Catholic Girl Summer, Church Girl Fall
The internet has a “niche micro internet celebrity bubble” issue.
Dime’s square and subsequently the Catholic church have had a big few weeks on the internet, thanks to a NY Times article the following discourse. I feel like the discourse is missing some stuff. Also, I refuse to keep reading these articles, so I may be repeating stuff that has already been said. I don’t care, this is MY substack and I can say what I want.
Before I start, I, as always, must give you some unsolicited personal history. I grew up in a “Jewish Secular'' household. I went to Hebrew school for all of one year, never had a Bat Mitzvah, and knew little more about Judaism than the story of Hanukkah, what Kosher was, and a handful of the Hebrew prayers that we recited at large Passover dinners at my grandparents house. My Dad is science guy, a logic guy, not a G-d guy, and always instilled in me that religion was dumb or whatever. My mom, who I think is more antagonistic than atheist, never forced me to engage in religion. For me, to be Jewish, meant to relate to Seinfeld— and experience consistent anti-semetic microaggressions, but that’s besides the point.
My first experience with religion was in College, where I took a writing class called “American Literary Journalism and Religion” or something like that. I was introduced to Jeff Sharlet’s “Radiant Truths” amongst a bunch of other intelligent and articulate work that changed my perspective. I don’t believe religion is for dumb people or uneducated people or inherently makes a person bigoted or racist or sexist or homophobic. I actually think religion has been and still is incredibly useful— and as someone who is interested in subcultures and communities, I find religion not only interesting, but also an important space to engage in and learn about, because really, it shapes everything.
I don’t doubt part of my interest in religion is that I didn’t grow up with it, I didn’t learn about it, and I was rebelling against my learned beliefs of the purpose and people involved in organized religion. This experience isn’t unique. The majority of those in my College class also didn’t grow up with Religion as an important part of their family dynamics.
Within white coastal America in 2022, Catholicism and Christianity especially are often viewed with negative connotations due to the ways in which it’s been weaponized by various different groups. If not outright despised by certain Brooklyn Dad type folks— it’s definitely the punching bag for memes and jokes and ridicule. I’m not commenting on whether that’s wrong or anything, I don’t want to get wrapped up in that debate right now, but I do want to make it clear that in much of the country, white people are less involved in religion than they have been in the past. The Democratic party today, for example, reacts to the right’s push for religious influence by omitting religion entirely. Teens naturally rebel against their parents. When the defiant artsy atheists of the 70s and 80s and 90s become the people of authority, all there is left to rebel against is progression. There, now you have the foundation for a group of Gen Z and late Late Millennials who suddenly claim to be into traditionalism (read: religion).
Keep in mind, this transgression requires the time and interest in willingly learning about something as dull as the bible— meaning it’s a rebellion that is accessible only to those who did not grow up with religion, who have the time and wherewithal to learn about religion, and the freedom and security to express differing views from their family without fear of putting themselves in potential financial or physical danger. (read: wealthy whites).
OK, now that I’ve explained something I presume you already know, back to Dime’s Square.
The Times attributes this small clique of Downtown Manhattan girlies like Honor Levy and Dasha Nekrasova from Red Scare as trendsetters, pioneers of a cultural-shift— or at the very least a microcosm that highlights Gen Z, but I think that’s giving this little scene too much credit.
The Dimes Square scene is a tiny group of a few chronically online kids who are relevant in niche corners of the internet that consists of primarily wealthy, white, educated, coastal elites, who are so privileged that they can’t even fathom being victimized by religion or religious folks. Go uptown and ask anyone on the street if they know what Dimes Square is and they will say no— even my Native New Yorker friends have no clue what “Dimes Square” is nor do they see any sort of resurgence of Religion in their neighborhoods or in their social circles. Religion is still unironically prevalent in minority communities and poor communities and middle America communities. People are still being harmed by religion in many parts of the country. People are still trying to escape bigotry and trauma that stems from some sects of religion. Once again, this “trend” exists only within specific, exclusive circles of coastal elites.
Within this small community, yes, Catholicism is having a moment, as silly as it is. It’s a rebellion, but it’s only a rebellion for highly educated, wealthy people because the knowledge of Catholicism indicates a certain class and intelligence. Catholicism is prevalent in art history and literature, and these kids who are leaning into this ironic interest in Catholicism relies heavily on the religion’s imagery. Catholicism is theatrical, camp, silly. That’s why it’s fun for these kids. They aren’t truly religious, though they may try to make you believe they are, they simply enjoy the transgression rebellion of it— the shock of being religious in this day and age. For nearly a decade now, fashion has taken from renaissance art in both tacky and slightly less tacky ways. The mesh renaissance painting trend is so widespread you can find on Shein. I don’t think we can call this a new phenomenon. Some girlies just have more time and money to spend on their aesthetic.
I don’t think it’s fair for the Times to accredit the group of like 5 people who have a semi-large social media presence for the resurrection of Catholicism, and I especially don’t think they are the pioneers of a widespread cultural shift. Perhaps it is emblematic of the rise of conservatism amongst this small group of people, but that doesn’t mean flocks of Dime’s Square “elites” are in attendance at Sunday service. They aren’t. They’re still out doing drugs, drinking, partying, and having sex just like they always have— they’re simply ironically interested in religion to seem unique and different and rebellious. They’re using this aesthetic to justify a disillusion in progressiveness, liberalism, and the whole Bernie 2016 era of social activism. I don’t think that’s a good thing. I think it’s bleak, if anything, that not only are these wealthy, white, young people comfortable in supporting a system that only benefits them, but also that the Times is content existing in such a small bubble that they believe this is indicative of a widespread cultural shift. It doesn’t even exist in other parts of the borough of Manhattan!
The Addison Rae x Adidas x Praying scandal is evidence that the whole ironically religious thing isn’t more prevalent across the country. Outside of LA and NYC, very few people who aren’t chronically and hopelessly online knew what Praying was. Again, I don’t understand the NY Times and NY Mag’s insistence that Dimes Square is a reflection of the rest of the world.
This issue isn’t unique to the whole Dimes Square Catholic girl fiasco though. Liberal media outlets based in NYC tend to forget that the country is just the wealthy, artsy, NYU graduate bubble they hangout in. They don’t understand that the city wasn’t built exclusively for their entertainment and that people around them don’t all get to or want to go to their email jobs and overpriced bars and after parties and complain ironically about how everyone is too-woke, despite them being the same people who went to Twitter to “cancel” people just a few years ago. In every community there are trends and cultural phenomena and social issues that get ignored and left out of the discourse because they aren’t being perpetuated by young, rich, white kids with podcasts.
The fact that writers and reporters are so engulfed in this elite, white, reactionary bubble is problematic. A group of maybe two dozen people are being credited to shift culture in a way that doesn’t exist at all outside of the Dimes Square scene. It’s dangerous, it’s inaccurate, and it indicates a huge problem within the way we as a society report news and who we believe are worthy of contemplation, analysis, and representation. The state isn’t exclusively young, rich, artsy, whites, so why are those the only people deemed worthy of discussion?
I don’t know, I find this whole thing very frustrating. I find it inaccurate and self-important and annoying. There’s so much more discourse to be had about both the kids who are being written about, and the people doing the writing, but if I keep ranting I’ll never stop.
Enjoy your day all my little friends and fans.