Describing 90s LAD culture to todays kids?


Well son, it was a celebration of birds, drinking, music, drugs, football and fashion.

That sounds like a load of toxic masculinity father. What if you were a woman and you wanted to join in?

You were rebranded as a Ladette son.

But what about the LBQT+ community? What if you were gender fluid?

Errrr we didn’t have those son.
……..
I don’t think it’s terribly relatable to wokies of Gen Z.

Hmmm plenty of lasses were involved in that culture tbf.

Look at half the popular bands of that time - Sleeper, Elastica, Cranberries, Garbage etc

Then you had the otherside of it with Spice Girls, All Saints etc Girl Power and all that.

I dont think the gays were ignored either. Wasn't Queer as Folk one of the biggest TV shows of the era?
 
No homophobia in the 90s? Unless you spent them in Brighton or the West Village, I find that extraordinary. Even 10 years ago gay panic jokes were ubiquitous in mainstream comedies and gay people were routinely "othered" across the culture. And it was miles worse 30 years ago.
I didn't say there was no homophobia in the 90's just I hadn't experienced any but as I'm a heterosexual white male I'm not great on picking up on prejudice. However, I maintain that during those mid 90's I was never made aware of gay friends or colleagues being subjected to homophobia despite the laddish culture. It did feel like everyone was just having a good time regardless of gender and sexuality. That's how I genuinely remember it. Now whether or not that was because my gay friends or colleagues didn't feel able to speak out I don't know and as I said originally perhaps the reality was different for those groups.
Sadly I think there'll always be people who discriminate against others. I don't know what their agenda is, political, religious or just uneducated. I don't think it was 90's lad culture which was particularly homophobic. Certainly I don't recall any of the bands or publications promoting homophobia. The converse of promoting heterosexuality and masculinity is not promoting homophobia.
Definitely I'd agree we were less sighted on gay and trans issues back them and didn't appreciate the negative impact that 'banter' could have. Back then everyone was subject to 'banter' so it felt harmless and not intended to exclude anyone. We now appreciate that wasn't the case for those minority groups even if it wasn't meant with malice. That's the progress which has been made.
Unfortunately, despite the media tokenism I do wonder if minority groups and women have a much better experience than before. Again I wouldn't know as I'm not subjected to those prejudices.
 
I didn't say there was no homophobia in the 90's just I hadn't experienced any but as I'm a heterosexual white male I'm not great on picking up on prejudice. However, I maintain that during those mid 90's I was never made aware of gay friends or colleagues being subjected to homophobia despite the laddish culture. It did feel like everyone was just having a good time regardless of gender and sexuality. That's how I genuinely remember it. Now whether or not that was because my gay friends or colleagues didn't feel able to speak out I don't know and as I said originally perhaps the reality was different for those groups.
Sadly I think there'll always be people who discriminate against others. I don't know what their agenda is, political, religious or just uneducated. I don't think it was 90's lad culture which was particularly homophobic. Certainly I don't recall any of the bands or publications promoting homophobia. The converse of promoting heterosexuality and masculinity is not promoting homophobia.
Definitely I'd agree we were less sighted on gay and trans issues back them and didn't appreciate the negative impact that 'banter' could have. Back then everyone was subject to 'banter' so it felt harmless and not intended to exclude anyone. We now appreciate that wasn't the case for those minority groups even if it wasn't meant with malice. That's the progress which has been made.
Unfortunately, despite the media tokenism I do wonder if minority groups and women have a much better experience than before. Again I wouldn't know as I'm not subjected to those prejudices.
I didn't personally experience any homophobia either, what with being straight. I don't have personal experience of gay friends being subjected to homophobia because I didn't have any. I spent the first half of the decade in a school with 750 lads, none of whom were openly gay. In my year there was one lad who was obviously gay and one lad who talked with an effeminate voice, both of whom suffered daily abuse. I'd say those two observations were signs of homophobia.

I don't think britpop bands went out of their way to "promote" homophobia, but I can't think of a single member of those bands who was openly gay. The only openly gay boy band member of the time topped himself. Why were so many pop stars closeted back then if there was no homophobia?

