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What the Rainbow and Unicorn Trends Really Say About Us

What the Rainbow and Unicorn Trends Really Say About Us

Last updated on: September 1, 2018 at 7:16 pm by Dr. Sam Kline

What the Rainbow and Unicorn Trends Really Say About Us 2018-09-01T19:16:31-04:00 Dr. Sam Kline

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Unicorns and rainbows have trended for a while. They are no longer reserved to child’s play. Indeed, different ages are trying to unleash their inner unicorn. Others have hair kissed of the rainbow with or sans horn.

I, for one, am enjoying the creativity of the endless hair styles and the increase in unicorn goods. I could make this post as an ode to all things rainbow and unicorns.

I am not.

Because a sinister cloud deceptively lurks behind the gleeful fanfare of sunshine and rainbows.

And I am kidding.

All jokes aside, when masses of adults want to become unicorns and rainbows, I believe it inspires a deeper look. Yes, unicorns and rainbows are deep, Folks.

In this post, I share three yearnings these trends reveal about humanity.

1) Yearning to Be Seen and Heard

Unicorns are rare creatures and rainbows inspire awe from people who happen to catch a glimpse of them. We do not see these things everyday. Following these trends answers a yearning to embrace our unique and special identities.

It encourages us not to shrink back, but confidently and boldly leave unique footprints in the world. All of us are unique. All of us have purpose.

Once upon a time, backindaday, people with a certain chutzpah would dye their hair with hues inspired of the rainbow. They stood out in sea of natural tones because it was not the norm.

As for unabashed unicornness (I’m making it a word), well, we typically parted ways as we matured into adulthood.

The people who disregarded these norms walked as unicorns among us-the free spirits with spunk.

Similarly, more of us are taking hold of these symbols to express our uniqueness.

When you do something like go against the dominant way or culture as a unicorn or rainbow, you attempt to distinguish how magnificent you are as magical, mythical, or otherworldly.

You want to be truly seen and heard and not lost in a sea of sameness. I want you to know that you do not need any unicorns or rainbow hair to be seen and heard.

You might require more courage to dare to be yourself without the comfort of or over-reliance on trends and group norms.

You do not need become to another species to be seen as special. You really do not need any of these symbols. You already are unique and special.

2) Yearning to Belong

The rainbows and unicorn trends reveal a desire to belong. Despite our desire to stand out, our desire to fit in can weigh just as heavily.

In our strivings to embrace our own path, we can still get pulled back into following the group. There is safety in the group. The group will tell you what is right, wrong, good, bad, acceptable, and unacceptable, attractive, or unattractive.

No, it not just little girls and teens who want to be a unicorn. When it looks like everybody-no, errbody- and their grandma have rainbow colored hair and/or unicorn gear, the look has become common place.

The magical elusive unicorn becomes a giant horse ranch.

Horse ranches are special. However, horses are not unicorns.

For people searching to stand out and set ourselves apart, we have turned something that once required a hefty amount of boldness, bravery, and confidence (perhaps, a job that wouldn’t fire you, too), that now, commonly, requires much less.

In other words, it does not have the same differentiating impact as when the people who dared before it went from underground to pop culture virality. These often nameless and faceless pioneers now blend in with everyone else. Now that they have saturated the style market, unicorns and rainbow hair can signal following the crowd, too.

Their popularity ensures that you will have safety of many others who are in the same boat. You can leave the salon with an endless rainbow awaiting you, for it has become a norm.

Norms can provide degrees of comfort and inclusion.

Because we are social beings, it is natural for us take cues from our world. When we try to stand out even to the mythical extremes, the social world still has a powerful way of creating conformity and uniformity.

In various spaces, you are more likely to stand out without the rainbow. How is that for a cultural turning?

3) Yearning for Freedom

These trends respond to a need to let our souls have much more freedom in the world. We yearn to be free and not conformed to a prison of adulthood. Why should joyful imagination stop once we are adults?

Adulthood, with all its responsibilities, can have an exuberant curiosity and adventure to it.

Numbers of people yearn for something higher and brighter-a freedom and a faith- as we go through our journey.

Rainbows and unicorns provide a bit of sparkle for people. Some of us look for something tangible to brighten our world. We can get carried away where it can become excessive. Nevertheless, I perceive something sacred in our yearning for tangible symbols of freedom.

More cheer and love in the world sounds good to me. In a spiritual way, becoming unicorns and embracing the rainbow might be the God’s way of declaring that humanity wants more freedom to love and accept in the world.

Get your unicorn on.

Be the rainbow.

Most of all, be yourself.

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