I know this is ai, but I have seen people reflect this attitude and I have to speak on it.
Yes, INDIVIDUALS who LIKE dark academia can be elitist and exclusionist. That is absolutely problematic behavior, and no one should be gatekept from enjoying something. That doesn't mean the aesthetic itself is "problematic", or that you're evil if you like dark academia. Yes, it's about classicism and higher education and yes, it's inspired by old world European aesthetics. The existence of those things doesn't automatically mean that other things and other cultures are bad, or that it's automatically classIST or elitist or racist. It's literally its own aesthetic, just as anything is. It won't appeal to everyone, just as anything else won't. I don't think anyone within a subculture or who likes any given aesthetic should gatekeep at all, but there's nothing wrong with the subculture or aesthetic existing. That's such a weird take.
There's literally nothing problematic about enjoying classical European aesthetics, because enjoying them doesn't mean you're asserting they're better than anything else? There's nothing wrong with enjoying your culture. Let people like what they like. You also aren't being forced to like anything.
You also don't have to literally live the "dark academia lifestyle". My cousins and I love dark academia but we're too poor to really live it. I'm in American college but for financial reasons I have to cut a semester, and I doubt I'll be able to pursue a higher degree unless I'm lucky. They cannot even afford college right now. There's also lots of ableism within specific institutions, which is something that matters a lot to me. Loving academia themed aesthetics doesn't mean I support that, or think people who are living that life are better in any regard. It's literally *escapism*, FANTASY for a lot of us. No one should be excluded for classist, ableist, racist or any other reasons, THAT'S the behavior that's actually problematic.
Criticism within any field should also be welcome, and understanding potential problems or murky origins of different things is absolutely a good thing, but not to the point of censorship.
But European aesthetics (not European history, AESTHETICS), and the idea of education in general, are NOT problematic. Western culture is fricking BEAUTIFUL. Yes, it's absolutely had its flaws, but stop trying to erase entire cultures, please. Yes, it's happened in the past at the hands of empires (western AND eastern) but fighting hate with hate is stupid and pointless.
Like anything else, unless it's actually hurting people, just block stuff you don't like.
