In a world where everyone has different tastes in music, art, and fashion, and where social media shows subgenres of almost everything, what is niche?
For those who are unaware, recently Gen Z and Gen Alpha have been using the term “niche” differently. Although it has been used in the context of “finding” your niche. It’s now been used to describe people, objects, or ideas as a whole. For example, a person who is very interested in small music artists or listens to a lot of underground music might be described as having a “niche” music taste, or just being a niche person.
In a sense, everyone is somewhat niche. We all have a certain interest to a certain something that might not be the most popular. Things that may not have been niche 40 years ago might be niche now, and vice versa. Which is exactly why its has become so complicated to determine whether something is niche. And to make it even more confusing, how can you tell whether something or someone is either niche or performative?
I asked freshmen at WHHS what niche means to them. Here’s what they said.
Zoe Ingillian, a 9th grader at WHHS, is one of my close friends and one of the nichest people I know. She listens to a lot of German EBM music and is really well-versed in 60s music and culture. So, I knew I had to ask her about what niche means to her. ” Niche to me means being very unique in something, and it’s not mainstream,” Zoe explains. I asked her if the meaning of niche has changed over time, ” Oh, yeah, one-hundred percent. People Now, call anything niche when it’s really not. Like, it could be the most popular thing ever. ”
One thing I noticed when interviewing people is that the topic of performative behavior came up often. While a “niche” is often an interest that isn’t mainstream, it’s also often characterized as a genuine interest. While a performative interest is something that isn’t genuine, hence the “performing” aspect.
Konkona Ganguli, another 9th grader at WHHS, is a good friend of Zoe. “Niche means like something that’s very rare, knowledge that’s obscure to the general public,” she says. “I feel like if someone calls you niche now, you’re performative. Like if someone calls you niche, it just means you’re just trying to be cool.”
But is being “niche” something positive or negative? I feel like in a world where everyone wants to stick to a certain trend or fit in, being niche is, in a sense, important. Your “niche” is part of your individuality in a way, and a part of you. But what if every aspect of everyone is niche? What would people bond over? Like it or not, in some ways, it’s important that we aren’t niche at all. You wouldn’t be able to relate to anyone or talk about much.
In a world obsessed with standing out or fitting in, maybe the real power is to realize you don’t just have to stick to one; niche and mainstream aren’t opposites; they make up our identity, and it’s something we should embrace. Konkona puts it perfectly: “I just think you should be niche, but you should also not be afraid to go mainstream, too.”
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