In modern society, more and more new subcultures and groups appear. AT recent times the concept of "freak" has become widespread. Who are freaks, and how to distinguish them from ordinary people? Let's figure it out together.
The word "freak" itself comes from the English "freak". Literally, this word is translated "freak, disabled person"; "eccentric, a strange man"Freaks are called extravagant, extraordinary people with unusual appearance and outrageous behavior. Often these people refuse social norms and stereotypes, break them. It is believed that freaks are representatives youth subculture but they can also be adults. Freaks are often representatives creative beau monde: writers, poets, musicians, artists.
In the past, the word "freak" referred to people who were physically handicapped or had some kind of strange defect. For example, freaks performing in the circus are dwarfs, Siamese twins, bearded women, etc. Such weird people have always been popular with the audience and created their own "freak show". Thus, freaks can be both from birth, and become so in the process of life.
Another meaning of this word appeared in the 60-70s, when such a thing as a freak subculture or a freak scene arose. This movement brought together outside-the-box thinking lovers of psychedelic and rock music, post-hippies and representatives of other informal subcultures. Freaks rejected value public opinion and material assets and above all they put freedom from conventions and prejudices. Modern freaks are also not afraid to shock others with their appearance and demeanor. With the help of unusual outfits and hairstyles, freaks creatively express themselves and their attitude to the world around them.
Another of the meanings of the word "freak" is a fairly common surname of French, less often Scottish origin.
What are freaks
How to distinguish a freak from an ordinary person? This is the easiest to do! Freaks always stand out from the crowd and catch on themselves either admiring or contemptuous glances. In Russia, the subculture of freaks has not yet become as widespread as in the West or in Japan. Most likely, this is due to the conservatism of society and its rejection of everything crazy and out of the ordinary. For example, the brightest freak of the Soviet scene was Zhanna Aguzarova, who considered herself a Martian and loved futuristic outfits.
Who are freaks, how to recognize them? Apart from fancy clothes, freaks use the following techniques to express their individuality:
- tattoos: often they occupy the whole body or most, some make tattoos on the face.
- punk hairstyles. Freaks often make "Iroquois", dreadlocks, pigtails. They also like to dye their hair in bright, neon colors: light green, pink, sky blue, bright purple, etc.
- piercing: on the freak's body and face you can see a large number of earrings. Earrings are inserted into the nose, eyebrows, tongue, nipples, navel, genitals and wherever else they please. Earlobes, nose or lip are often decorated with "tunnels". The tunnel is a decoration big size which has a through hole.
- other body changes for a radical change in appearance: medical implants (for example, in the form of horns), cutting the tongue in two like a snake, modifying teeth - fangs, scarring, etc.
So, now you know who the freaks are. Express yourself and don't be afraid of what others think of you!
We have already devoted more than a dozen articles to various near-musical, near-sports and other subcultures. But they forgot one small detail. More precisely, what somehow unites all the most dissimilar and opposite subcultures. All of them - punks and skinheads, goths and lubers, teddy boys and cybergoths - want to be different from the "gray mass", to stand out from the "crowd" whether it be extravagant outfit or antisocial behavior. All of them - freaks.
Many of you know what the word freak means in English. For those who do not know, I will explain - given word means "freak", "weirdo", "moron" and sometimes even "drug addict". In general, a lot of "flattering" meanings. However, many of the representatives of any of the subcultures will not be offended if they are called freaks. Moreover, they achieve this with their appearance, manner of communication, behavior and way of thinking expressed aloud. Freaks are often those individuals who do not identify themselves with any well-known subculture. Such individuals are likely to be representatives creative professions- photographers, musicians, journalists, actors, dancers, writers and God knows who else. However, do not think that the boy, who put on a bunch of pins and badges, automatically becomes a freak. A young lady with a shaved skull and berets is also not a freak. the main objective freak - to draw attention to yourself, to cause a response in others to your appearance. It doesn't matter if the reaction is positive or negative. It is important that it be in principle.
Initially, freaks a few centuries ago were called freaks with physical disabilities, which were shown in the circus. Another freak appeared in the US in the post-hippie period, that is, in the 1970s. It was a time of non-standard creative youth who were fond of psychedelic music and soft drugs. The freaks of that time also liked to dress bizarrely and harmlessly hooligan, attracting the attention of others. Since then, the desire to look as extravagant as possible and show off your dismissive attitude to the generally accepted rules of conduct main task every freak.
