[FRIAM] Pondering the slang Adulting

[Marcus Daniels]

Glen writes:

< I think this captures the irony in the youngsters' use of the word "adulting".  It's a role and only a role.  You sometimes *play* the role and you sometimes don't.  It's like clothing you put on and take off ... much like an avatar in a video game.
    
I think it's an authentic attempt to be just a tad more honest about who we are and our self-image, which is why I mentioned impostor syndrome.  And it goes hand-in-hand, I think, with LGBT rights and the fluidity of gender roles.  I was intrigued when some celebrity (Aubrey Plaza maybe?) came out as *queer*, not gay.  It seems to be an interesting stance wherein the person denies the (artificial) discretization of gender or sexual preference. >

"Coming out" or asserting an individual to group relationship implies that some group expectations on individuals are appropriate and that individuals or sub-groups must negotiate a boundary with a majority.    Otherwise, people would just do whatever they wanted and not even think to mention it.    A truly individualistic society would aim to eliminate all group expectations, not just one special case at a time.    No, you can have cyan hair and a same-sex partner of another race, but you can't share secrets with the competitors or wear cutoffs & a t-shirt to an important customer meeting.    There's a short list of the Whatever-Ing options an adult really has.   

Marcus