106: The Tyranny of Normal
How the Illusion of Conformity Sustains Oppression
One of the most revealing aspects of our current political crisis is the desperate and contradictory desire for a return to "normal." This yearning has roots in the shared trauma of the ongoing pandemic, but it arguably stretches back to the early 2000s, when the rise of social media shattered long-held illusions of cultural homogeneity.
Social media facilitated an explosion of diverse voices and perspectives, making it impossible to sustain the fiction that normal ever truly existed. Instead, what we’ve seen is a validation of an earlier generation’s assertion: when the going gets weird, the weird turn pro.
The proliferation of digital discourse has not only expanded our collective understanding of identity and experience, but it has also provoked an intense backlash.
This reactionary response is not new—it follows a well-worn path. Richard Nixon weaponized the idea of a "silent majority" to justify repression and political conservatism. Today, this has culminated in the bigotry of the MAGA movement, which seeks to impose regressive and restrictive ideas of family, gender, and identity. The concept of "normal" has long been used as a cudgel to marginalize, discipline, and punish those who do not conform.
Normal is a tool of oppression. It pressures people to obey external standards that reinforce existing power structures rather than pursue their own joy and purpose. Every time a crisis occurs, the call to "return to normal" emerges—not as a means of healing, but as a justification for maintaining the status quo. Worse still, it fuels nostalgia for a past that never truly existed, a mythical golden age that conveniently erases those who were excluded or oppressed.
Nowhere is this more heinous than in the attacks on trans people and the insistence that biological sex is a fixed and binary determinant of identity. This false belief ignores the reality that humans are inherently unique, and that many are born outside the rigid constraints of male and female. The scientific and lived reality is clear: normal is an illusion. Uniqueness is the real human condition—an infinite iteration of life, experience, and possibility.
Age is another dimension where the illusion of normalcy is weaponized. Society imposes rigid expectations on what is considered appropriate behavior for different age groups, reinforcing stereotypes that limit both the young and the old. We must recognize the diversity and vitality of our elders, who have lived rich, varied lives that defy simplistic categorization. At the same time, we should encourage young people to embrace their instincts to be different, to challenge conventions, and to explore new ways of being. By rejecting these age-based constraints, we can create a culture that values individual expression at every stage of life.
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Similarly, the notion of a "normal" mind has long been used to oppress those who experience the world differently. Neurodivergent individuals—whether they have autism, ADHD, dyslexia, or mental health conditions—are often pressured to conform to neurotypical expectations instead of being valued for their unique perspectives. Embracing neurodiversity means rejecting the idea that there is one correct way to think, learn, or process the world.
The illusion of normalcy is also imposed on physical bodies. Unrealistic beauty standards and ableist expectations dictate what a "normal" body should look like and how it should function. People with disabilities or chronic illnesses are often marginalized, not because of their conditions, but because society refuses to accommodate and celebrate bodily diversity. Rejecting the idea of a "normal" body means recognizing that human variation is not a defect but a natural expression of life.
Work and productivity are yet another domain where the myth of normalcy is reinforced. The standard 9-to-5 job is often presented as the only legitimate path to success, dismissing alternative forms of labor, caregiving, and creative work. Hustle culture glorifies overwork while shaming those who seek a different balance between work and life. By challenging the normalization of exploitative labor practices, we can create a world that values diverse ways of contributing to society.
As the Trump regime and its enablers continue to wield "normal" as a weapon to justify authoritarianism, we must resist. This resistance cannot merely be about diversity and inclusion; it must be about wholly rejecting the false idol of normalcy itself. We must champion the weird, the different, the nonconforming, and the beautifully strange ways in which we define our humanity. Only by doing so can we dismantle the authoritarian impulse that seeks to impose rigid control over human identity and experience.
Normal never existed. But we do. And our worth is not defined by conformity, but by the radical embrace of our own uniqueness.
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Thank you for acknowledging the ongoing pandemic and using it as one of the many lenses through which to view the current situations we find ourselves in. So many have not fully accepted and I find their analysis lacking. This was spot on.