Wherein freaks appeared not only among ordinary adolescents, but also among famous musicians and performers. One of the first famous freaks are considered to be David Bowie and Ozzy Osbourne. Their example was later followed by Bjork, Marilyn Manson and, to some extent, Michael Jackson. The modern Western music scene is also not complete without outrageous characters. Lady Gaga is undeniably dominant. Sometimes a freak is called a now deceased Amy Winehouse although this is a bit controversial. A notable character is Rick Genest (Zombie Boy). The guy whose body is almost completely covered with unique tattoos has already become the hero of more than one music video. The domestic scene and media space can also boast unusual characters. Of course, the first and main freak domestic stage You can call Zhanna Aguzarova. Freaks include Boris Moiseev, Sergei Penkin, Vitas, Gauguin Solntsev, Andrei Bartenev and even Sergei Zverev. The Ukrainian scene, by the way, also has its own freak - Verka Serdyuchka is, so far, perhaps the only freak of the Ukrainian show business.
As you understand, all of the above characters do not belong to any of the subcultures known to us. However, they, like any freak, strive to attract the attention of the public and the press. Freak, who is not a hyped star, draws attention to his person in the same way. Someone puts on unimaginable outfits, someone dyes their hair in all the colors of the rainbow, someone resorts to the help of tattoo and piercing masters, piercing and painting all parts of the body. But not only the appearance distinguishes the freak from the crowd. Another important condition is the neglect of the generally accepted model of behavior, public morality and the rejection of any stereotypes and clichés. Moreover, the behavior of a freak should not harm the people around him. Frick seeks by his example to show that it is possible to live without driving yourself into behavioral and any other patterns.
In general, the concept of "freak" is rather vague. No one can really say what a freak should look like, what he should listen to, how he should think and behave. Frick doesn't owe anyone anything. He just wants to stand out, shock and be himself. Which way he chooses to do this is up to him to decide.
As a result of the rejection of social stereotypes. Freaks stand out in a separate subculture.
Also, freaks are often called people who are strongly, often beyond measure, passionate about something, enthusiasts.
Story
Initially, the word "freak" referred to physically handicapped, having rare exotic diseases or people with an unusual appearance, that is, freaks. Often they were shown in traveling circuses as participants in the "freak show" (eng. freak show): a bearded woman, a tattooed man, dwarfs, etc. (see the film Freaks by Tod Browning).
In this sense, a "freak" can be called someone who does not fall under the typical standards of deviation. For example, a person of small stature will not be classified as a "freak", unless their height is less than - 3 SDS (coefficient standard deviation); the same rule applies to people tall. Such "freaks" can be divided into two groups: people who are born "freaks" and people who become "freaks" in the course of their development. The reason for the appearance of "freaks" of the first group is most often genetic abnormalities, at the same time, the "freak" from the second group is a common person who, by his own will or due to a combination of circumstances, has undergone changes in appearance (for example, due to the implantation of implants).
The word "freak" is still used to refer to genetic mutations in plants or animals. In English, the word "freak" is also used as a verb or adjective, for example, to describe panic attacks or uncontrollable behavior due to the use of certain types of drugs (freaking, freaking out) or as a substitute for one obscene word for another (Oh my freaking God! ).
"Frick", among other things, is also a surname, of French or Scottish origin. One of its bearers was Reece Freak, a prominent industrialist and philanthropist from Adelaide, South Australia.
Previously, there were many theories regarding natural deviations that had no basis in reality. scientific explanation. One of the superstitions widespread in the 19th century was the belief that an animal or person that frightened a pregnant woman can transfer certain qualities or properties to the fetus (a widespread theory regarding innate character traits has, in fact, the same basis).
The Freaks, according to Zappa, were far from juxtaposing right and left, mainstream culture and counterculture, conservatives and hippies, preferring an aesthetic free of fashion or political dogma. This allowed Zappa and The Mothers of Invention to expand on the concept of "freak", previously used in the context of or synonymous with the expressions "fault of nature" and "freak show". “Bearded, rude, dirty and devoid of all decorum, they were… freaks. This was their purpose. They were part of the same game that lasted for ages, epater le bourgeoisie (Rus. shock the bourgeoisie), but this time they weren't Dadaists or existentialists or beatniks, they were freaks.
