Am I a sad cynic, seeing what's not there or have I spotted something you all knew but hadn't told me?
Over on, 🤫ssshhh, certain social media channels (go on - admit to looking from time to time) I'm increasingly seeing photos of bygone eras, sometimes compared to a recreated recent view of the same.
Buildings, streets, parks, people's pastimes, children's games, families, portraits - you name it, you can find it.
They probably started out to share genuine historic interest or nostalgic trips down memory lane.
Their proliferation and the comments that usually accompany them is highly charged. There was a golden age - usually a decade when the commenter was growing up, where everything was better, simpler, more fun.
No it wasn't!
Example: picture of little girl, about 3, pushing her doll in a pram (circa early 60s).
👧 Aww, that was the 'right' kind of innocent play.
Reality: Holds women back, reinforcing gender stereotypes.
Consequences: Neither that girl nor any of the other females in her circle could get a mortgage, bank account, insurance without a man signing the papers as well. Careers were all geared towards enabling her to be a wife and mother.
Example: East London street before redevelopment.
👨👦👦 We were such a close knit community.
Reality: Poverty holds everyone back, reinforcing social differences.
Consequences: Bad housing, illiteracy, low ambition culture, lack of opportunity, all keep people in a cycle of poor outcomes. potentially for generations.
Some comments are pretty offensive, very racist, mysogynist, classist, harking back to a time when everyone knew "their place". Each one whipping up a storm with spiralling offensiveness.
What do you think is going on?
- Nothing to see here, it's all genuine nostalgia
- Attempts to whip up dissent for political gain
- The comments are a risk that the posters of the photos have to take
- It's something else
Do comment below!