Not 'Cut' Out for Society: Norms, uncertainties and body culture on YouTube

The care of the Selfie is a paraphrase by Li Kunming and Blommaert (2017) of Foucault's original 'care of the self' (1986). It refers to an ‘elaborate complex of “ludic” practices aimed at constructing and performing an image of personality; in this scenario, online. These personalities are meant to show other social media users who you are, what one’s interests are and how one would like to be seen by others. These images of personality are often created as within the norms. Most of us are rather not judged or considered abnormal by others; there are certain social standards at play. Discipline, according to Foucault's historical and philosophical analyses, is a form of power that tells people how to act by persuading them to adapt themselves to what is 'normal'. He discussed this in, for example, one of his works  Discipline and Punish: The Birth of the Prison (1975).

The self, norms and abnormality

It is common that a majority will follow certain norms habitually or willingly. Often, personal content on social media is created within norms. 'Abnormal' content is also present and attracts attention for shareworthy reasons. The abnormal and controversial have been popular discussion points. Confessional discourse and 'private' topics are commonly present in western culture. Take for example Cosmopolitan magazine,  the largest-selling (young) women's magazine worldwide which is popular and characterized by discussions revolving around topics such as sex, confessions, health tips and fashion. In the last decade, the process of digitalization has created a new social sphere, new platforms where these topics are discussed and shared, easily accessible for anyone.

YouTube is one of the biggest social media platforms out there these days and it is the largest video-hosting and sharing platform to date. The platform came to life in 2005 and in May 2010, YouTube videos were watched over two billion times per day. In February 2017, an average of one billion daily YouTube viewing hours was recorded. There is a superb range of content to be found on YouTube. This can vary between videos on doing makeup tutorials, to, say, videos of grandmas smoking weed for the first time. These people-oriented videos have a great number of views and are being shared via social media platforms. Videos are considered shareworthy as they exceed borders of existing norms, entertaining us in an unusual manner. These events go against the construction of a normal ‘’care of the selfie’’.

The YouTube channel called “Cut", fits the preceding sentences perfectly. The channel aims for its participants (non-actors) to expand their personal boundaries by exposing them to unusual and often highly uncomfortable situations. It's all revolving norms, the abnormal, private vs. public are to be found throughout a wide range of Cut's videos. 

Strange Buds

Fig. 6: “Erdoğan welcomes victims of Dutch police violence”

The first example is this video called Grandmas Smoking Weed for the First Time, part of a series called 'Strange Buds'. Strange Buds is a series that sets up diverse groups of three people for a smoke-session.  In this particular episode, three grandmas are offered to smoke weed for the first time. Their actions and initial reactions are being recorded for the video, and the grandmothers are given some snacks for the munchies and play a game of Cards Against Humanity, while everything is being filmed. The participants of this video are not at all familiar with the weed culture and have not ever smoked weed before.

This video is a fitting example on how unconventional norms are publicly being tested in an era of digitalization, as these people all act outside of the bounds of the ‘conventional’ norms. In modern western culture, one could say it is not ‘usual’ or normal for elderly people to smoke weed. According to the National Institute of Drug Abuse, the weed culture is largely dominated by youngsters. As seen in the figure below, Drug use is highest among people in their late teens and twenties. In 2013, 22.6 percent of 18- to 20-year-olds reported using an illicit drug in the past month. From the category with people of 65 years and older, only 1.5 smoked cannabis in 2013. There is also the common stigma on cannabis use, (sometimes) associating the usage with criminality, drug abuse and addiction.

A graph displaying the statistics regarding drug use for ages 12 and above in 2012/2013 in the United States of America

The video starts with all of the grandmothers explaining that they have never used cannabis due to reasons in accordance with the social norms, such as 'being too busy raising kids'. If we bear in mind the surrounding stigma and negative connotations, it is intriguing for many to see these grandmothers have a good time getting high together as it is not common that they would participate in this weed culture. Their behaviour is abnormal and therefore, interesting to society. The irrational and the abnormal are constantly being tested.
Norms around smoking cannabis are evolving, and the legalization in some US states has increased its popularity. Thus, for an American YouTube account that revolves around society, norms, and the unconventional, it was a fairly logical move to test the boundaries and stigma around the use of cannabis. A successful move too as the video has gone viral on facebook and has now reached over 29 million views as of April 21st, 2018.

