There are thousands of stereotypes in this world – basically
one for every social group, or “clique” for lack of a better word. No matter what you’re into, you can find a stereotype directed towards you, and ravers aren’t an exception.
To be completely honest, raver stereotypes are hilariously exaggerated. Not everyone who enjoys electronic music or attending a rave every so often fits in with the terrible, yet comedic, stereotypes that have formed over the years. These are just a few of the most entertaining stereotypes, in my opinion, out there directed towards ravers.
1. Ravers do all kinds of crazy drugs. You don’t know how many times I’ve told someone that I like going to raves and have gotten the response of, “so what kind of drugs have you tried?” For some odd reason, ravers have gotten pegged for being drug addicts. Granted, many ravers have unfortunately been faced with death due to overdose at raves. The great part is that everyone, in turn, assumes every raver has tried every drug in the books. I’ve even had people tell me that security at raves doesn’t search you for drugs and that although “technically” banned; any drug can be freely used at a rave. This, of course, is not true and neither is the fact that, “to listen to that kind of music, you have to be on something.” Although drug use may be popular among the raver community, being told I’m lying because I say I’ve never done LSD and regularly attend raves will always crack me up.
2. Any girl who raves is clearly promiscuous. I don’t know exactly how it started, but wearing almost nothing to raves has become more and more common as these music festivals have progressed. Girls can be seen in nothing but pasties and a thong, jumping to the beat of the music and I see how that can be considered a tad scandalous, but does that mean every girl is slutty? Being considered a whore shouldn’t be based strictly on what you choose to wear to a rave. I’ve been in a faithful relationship for over four years and because I go to raves, I’ve had people judge not only me, but also my relationship, more than I can count. Yes, wearing less clothing may be considered something that is frowned upon, but it will never cease to amaze me that a girl can be judged that harshly on a costume. I used to be offended, but now as raves are getting popular, I laugh when I see more and more of the people who used to think less of me joining in.
3. Anyone who likes electronic music obviously has no taste in music. People who dislike electronic music either think that EDM is not “real” music, or that DJs are basically just ripping off other people’s music and meshing it together, and not really doing anything themselves. Just because some EDM songs don’t have any words doesn’t mean they are any less “musical” than a pop or country song. Everyone has their own likes and dislikes, but since when are songs without words considered trash? Just like not everyone enjoys country music, not everyone is going to enjoy electronic music. It’s the type of music you have to like to be able to understand. DJs work hard to produce songs and, honestly, DJ-ing is NOT as easy as it may look. Take it from me who has tried using a mixing board more than once and epically failed, making songs and beats mesh together is extremely difficult. Just because there may not be any words involved, or DJs may be using songs that other artists have originally created, doesn’t mean their music is any less incredible.
4. “They make these stupid bead bracelets.” Those “stupid bead bracelets” are actually called “Kandi” to us ravers. Most don’t know why we wear them or what they mean, but that doesn’t stop them from thinking they are dumb. Kandi is actually a really cool and meaningful part of raving and has been a tradition for years now. Ravers across the world make Kandi with various colors, designs and sayings and at raves, we get to meet people from different countries and exchange our bracelets. Almost every time ravers meet someone new at a rave, they’ll trade Kandi. It’s so cool to be able to look at your Kandi collection and know exactly who gave you what bracelet and what festival you were at. It’s truly a great way to connect with people across the globe, bringing together the community of ravers and making memories. I guess as some have told me, “you have a lot of feelings about Kandi.”
5. People who rave are just “wannabe hipsters”. This is one of the newer stereotypes going around, and I can’t even count how many times I’ve heard that ravers are all just trying to look cool. Nowadays, raves are becoming really popular and there are a lot of people who attend them because of said popularity. EDC has turned into the rave for first time ravers. No one should be going to EDC as their first rave – it should be the type of rave you work your way up to. But just because a lot of people have begun to attend raves for this reason, doesn’t mean that’s why all of us do. There are still plenty of us, original ravers, who actually attend these music festivals because we enjoy the music and DJs. So although there may be a lot of new people hopping on the bandwagon, and joining the raving community, there are still a few who can certainly tell you otherwise.
6. “You’ll get poked with a needle and get aids!” This is by far my favorite rave stereotype and it will never get old. This rumor has been going around for as long as I have been raving, and I honestly can never contain myself when it gets brought up in conversation. For years it has been said that if you go to a rave, someone is going to poke you with an AIDS infected needle and you’ll die. Really? Whenever someone asks me if it’s true, I just sit there and laugh. Do people really think raves would still be held if this were true? Do they really think so many people would be attending them? The funniest part is how widespread this rumor has gotten over the years – I cannot believe that people could actually be that gullible. Or, maybe, it is true and I’ll be waiting for you with a needle at the next rave, you decide.
