Hey everybody,

I was just wondering if any of you here ever had any cliques back in the 80's.  I was born in '86 so I couldn't have possibly had one.

Anyway, what was your clique?

I didn't belong to a clique.  I hung out with the stoners. 

I've been in cliques all my life... though we never ignored anyone... we were just the cool kids who got in trouble and fooled about, but also  got on with the whole school too... it wasn't like those American High School movies with the hierarchy... those are just wannabees.

I've been in cliques all my life... though we never ignored anyone... we were just the cool kids who got in trouble and fooled about, but also  got on with the whole school too... it wasn't like those American High School movies with the hierarchy... those are just wannabees.


Kinda makes me think of Ferris Bueller a little bit.  He's a popular kid who gets into trouble, and everybody in the school likes him.

it wasn't like those American High School movies with the hierarchy... those are just wannabees.


That happened in my school.

No...

Kinda makes me think of Ferris Bueller a little bit.  He's a popular kid who gets into trouble, and everybody in the school likes him.


That's what I was thinking when I read his post.  He sounds just like Ferris Bueller, a cool kid that everyone genuinely liked.  Most peope despise "the popular/cool people", but everyone liked Ferris Bueller.  I guess it was because Ferris never forgot anyone.

In 7th and 8th grade, I was very popular. I was also athletic and played on several different teams. Everyone, including the little kids at school, knew who I was. When high school started, I became depressed and started smoking cigarettes and doing drugs. I was quickly forgotten, and faded into peoples' distant memories. Damn, what a difference a year makes! I would love to go back in time and redo that crucial freshman year!

I didn't fit into any cliques, was always a 'weirdo'...if you saw the movie Trick or Treat  and related to "Ragman", that was me in Middle and High school so I was always with the rockers/stoners.

8) hear Ya Metal...I was kinda in a class by myself..I had friends in all catagories ..but I guess..ev one pretty much thought I was a "FREAK"..I was VERY smart...was an ACE in Journalism..excellent in ART...ran Track...BUT...I was the one that wore BLACK concert T-Shirts all the time..Bell Bottoms..Spent my lunch money on things other than lunch..LOL!!..I really did get along with all..but... didnt quite hang with any one group...but the little groups  were soo bad.. we had the Preppies...the jocks...the Geeks..you know all the ones...its still going on today...my daughter is 9 and they have the same groups!!

I too was a metal head, and didn't fit in anywhere. I did try, though.

And to be truthful, I'm glad I didn't fit in. Less pressure and lower expectations make life a lot easier to deal with :)

Not to sound condescending, but I actually feel a pity for kids in the US having to succumb to all the stereotypical pigeon holes... geeks, jocks etc. It's almost like a "must" in American culture... I may be wrong though and have watched too many movies, but it seems a pity to put such pressure on kids when they should be having the time of their lives! I've been to many schools in 2 different countries, including a boarding school in England for 3 years and I had the most excellent time... no hierarchy as such.

Unfortunately I was only 8 when the 80's ended, but if I had my jollies, I'd have been born 10-20 years earlier.

If that were the case, I think I'd have fit closest to the Anthony Michael Hall "cool geek"s. The stoner/metalhead guys of that time also seemed like they were pretty cool, so I'd probably like them too. Not the full-on "burnouts" but the guys who, ya know, were partiers but not real troublemakers.

Truth be told, I'm one of those people that kinda gets along with everyone or likes a bit of things in different people/crowds, so I don't think I'd have been in a real clique in any era. I kind of resented some of the "cliques" I've come across in high school and elsewhere - I think it's harder to fit in when crowds are so "segregated" like that.

The best way to describe my actual high school experience might be the following paragraph from Amazon for the lite hair metal band, Trixter's self titled debut album. I liked it so much that I cut and pasted it here - I think it was pretty fitting for me in HS:

I think the easiest way to sum this up is this: "Trixter" is like the kid in school that everybody knew and liked, but they never hung out with him or invited him to their parties. None of the kids really picked on him but they all stuck up for him when he was harassed by others. "Trixter" is just kind of existing. Good band, no major things that made them stick out from the rest of the pack.

I was a Trixter! At least I started out that way - once a few weeks had passed and I got to know everyone, I warmed up to a Def Leppard! :D

Actually America's problem MIGHT be school uniforms... if everyone wore the same stuff there'd be less stereotyping and people wouldn't judge a person so quickly and feel the need to scutter off in their little groups. Just a thought... I may be way off.

In the end, there is no perfect clique to be a part of.  They have their stereotypes: Jocks are dumb, Valley Girls talk like retards, Nerds are complete losers, Metalheads are freaks.  I of course don't support these stereotypes but usually it's true that almost no group in high school is fully accepted.

At my high school, (in Canada, 2000-2004) we had the Ginos, Thugs, Preppies, Sluts, Ginas, Skids, Punks, Goths, Metalheads, and Nerds.  I got along with everybody, but all of these groups had beef with other groups.  I guess accepting everybody is the only good answer.

Hey robby, your idea seems logical but my school had uniforms and everybody was still stereotyped.

Cliques exist in workplaces too - usually by what department you work in by job status (meaning whether you're an underling or a bigshot) - at least where I work it's like that, makes you feel like you're back in high school.  >:(

^River, you are not alone.  I've encountered the same thing in my adult life of being in my 20s and 30s.  Cliques never seem to die.  High school behavior seems to continue forever, oh sure people get more mature and cliques may not be as fierce as high school, but the cliquish mentality lasts until the day you die.  I remember my friends grandmother used to talk about how there were cliques in the nursing home she was in (serious!).  They were in their freakin' 80s, and they still had cliques.   

:D  Yep..PPLE still judge today by what your wear..or your job.. or the music you listen to...I live in townhouses..Pretty upscale..most are preppies..LOL..Bot on the weekends I sit at the pool or out front drinkin a cold beer..or washing my car while Jammin to Led Zep or ACDC....BOY..You should see the neighbors!! They think Im such a hood...Its funny tho cause all the kids think our house is the cool place to be..I talk to them like People and not Lecture all the time..But yea..the OTHER big PPLE get in thier Mini Vans with thier polo shirts on and just STARE a hole throu me..LOL...I dont care.. ;D

And the same happened when I was in acting school.  The more talented ones were the very popular ones, and the ones will less skill were always left behind, like me.  It was a whole different take on cliques.  Instead of it being based on your clothes or your music, it was based on your talent.  No matter how cool, funny, fun, or nice I presented myself to be, people didn't care at all because I wasn't "talented" enough.  All the kids with big parts in the play, who were sometimes such arseholes, made friends without a problem.  There was even one kid who was new one year and didn't make too many friends in the beginning, but once he scored a good role in the play, everybody loved him.

I was watching the movie, "13 going on 30," and in the bonus features, one of the actors had said that she wasn't accepted well in highschool, but once she got into drama, she felt that that crowd was much more accepting to people.  Once I had heard her say this, I thought to myself, "More accepting, my ass!"

I was always the "new kid in town" so I never really fit into any clique. I basically made my rounds-the stoners, the jocks, (used to be a cheerleader and played on the soccer team), the music geeks, etc. As for being a troublemaker, my horns were the only thing holding my halo up.  ;D ;D  (Got away with A LOT!!!!)





Cat