To be Cringe is to be Free… Right?

Hello everyone! I thought this would be an apt first blog post, seeing as posting online can be intimidating, and I want to ask myself why that is. Now I believe it all boils down to one adjective: cringy. After all, what if my old coworker reads this and laughs, or my cousin sends it in a family group chat I’m not in? At first, that sounds like a nightmare, but I have now decided that embarrassment is a choice, albeit a hard one. Call me cringy (actually, please don’t), but I have decided to believe the wise words: to be cringe is to be free:)

The idea of being “cringe” is, in my humble opinion, one of the greatest things holding people back. What I’m referring to is when people label others as cringe in order to maintain a sense of false superiority or social status. Sure, maybe I sound dramatic… but it is one of my biggest pet peeves when someone calls another person or thing cringy. It is a barrier needlessly created by people who want to feel superior. The saddest part is that it’s inhibiting people from even trying in life. Bringing me to my point, as silly as it sounds, I truly do think that to be cringe is to be free. Free from the judgment of others, because even though that judgment will always be there, we choose to ignore it and find our own success. Free from feeling embarrassed about caring and striving for something, even if we fail. Free from the fear that others so easily cast onto us, despite never putting themselves out there and doing the damn thing themself.

We are so afraid that our peers, family, or even friends will disapprove of or find us embarrassing that we are afraid to try. Why is it considered cringy to try? Maybe because people are scared of failure, or even worse, public failure. This could mean being kind to strangers, starting an online presence, auditioning for a play, attempting to start a business, etc. ( I have seen it all). All of which require effort that some people judge so harshly. The same people who praise others for their success that came from the methods they are calling cringy. You can’t adore influencers and then call your classmate cringy for being proud of 10 likes on TikTok. You can’t praise Timothée Chalamet’s latest performance and treat the theatre kids as less than for their passion. Just because you can’t dare to dream like these people doesn’t make you superior. Dare I say, it’s cool to try new things and actually care about them! If you do find yourself judging and labeling others as cringy, you need to ask yourself why. Is it because you are afraid to try things yourself and therefore, declare those who do try as “cringy” in order to save yourself the embarrassment of NOT trying?

Cringe vs. Shame

Now, I don’t want to sound like a hypocrite here, so stick with me. I do believe there is a place in society for public judgment. Hear me out! Maybe I don’t think calling someone or something cringy is right, BUT I do believe that there is value in a little of public shaming. The two can be very similar, but there is a key difference. “Cringe” comes from a place of internal judgment for something that you personally don’t like or have insecurities about. Shame helps dictate what is morally right and wrong. What people should and shouldn’t post, believe, or say in regards to others. Shame creates empathy and allows people to control their own actions to follow a moral compass. It’s not some arbitrary made-up label to try and control other people’s interests and endeavors. My point is, we need to stop with the “cringy” foolishness and bring back public shaming!! Just kidding, that sounds extreme, but don’t you think if you stopped caring about what is and isn’t cringy, you would be so much happier? And for those of you who do judge others so harshly, why don’t you use your judgmental powers for good? Instead of whispering behind your coworker’s back about something that doesn’t affect you whatsoever, judge them for leaving a mess in the microwave. Maybe that’s a stupid example, but you get my point. There are things worth your time and judgment efforts, and there are things that are not. Get over yourself and your superiority complex and let people live and enjoy things! Maybe you’ll decide to start actually living too.

– with love, Kathryn