Novara Media ACFM Trip 56: The Mainstream
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Dec 7, 2025 Dive into a lively debate on what 'mainstream' means today. The hosts tackle whether 'woke' is at the forefront or an opposition. They explore cultural fragmentation due to streaming and how norms of femininity are shaped. Unearth insights on the Overton Window and shifting political landscapes. Pop culture icons like Taylor Swift stir conversations about liberal feminism and the emergence of unusual cultural forms. Finally, they celebrate the joy of radical ideas that subvert the mainstream and reclaim public spaces.
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Mainstream As A Fluid Concept
- The mainstream is a fluid, topological idea describing dominant cultural flows and tributaries feeding into them.
- It can be a noun, verb, and a political target for making ideas normative, so its meaning varies by context.
Mainstreaming As Institutional Change
- 'Mainstreaming' means making an issue or identity part of core institutional practice and norms.
- Applications differ: gender or LGBT mainstreaming targets institutional change, while political mainstreaming targets broader public acceptance.
Pop Charts Narrow, Cultural Authority Weakens
- Popular music charts are narrower and more homogenised now, yet cultural authority outside headphones has weakened.
- Taylor Swift exemplifies liberal feminism's mainstreaming as a huge cultural force.