In the wider culture, pretty much any depiction of a gay person was a cartoonish stereotype until very recently. If you watch reruns of Friends or The Office you will see what I mean.
 
I didn't personally experience any homophobia either, what with being straight. I don't have personal experience of gay friends being subjected to homophobia because I didn't have any. I spent the first half of the decade in a school with 750 lads, none of whom were openly gay. In my year there was one lad who was obviously gay and one lad who talked with an effeminate voice, both of whom suffered daily abuse. I'd say those two observations were signs of homophobia.

I don't think britpop bands went out of their way to "promote" homophobia, but I can't think of a single member of those bands who was openly gay. The only openly gay boy band member of the time topped himself. Why were so many pop stars closeted back then if there was no homophobia?

In the wider culture, pretty much any depiction of a gay person was a cartoonish stereotype until very recently. If you watch reruns of Friends or The Office you will see what I mean.
You may have just forgotten about Suede then. Admittedly Brett's comments of the time weren't handled particularly well but the band weren't discarded for any reasons of homophobia.
There are numerous examples of gay musicians prior to Brit Pop and maybe there just weren't many gay people involved in that scene? Isn't the point that it doesn't matter what a persons sexuality was. The fact that the music, style and behaviours might not have appealed to gay people doesn't mean that it was inherently homophobic.
Boy bands played no part in the Brit Pop culture to which I referred. That was all business. You didn't have to be gay to sell to gay people but if you were you might not sell to teenage girls. Only marginally better than not allowing gay people to be in a band but that's business for you.
You have to be careful to not paint the past in a bad light to use as a barometer for the present. I suspect the truth is that it's still difficult to be in a minority group now and kids are still being bullied at school. Just not as bad as it was? That's still not acceptable.
Much of comedy is based on stereotypes and the exaggeration of traits to comedic effect. Not just applied to sexuality but age, gender, nationality, religion and particularly class. Until relatively recently the attitude was everything was fair game and on that basis you weren't discriminating against anyone because everyone was subject to being ridiculed. We now appreciate that isn't acceptable as such jibes were being used to define minorities in a negative or unrepresentative way. I don't believe that the writers of the Office or Friends were homophobic. They just didn't appreciate the negative connotation's of their content.
 
Anyone remember Blur arriving in a milkfloat to perform their dreadful number one record.
"Ooh we're Blur and we're going to camp it up on top of the pops"
 
What you mean the 90's of the likes of Boyzone, PJ and Duncan and Take That.

Anyone can pick the bad side of any generation.

Lad culture hasn't change at all, it's just not reported for obvious reasons as baby boomers are obsessed with woke and it's only people stupid enough to buy papers nowadays.

If anything it's getting worse lately - football hooliganism for example or Leeds Festival last year which is the worse it's been for ages. No doubt a reaction to the constant hate towards men by some lately.
 
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Hmmm plenty of lasses were involved in that culture tbf.

Look at half the popular bands of that time - Sleeper, Elastica, Cranberries, Garbage etc

Then you had the otherside of it with Spice Girls, All Saints etc Girl Power and all that.

I dont think the gays were ignored either. Wasn't Queer as Folk one of the biggest TV shows of the era?

Yes. As ever, he's chatting absolute shite.
 
What you mean the 90's of the likes of Boyzone, PJ and Duncan and Take That.

Anyone can pick the bad side of any generation.

Lad culture hasn't change at all, it's just not reported for obvious reasons as baby boomers are obsessed with woke and it's only people stupid enough to buy papers nowadays.

If anything it's getting worse lately - football hooliganism for example or Leeds Festival last year which is the worse it's been for ages. No doubt a reaction to the constant hate towards men by some lately.
Where’s the constant hate towards men?
 
Lad culture hasn't change at all, it's just not reported for obvious reasons as baby boomers are obsessed with woke and it's only people stupid enough to buy papers nowadays.
that might be the best explanation ive seen for the state of some of the posters in the politics sub...
football hooliganism for example or Leeds Festival last year which is the worse it's been for ages
what was the craic at leeds last year?
 

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