Biblioethica Jan/Feb Prompt: Cycle

The original prompt for this month's Biblioethica post was meant to echo the movie Groundhog Day. Kind of a joking prompt when it was first brought up. But I think it can also be a great chance to talk about the "cycles" I see in the mori community.

There are, of course, many kinds of cycles. Cycles in fashion, cycles in colors, cycles in hobbies, and many more. But today, I want to talk about the life cycle of a mori person! 

I think most moris will experience all stages of this cycle, although some may decide to leave the fashion at some point and move on to other interests. But if you are a long-term mori or someone passionate about the style, you will likely find yourself somewhere on this cycle yourself!

(Please know this post is just for fun! If any of these stages describe you, it is purely a coincidence based on larger trends and not me criticizing you/calling you out/etc. It is just my observations based on larger trends I have noticed over many years in the community.)

Stage 1: Discovery

Stage 1 is full of excitement, passion, and energy. Discovery moris are just finding out about mori, scouring the internet for images, looking for guides on how to wear the style, and reposting and following any mori creator they can find! These are the moris who are joining any community they can, and, depending on their personality, leaving exuberant introductions and chatting with anyone and everyone, or silently lurking and taking everything in.

(The first mori photo I ever saw!)

You probably also spend a lot of time reading or consuming content by mori people who have been in the community for a while, or whose outfits you like. You may join a community and ask them direct questions to help get you started!

(In the spirit of honesty, I was the excitedly interacting person myself. The kind people on the mori LiveJournal and Facebook page graciously endured my many comments and questions and are the reason I am still in the community to this day! So I'm talking about myself here as well.)

Stage 2: Testing things out

(Some of my early, slightly embarrassing mori coords. I was so little I still had braces!)

This stage is where you make your first steps into mori, fashion or lifestyle! It may happen quickly after Stage 1, or it might take a bit of time as you decide whether or not you want to actually commit to this new community.

This stage may include making your first coord and sharing it with other people to get their feedback. Your first coord may be perfectly planned, or maybe it's a bit embarrassing to look back on (cough cough like some of my first coords cough cough). 

Or maybe this stage includes sharing your hobbies, photography, or other mori lifestyle content.

But either way, these first steps take a bit of bravery! So kudos to those of you in Stage 2!

Stage 3: The "Is this mori?" stage

I think every mori person is in this stage for at least some point of time, some longer and more passionately than others (looking at you, 2010s Tumblr moris). It can be a more intense inner questioning and self-doubting, or maybe just a casual experience. But we all spend at least a little time here.

(Images from the old Mori Confessions Tumblr which is no longer active)

This stage includes asking "is it mori" about anything and everything, and questioning your understanding of the style. Some people might just be asking simple questions about clothing items, or maybe it's about hairstyles, makeup, hobbies, or more. For most, it's about wanting to make everything and anything in your life fit your new mori aesthetic, sometimes even going so far as to stop doing things you like that are "not mori enough."

I did this somewhat myself, looking to start new hobbies to fit the mori aesthetic. I'm lucky I still enjoy those hobbies I started back then, but I do feel like I can't talk about this stage without the obligatory disclaimer: You do not need to stop doing something you love, stop wearing something that makes you happy, change your personality, or anything else to be mori. You can be mori and do non-mori things. It is never necessary to 100% fit an aesthetic, and it can often be unhealthy to do so. Please value all parts of yourself and your interests, and only change what you yourself want to change.

Also, sometimes things don't need to be mori. If your job isn't aesthetically pleasing, or you have to wear a uniform to school, or you need "non-aesthetic" aides like canes, glasses, orthopedic shoes, or more, those things are more important to daily life than any aesthetic. 

Stage 3.5 (optional): The "Only this is the right way to mori!!" phase

(From Mori Confessions Blog. Made a sassy post on this confession way 

back if anyone remembers that)

This stage is thankfully far less common now, but was more popular during the height of mori when people from other fashion communities with more rules joined. This stage is the negative version of Stage 3, and is usually focused on promoting "street snap mori" in a passionate way. It's not always necessarily nasty, but always very defensive and passionate that mori needs to look/be a certain way. And this applies to fashion and lifestyle.

Thankfully, this stage has mostly died out these days. And personally, I hope this part of the cycle can eventually die away entirely.

Stage 4: The mellow stage

This stage is where you start to get more comfortable in mori. You may still be exploring what things are mori or not, you may still be asking questions and exploring new hobbies. But things feel a lot less important at this stage. You start to worry less when you wear an outfit, whether it fits the mori style or not. You enjoy a hobby and don't wonder what the mori community would think about it. And for those who wear the style, you may start to get more comfortable wearing mori out in public than you were before. In short, you start to mellow out a bit as you grow more comfortable with being mori.

Stage 5: The settled stage

This stage is the final evolution of a mori (but not always the last stage). At this point, you are confident and comfortable. You know what kind of mori clothes you like and don't like, and you don't really care about whether it fits the traditional version of mori or not. You enjoy your hobbies regardless of whether they're mori or not. You may still engage in discussions about what is mori or not, or mori hobbies, or read advice, but you're interested from an educational standpoint, not to justify yourself or your expression of mori.

This final stage is cozy and content. And I hope every mori person makes it to this stage and gets to enjoy being happy and confident in what you love!

Stage 5.5 (optional): The "elder" to the beginners in the cycle!

This last stage is a sometimes stage. Not everyone wants to be an authority figure, a teacher, or give advice, and that is totally valid! But for many mori people, once they reach Stage 5, they, in a sense, begin the cycle again. Maybe you start making mori content to inform others, maybe you give out advice, or welcome new moris into your communities. But you become in some capacity that mori person who welcomes new moris into the community and helps them begin their own mori journey. And I think that the full circle of the "mori cycle" is so fun and rewarding, and I always love to see it!

So how about you, my deers? Have you noticed these same trends in the "cycle" or mori? Are there any stages you would add? I'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments. Until next time!