Fear Pong and Truth or Drink

Fig. 9: "Yes" campaign appearance at Istanbul's Yenikapı Square Cut, YouTube

In their series “Fear Pong", a game of beer pong is played with a twist (you can find the video here). When the cup gets sunk, the player needs to decide whether to drink or carry out the dare-challenge underneath the cup. Each scenario varies; sometimes two exes challenge each other, or people on a blind date getting to know each other. The winner gets $200 cash and the loser has to 'make it rain cash' on the winner. This already clashes with Foucault's idea of the norm.  Many of the dares the contestants are presented with are intimate in some way.

Two examples of such dares are when players are to remove all items of clothing except for underwear, or where they need to eat food off each other’s bodies (or drink the cup). Obviously, the frequent nudity is also a good move in terms of increasing viewership, since the racey thumbnails entice more people to watch the videos, which is a reflection of the society that is driven by the spice and sexuality. It also contrasts with the more conservative norms, which would be very against this type of behaviour. Moreover, there is a certain amount of stigma towards these activities and this would make it subject to criticism.

In another series, titled ‘Truth or Drink’, the participants are required to answer a question truthfully or drink. if the person prefers to not answer the question. It shows how open people can be when it comes to answering questions regarding very intimate details (on camera), sometimes simply to dodge the drink.

It also allows us a possibility to look into Goffman's concept of stigmatization since in some videos parents and kids are partaking in the game and therefore talking about stigmatized subjects such as sex and drugs use, which can be viewed as inappropriate by some sectors of society. It should also be said that it clashes with the pre-existing norms. This is also the case in another video where there is a girl with her father-in-law. It is not normal for that situation to take place and therefore it is stigmatised, but it still happens.

The awkwardness in some of the videos prove that there still is a certain stigma present, especially in topics such as sexual activity. This could also be linked back to the Monsters idea which, by Foucalt's definition, is someone abnormal within society. Are these people monsters for partaking in such stigmatized activities? According to some, this is indeed the case. 

Kids Meet...

Cut, YouTube

This particular Cut series exposes young children to people who could be considered Monsters by society. A Monster, as defined by Foucault, is an abnormal member of society. Abnormality is defined by either sexual interests, power, narcissism and the inability to repress their own desires (Foucault, 1986). Due to having done various socially unacceptable activities like substance abuse, people have fallen outside of society’s norms and are therefore considered abnormalities. As a result, they are stigmatised because of their character traits or in some instances even physicality, causing them to be treated differently for something that they may or may not have control over.

In one episode, where kids meet a 16-year-old recovering from addiction, the kids are exposed to scenarios unimaginable for them, such as smoking at the age of 9. As more scenarios unfold and more personal information is shared with the children, they ask more questions related to the situation. This video is a clear display of the difference in mentalities of people within the norms of society and those who have found themselves spectacoutside of them. The younger kids, who have never been exposed to someone that partook in substance abuse, tend to ask the more basic questions like “what did you do” or “how does it feel to be recovering” whereas some of the older participants are asking for advice on how to prevent their friends from going down the same path. The 16-year-old is stigmatised in the sense that he attends a special school to aid him with his addiction, fundamentally meaning that he belongs to a group of abnormals -- Monsters.

Following the concept of stigmatisation, there is also an episode in which kids meet a 'little person'. This person has been physically stigmatised because of her disease, which causes her to be only 3 feet tall. She begins by informing the children that the correct term for people in her situation is, in fact, ‘little person’, because everyone’s case is slightly different from the other. Therefore, simply generalising this physically stigmatised group as ‘midgets’ or ‘dwarfs’ is not accurate. After this, the children proceed to ask questions regarding everyday life and how they progress through it with their disability. 