On the concerts The Mothers of Invention audiences followed his call to "freak out!" (the band's first album had the same name) and freely expressed their emotions through dancing or spontaneous screams, and the band members, in turn, poured whipped cream on the audience. This concert behavior has been adopted by many others. musical groups that appeared decades after the Frank Zappa band.
Freaks, with their militant anti-social stance, have become the subject of criticism, sounding not only from representatives traditional culture, but also from the lips of representatives of other subcultural movements, including for their "theoretically literate, but at the same time futile attempts resist "false civilization". John Lennon sang about how "phone freaks haunt me" (Eng. Freaks on the phone won't leave me alone) and that he was "tired of all these aggressive hippies, or whatever they call themselves, the new generation ... claiming my attention, as if I owe them something ...". Bob Dylan also suffered from Dylan freaks "trying to make him live and behave the way he should live and behave according to their ideas." In response to phrases that he "should be aware of his duties as an idol of millions - you are DYLAN, boy, you are an object of worship for your fans, you are DYLAN, DYLAN, DYLAN", Dylan replied: "I'm not Dylan, and you" .
The Filthy Speech Movement, one of the leaders of which was Jerry Rubin, can also be attributed to the freak subculture.
"Artificial freaks" (eng. Made freaks)
The word "freak" is often used in relation to people who consciously change their own appearance using various techniques. It can be true or part of a lifestyle, as we see with the musicians Marilyn Manson or the Murderdolls, a reaction to body disfigurement in an accident, an attempt to stay young, or a symptom of body dysmorphic disorder (body dysmorphophobia). There are several varieties of "artificial freaks" (made freaks, English), they can exist both separately and together with each other.
Who is Frick? Perhaps this is an extravagant person with a particularly sensual soul who just wants to stand out from the crowd? Or, rather, a pompous freak, who is not clear how our land wears? Life shows that only small amount people who are either themselves freaks, striving for extravagant outfits or deeds, or people who are passionately in love with them. Everyone else either doesn’t give a damn, or the second option is closer, about the inferiority of the psyche. But how interesting it is to figure out who the freaks really are. And not according to the photo, not according to the dry definition in Wikipedia, but for real.
Who are freaks? What desires do these people have and where do they come from?
What do freaks give to society? How does the culture evolve along with the freaks?
What freaks suffer from and how to get rid of psychological problems that a freak might have?
Who is a freak? A strange question, today, probably, everyone will easily point it out in the crowd. Blue hair with an extravagant cut, unusual tattoos on the arms and legs, deformed ears or nose, strange clothes - these are just small, small examples of what a freak can look like. And if in general, then this is a person who stands out from the crowd very much with his appearance and, not always, but often, with extraordinary behavior.
Previously, some 100 years ago, it was quite simple to become a freak: he put on a hat that was not of the same style as everyone else - and that earned the fame of an extravagant person. Probably the first real, shocking freaks that were encountered in our society were punks and metalheads in the 90s. But today you won’t surprise anyone with this, modern freaks are not at all like that. Male freaks stand out more and more from the crowd with their resemblance to a woman, for example. Others completely change their appearance, covering their entire face with tattoos, putting horns on their foreheads, or stretching artificial holes on their bodies. Still others are experimenting with hair: they cut their hair bald, dye it in acid shades, make curly haircuts. And while the whole crowd is wondering what kind of extravagant person this is, the freak himself feels happiness and joy - are they looking at him and is he in the center of the universe? This is exactly what brings him harmony in the soul.
Who are freaks really? The answer is in the visual vector
With the help of system-vector thinking, today we can truly understand each person, all the motives of his behavior, his desires, his preferences. And to understand that behind every act, behind every manifestation is ordinary human nature and nothing completely bad, as it seems to someone in society. The system-vector psychology of Yuri Burlan explains and justifies the freak, gives an understanding of his personality and worldview.
