A Guide to Children’s Culture for Out-of-Touch Adults: What Are Aura Battles?
Our journey through youth culture this week is filled with bad ideas and stupidity, but it’s precisely the kind of stupidity unique to youth—frivolous, often incomprehensible, but ultimately harmless. Older people are just as stupid, but our stupidity has consequences. Debates about whether it’s stupid to forgo basic hygiene for the sake of attractiveness won’t cause the housing market to collapse, and no one actually dies in a battle of auras. So here’s what’s happening to young people and what it all means.
What are aura battles?
For Generations Z and A, “aura” is essentially coolness or charisma (or “rizz,” if you prefer). An “Aura Battle” is a public competition where the winner is the one with the most aura, as voted by viewers and/or in the comments. It’s a bit like a breakdancing or rap battle, but without the talent.
This trend appears to have originated in Latin America in early 2026 and quickly spread worldwide. It recently reached the United States. Mr. Pu Pu and Latavius Quavius battled it out in New York City last weekend at an event billed as ” the first-ever American Aura Championship.”
I watched Aura Battles for about an hour just to figure out what “aura” meant, and I got nothing—most of the “battle” seems to consist of bad versions of meme dances. But I don’t deny the value of Aura Battles; the first breakdance battles were probably pretty brutal, too, and anything that gets kids outdoors and socializing is cool.
Viral Video of the Week: American Aura Battle Championship Final Round.
It’s unlikely, but aura battles could evolve into a natural artistic expression of the younger generation. If so, the video below will be a historic event, akin to Cool Herc first setting up two turntables to play breakbeats. Ladies and gentlemen, this is the final round of the first-ever American Aura Battle Championship.
(Frankly, I think Applewood was robbed.)
Cat in the Hat memes spark international warnings and FBI investigations.
Police departments, school districts, and other authorities from Baltimore to Donegal are sounding the alarm about a terrifying new trend… kids posting Cat in the Hat memes.
TikTok and similar platforms frequently feature AI-generated videos featuring a person dressed as the famous cartoon cat, accompanied by cryptic warnings. Sometimes they are accompanied by eerie music . This has led to online rumors that a Cat in the Hat-like serial killer is on the loose. This hasn’t happened, but the trend has led to an incident that is at least partially true. In Constantine, Michigan, a user named “catinthehat” allegedly threatened specific students, prompting state police and the FBI to intervene .
Still, the fact that authorities around the world are closing schools , increasing police patrols , and threatening to arrest people over a meme seems more than a little ridiculous. I understand that school shootings are frightening, but perhaps shrugging off the easy availability of firearms and panicking over Cat in the Hat memes isn’t the best approach to preventing them?
What is pheromone-maxing?
This week’s triptych concludes with “appearance maximization with pheromones.” Maximization, as you probably know, means doing something very frequently. Pheromones are chemicals secreted by some animals that influence the behavior of other members of their species, so pheromone maximization is an attempt to influence the behavior of others using your scent. Young men in the “appearance maximization” community are supposed to skip showers and wash their clothes in an attempt to attract young women. It’s difficult to determine how widespread this belief is, but there are at least a few would-be influencers who unapologetically advocate for this practice, though the overwhelming response online is something like, “Ugh.”
So what’s the deal? While humans do produce chemical scents in response to their emotional state, they’re not actually “pheromones” like in the animal kingdom, and the number of smelly bachelors at comic book conventions is compelling evidence that skipping a shower is a poor strategy for attracting potential partners. On the other hand, there’s a TikTok video of one guy claiming to have stopped wearing cologne and started getting more and more compliments. I believe him, because can you imagine how awful his cologne was?
How ‘ Lesbian Space Princess’ Unites Online Fandoms
“Space Lesbian Princess” is a (barely) animated film from Australia set in 2025. Written and directed by Emma Hoag Hobbs and Leela Varghese, it is believed by some to promote world peace .
The film “LSP” tells the story of Princess Cyra from the planet Clytopolis and her struggle against the white Maliens, who live in racial segregation. Despite a 98% rating on Rotten Tomatoes , the film was little known outside of Australia. But recently, people have started posting clips online. Because everyone (except critics, apparently) thinks it’s bad.
Right-wingers ridicule LSP as an example of “overly progressive” media; leftists ridicule it because it’s so blunt and internet-saturated that it’s painfully unfunny. Hazbin Hotel fans write about LSP because it’s so much worse than their favorite franchise. Marvel fans do the same. Soon, memes like this one appear…
“Just this once” expressions began to appear, as fandoms realized they had at least one thing in common. The Great Truce of 2026 unites Naruto and One Piece fans. Soccer fans unite with soccer fans. It’s so widespread that there’s a growing belief that a lesbian space princess is so terrifying that she’ll bring world peace .