Both these episodes clearly display how different life can be for people that have found themselves outside society's norms, whether that's be due to substance abuse or a physical disability. They have been, or still are, stigmatised by society because of either a characteristic trait or a physicality and they are educating children about their situations, to show them what life is like on their end. Letting kids sit down and talk with different people and learn unusual or unfamiliar things, and spreading the message to millions of viewers, is a proper way of teaching kids and adults worldwide to respect and accept all different types of people.

Lineup

LGSM protest during Pride Parade in "Pride"(2014)

Another set of videos revolving around stigma, identity, and stereotyping, are Cut’s lineup videos. The idea of this video is that ten random people line up, and a person in front of them has to guess which person has which horoscope, or what their sexuality is, and so on. An interesting video is called  “Guess Who Has a Criminal Record”, The guesser’s answer is based purely on the first impression he gets; this concerns the person's looks as well as a very brief conversation based on questions, without revealing anything.
It is a controversial social experiment which brings about interesting results, as it addresses stereotypes and prejudice about how criminals look and act. Once again, Cut is testing people; the videos could be seen as experiments on social norms, stigma’s, judgments, and perceptions. The following conversation can be found at the beginning of the aforementioned video:

Guesser: “Is it just like, shitty to say right off the bat, like I feel like you have a record…?”

"Random" man: “What do you think I did?”

Guesser: “I feel like if I say, I’m  gonna sound really rude, but there is like a part of me that feels that there is like a creepy side to you that like other people don’t immediately recognize..”

Based on her reaction, we could say that her first impression combines with an existing stigma on how a certain criminal looks, and thus associates the person with a certain image (the actual reason turned out to be federal tax evasion).

It is not the first time that a guesser stereotypes another person in a video. In fact, most of the guesses are based on judgment and personal perception, as the guesser tries to identify something in the unknown person in order to associate him with the most logical option. Cut has set apart many examples that surprise people with the unexpected, the illogical.

Did they make the cut?

Foucault’s lectures revolving around the ‘’Care of the Self’’ remain relevant and have proven to be powerful for analysis of people, behavior, and norms in a digital age. The content published on Cut seems to be the experiments that test certain ideas and theories associated with Foucault. By highlighting the "monsters" or abnormal ones amongst us, and testing stigma in society. The makers have also proven how successful and profitable it can be to make content that centralizes 'the self' in many different shapes and sizes. After all, it seems to have become the norm to test the norms; or at least watch others test them while we are conveniently taking it all in from behind our screens.

References:

Crossman, A. (2018, April 9). Stigma: Notes on the Management of Spoiled Identity. Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/stigma-notes-on-the-management-of-spoiled-ide…

Cut, (2014, November 19) Grandmas Smoking Weed for the First Time | Strange Buds | Cut [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IRBAZJ4lF0U

Cut, (2017, August 9) Kids Meet Guys with Felonies | Cut [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I_3ZiiGSA6E

Cut, (2017, November 3). Parents & Kids Play Truth or Drink | Truth or Drink | Cut [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZNHjC_3BycY

Cut, (2018, January 10). Blind Dates Play Fear Pong (Christian vs. Ren) | Fear Pong | Cut [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7tEn1s0J9sk&t=44s

Cut, (2018, January 23) Guess Who Has a Criminal Record | Lineup | Cut [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0UE_Z00vFLI

Foucault, M. (1986). The Care of the Self: Vol. 3, The History of Sexuality. New York, NY: Pantheon Books

HiHo Kids, (2017, August 30) Kids Meet A Little Person | Kids Meet | HiHo Kids [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iK5ZcCse2G0&t=315s

HiHo Kids, (2018, March 22) Kids Meet A Kid in Recovery From Addiction | Kids Meet | HiHo Kids  [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yl_7qSgrf3Y&t=314s

Kunming, L., & Blommaert, J. (2017). The care of the selfie : ludic chronotopes of baifumei in online China. Tilburg Papers in Culture Studies. Tilburg, The Netherlands: Tilburg University.