So who are the freaks? Or rather, what gives a person the desire to be a freak? Most often, this is a person with a visual vector, although there are many freaks with a complete quarter of information - sound and vision. It is necessary to look for the answer in the visual vector and its desires. In nature, only 5% of such people are born. It so happened that by nature they are physically weaker than other people, because the visual vector in its roots denies death - this is the most terrible and wild thing that can happen to a person. Fear of death, fear of the dark - those feelings that the viewer feels in his own skin already in childhood.
We are all descendants of the primitive flock. It is now easy - to get food, you just need to go to the store and buy it, but 50 thousand years ago everything was different. And the visual person had a very hard time: the most nondescript, weak, he risked being simply trampled down or forgotten, which means certain death. It is necessary to somehow stand out from the crowd, to be noticed, not like everyone else. So, willy-nilly, you will become extravagant, turn on fantasy and shocking. It was the spectators who came up with the idea of painting the bodies natural colors, make tattoos, decorate their hair with feathers, lengthen their necks or stretch their earlobes - this is how they attracted attention to their person, becoming the first "freaks" in history. And they took motives for their creativity from nature. And surprisingly, everyone else followed suit. Bringing out their properties, gradually developing beauty in all its manifestations, the spectators developed culture and pulled the whole flock behind them. And after all, everything that we today accept as the norm, clothes, hairstyles, and often behavior, was once a real manifestation of freaks, extravagant and unaccepted by society.
Separately, it is necessary to say about the skin-visual beauty in the primitive flock to this day, the companion of the leader. Such girls were presented with marvelous stones, wore expensive attributes that they and only they had.
Beauty and standing out from the crowd are two things that give a skin-visual person a sense of their own security, balance with nature, a special state of brain biochemistry, which can be defined as happiness. And although today there is no need to stand out with a special appearance, and if you openly wear expensive stones, then on the contrary you can become not an untouchable person, but a victim of a crime, nevertheless, for many visual people, a feeling of happiness is achieved precisely by these means. So - means of satisfaction of desire are necessary. And the modern skin-visual person has a whole mass of them for the manifestation of his extravagance: cosmetics, tattooing, the ability to grow nails and hair, in the end - plastic surgery. The same applies to clothing materials: they allow you not only to stand out, but to make a splash.
Who are teen freaks?
If you look closely, you can see that the vast majority of freaks are teenagers or very young people. And this also has a psychological meaning.
Little kids never really want to stand out. They, like small animals, have been taught from a young age (if they grew up in society, and not locked up at home with tutors): if you stand out, they will eat you. And this is true: the tallest will receive the nickname "giraffe", a child with an unusual name will be laughed at, and the weakest will be mercilessly hit on the head with briefcases. Therefore, I-Little always want to be like everyone else - no worse, no better, but exactly like everyone else. And my phone should be the same as everyone else's, and the dress should be the same as that of my girlfriends.
An adult, on the contrary, unlike a child, wants to stand out, to be different from everyone else. Someone wants to be richer, another - to raise the best children, the third - to become president. I am an adult completely reversed from I am a small one. But adolescence is the period of transition from small to adult. And this period is actually very difficult, depending on many factors, it passes more or less without a trace and normally. I am a teenager, entering the transitional phase of his development, for the first time begins to feel new desires, he wants to decide what he is and who he is, strives for independence, unusualness, atypicality. And in each vector it happens differently.
All visual children tend to experiment with their appearance in adolescence, someone admires freaks and echoes them, chooses to do extravagant hairstyles, wear shocking outfits. It happens as if alone, for example, a girl suddenly decides to dye her black hair bright pink, or a boy decides to make a tattoo in the form of a dragon. Or in groups, when several teenagers stray into a group of adherents of something extraordinary and unusual, for example, dress up in goth or emo, participate in, etc. Almost all visual children, at least skin-visual, except for the most shy, go through a period of extravagance and freaking in adolescence.
From how it goes transition period and early years adulthood of a visual person, how his freak attacks will be perceived by society and parents, and it depends whether this will turn into a way of life, or whether it will go into oblivion, like a youthful hobby. Will a person become a real freak for life - to the end, or will he settle down and begin to stand out in a different direction.
Who are freaks and what does it mean to be extravagant?
To be a freak is to realize your visual desires, however, for today - in a somewhat infantile version. Each subculture, which is formed around different freak directions, has the right to life and very often becomes a kind of art and moves from the detente of freak attributes to popular fashion, which is followed by many people with other vectors. A perfect example of this can be modern tattoos, which are gaining incredible popularity.
