Introversion

Recently, I’ve been thinking about something in media that really annoys me. It’s about introversion.

A lot of the time, in media, especially western ones, it seems like being an introvert is looked down on. American media seems very problematic with that; treating us like we’re something to be avoided or looked down on. Just look at stuff like The Big Bang Theory; they’re treated as weird for not going out drinking or partying, and their interests, too. It’s always like “You just need to be fixed”. Like having the introvert girl that wears glasses get a makeover into a generic extrovert girl by the end of the film, or “realise” that what she wanted all along was to be an extrovert. Or act like the only reason someone might want to be by themselves or such is because of some trauma, or anxiety.

It really feels like extroverts are running so much of the media. Projecting in their ideas about what people’s lives should be like. Going out all the time, drinking a lot….It sounds utterly exhausting to me. I’m not some shut-in hikikomori, but I don’t want to go out all the time, or drink. They seem to act like that’s a bad thing; that only things like that, nightclubs, etc, are a valid way to have fun.

I especially started thinking of it because of a crappy anime called Uzaki-chan Wants To Hang Out! It presents the male protagonist as if he’s some antisocial guy. But really, he just seems fine by himself. Not needing to be always with someone or spend a lot of time or money. Uzaki…..Who’s creepily, creepily drawn looking like a child with enormous boobs and sexualised to hell, hassles him to take her places or do stuff together, calling him a loser and a loner and generally being a cow. If someone acted like that to me, I’d stop talking to them. But the way it makes it out, it’s just that he needs to be slowly brought of his shell, rather than that she’s dragging him into things. I’ve heard it’s popular. It’s annoying how introverts are so often depicted as needing to be fixed.

This isn’t a very orderly post, or some essay on how or why the depiction is a problem; mostly, I just felt like rambling about it because it’s bothering me. I’d like to see more good depictions of introverts in fiction. Nightclubs and pubs and such aren’t the be all and end all. If someone can have fun by themselves, or doesn’t need to go out that often, what’s wrong with that? If introverts wrote extroverts the way they write us….Actually, they’d probably just end up with the way American media writes extroverts anyway, haha. Going out drinking all the time and sleeping around easily.

I’d much rather be an introvert. At least I don’t need much to enjoy myself.