Not For You

I often hear people saying about art "It's not for me." Usually I hear it on the internet or from people at my community college. While it's a welcome change of pace from my parents who believe that art they don't like is at best a diversion from God and at worst a Satanic plot, I'm not really satisfied with it and what it implies, as a phrase replacing the objective-good-and-bad phrases in art discourse.

Consuming art not for you is healthy. As someone who trawls through way too much of humanity's creative output, I don't connect with or relate to the overwhelming majority of art in the slightest 'cause I'm a weird person. I have a wildly different perspective, wildly different experiences, and wildly different tastes than most of humanity as a result. I even struggle to connect with other autistic terminally online trans women, even the ones who also have homeschooling trauma and personal wikis!

While I do hold the few things I really connect to (at least, what connects more often than not) close to my heart, I approach most art from a standpoint of empathy and curiosity towards other people. Towards humanity. Endlessly wondering what they're like, how they think. I think the world would be a much better place if more people did this.

Hell, I feel that even just connecting with a character radically different than you over shared common ground actually makes art go harder! Just look at all the people who cry to Toy Story 3 'cause they feel for the anthropomorphic plastic!