"Mainstream"

Yoshino says that the myth of "mainstream" is referring to the population this is straight and white. Mainstream is what is most widely accepted. It is what is considered "normal." The problem is, it is hard to define normal. Who is the definition of normal? Everyone has something about them that makes them unusual and unique. Whether it's the color or style of their hair, or the way that they dress, or how many piercings they have.

In our society, having certain haircuts and piercings and style of dress can limit your professional options. To get a good job, you have to dress professionally, not have cornrows, and not have eyebrow, lip of tongue piercings. You have to be mainstream. They are asking you to be like everyone else. They are in a sense, asking you to take away part of your individuality. There is also the example that derek brought up in class about him having a mohawk and his work told him that he had to cut it or he would be fired. His mohawk wasn't bright green and it was scraggly and greasy. It was fairly subtle and they still did not allow him to have it. They wanted him to blend in with everyone else.