But at the same time, any freak who comes out of adolescence, cannot but understand the danger of his extravagant behavior. Unfortunately, often this becomes a real time bomb that prevents a person from living a happy life. So freaks, in fact, very good at heart, like all spectators, suffer from themselves and feel a sense of discomfort.
Firstly, although the general tolerance in society is growing, freaks often become objects of ridicule, and sometimes even beatings. Detractors can go to different, often very bad actions against freaks. Moreover, many in society turn away from freaks, do not want to communicate with them, consider them freaks, and it is very important for a visual person to have an emotional connection with another person. This is his comfort zone, the state of joy. Of course, you can only be friends with people like yourself - but for a visual extrovert, this is still not quite what you need. Living in constant hatred and misunderstanding is painful and difficult for a visual person, even if he is an inveterate freak. With his actions, he nevertheless goes to people, and they turn away from him - this cannot but cling.
There is a second, deeper moment of psychological discomfort. After all, who are the freaks? Those who want to attract attention, stand out from the crowd. And extravagant appearance, unusual hairstyle, defiant behavior - this is just external manifestations, entourage so to speak. While making huge efforts to maintain our image of a freak, we do not pay due attention to the internal component. human personality. What does this lead to in the end? To a growing sense of one's own inferiority, to the question: "Here I am not like everyone else, but inside, in fact, a real empty shell. How am I different from the rest?" And in response, a sad voice scratches with all his might in the soul: "Yes, nothing really." 50 thousand years ago, it was enough for a visual person to stand out only in appearance - to become a freak, today this is not enough.
If in youth the feeling of being a freak, wearing extravagant outfits really made a splash, filled with happiness and joy, then in adulthood, at 30 or even 40 years old, this can never give real fulfillment, satisfaction, no matter how hard you try and what do not use methods to stand out from the crowd. I want more, but you can’t squeeze the same sensations out of your appearance. And in the soul grows and grows disappointment, emptiness, misfortune.
Who are freaks? These are people just like everyone else. Despite their unusual appearance, freaks want to be happy. And for this you need to understand the motives of your behavior, understand yourself - only in this case there will be harmony, both with the outside world and with yourself. An excellent way will be a deep understanding of the basics of the visual vector, as well as its other vectors, which form the whole personality of a person, all our desires. This can be done in training systems-vector psychology Yuri Burlan, which are held online on the Internet and are available to everyone. You can sign up for introductory, introductory lectures at this link (link) or simply by clicking on this banner:
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The word "freak" has firmly entered the modern youth lexicon. Some time ago it was rather a negative characterization, but in last years became more neutral unusual person that doesn't fit into the stereotypes. modern freedom self-expression sometimes leads to very peculiar outward ways of expressing oneself. Older people most often refer to freaks as urban lunatics.The category of freaks most often includes actors, musicians, artists. They prefer unusual ones, such as dreadlocks, and proudly wear tattoos and piercings. Freaks don't follow fashion trends in clothes, preferring something bright and unusual. Freak culture is spreading more and more around the world, specialty shops, clubs, restaurants appear.
Unfortunately, in modern society there is still a tradition to evaluate a person by his appearance. Therefore, there is a stereotype that such peculiar people cannot adequately raise children. Although quite often under an aggressive or atypical appearance a completely soft person can be hidden who simply knows how to look “not like everyone else”, which in no way can characterize his personal (and) qualities.
Freaks are not dangerous to society
If about how freaks differ from other modern "psychos", it should be noted that they are absolutely not dangerous for the people around them. They are not characterized by aggressive and actions, they do not assert themselves at the expense of other people. Most often, they behave a little exaltedly, wear strange outfits, recite complex with complex associative chains, and are prone to long “abstruse” discussions.This lifestyle can be resented by fans of more traditional values. Perhaps that is why the word "freak" has received an additional negative - this is how schizophrenics and transvestites are called.
Generally modern society treats freaks neutrally (until it comes to). It should be noted that the main freak of the twentieth century can be called Salvador Dali, whose eccentricity was part of life, going beyond creativity. Salvador Dali called the most different feelings in contemporary society - from delight to horror. Now the main modern freak can be called Lady Gaga.
