt? Yeah, it did. Because of these comments, I shamed myself for my hobby for years. It took until junior year of college (now, essentially) for me to finally stop caring about what people think and enjoy my interests openly. I’m working on a fursuit now of my dragon character, Sky, who actually inspired me to change my preferred name from Emma to Skylar. She’s the better version of me- confident, gregarious, firm- and I aspire to be more like her as much as I can.

Now, I don’t disagree with the fact that there are bad apples in the community. There are weird people who make some fucked up art, and that’s never going to change. The reality of this, though, is that’s true in every single community that’s ever existed. I guarantee you that there’s some strange p*rn of every popular show, book and game out there. That’s the entire idea of Rule 34 (if you don’t know what it is, don’t look it up).

The real reason I tell people, though, is that sometimes I’m pleasantly surprised. Sometimes, people have genuinely accepting reactions; other times, the person I’m telling is a furry as well. In fact, I told the guy I’m dating right now after our first date. He allowed me to feel the most comfortable in myself that I’ve ever been. Once I told him, he just said, “Oh yeah, that’s cool. My roommate is working on a fursuit, and I honestly might be one too.” I designed his fursona a few months later, and now we’re planning on going to a con together with some of his buddies. I tell this because there are some people in the world who don’t succumb to hate. They’ll be understanding, and listen to your interests without judgment. Often, this level of maturity and acceptance allows for the healthiest connections one can ask for. Sometimes vulnerability to this degree can pay off, and this was no exception.

Looking back, though, the basis of cringe culture is hate, and sometimes it’s hate for the most vulnerable people in society. Anyone who deviates from mainstream standards of behavior or expression become easy targets for cringe. Once a particular individual or community is labeled as cringe, it becomes difficult for them to escape the stigma. The furry community has been stigmatized from the moment of its inception, and I still hope that someday it’ll not be so hated. While the internet has undoubtedly connected people and created so many wonderful new communities, the emergence of cringe culture serves as a reminder of the darker side of online communities. All I ask of you, the one reading this, is to consider the effects of your words, even on the Internet. My final argument is that Internet “cringe” isn’t real. Everyone is just really fucking mean. It’s immature; we’re better than this. Let people enjoy things.