Why are teenagers so judgmental?

I’m really into the Seattle grunge scene.
I like the music, the style, the relaxed attitude that usually comes with it.

So yesterday I put bright red highlights in my hair. It’s not styled any particular way. My hair is just wavy and…red. I look sort of like Clementine from “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind”. And Clementine is cool.

But anyway, everyone kept staring at me today. And other girls made faces of disgust.
They picked on one girl for bleaching her hair and not putting in a toner….so I can only imagine what they’re saying about me.

One in particular actually stated that her favorite movie was “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind” and that she considers herself a “modern day hippie”. And yet she’s the most judgmental!

She was walking in front of me and her friend ran up next to her, whispered something and then she turned around and raised her eyebrows at me.

I’m just wondering why people are so judgmental! Pretty much everyone where I live is either a prep/jock or stoner.

If I were in Seattle/Portland/NYC/LA, nobody would think twice about a girl with cherry red hair.

Why is self-expression looked down on amidst teenagers? It just seems like they’d all rather play it safe with conformity.

Like this one guy today, he has long hair, so a girl friend of his put a small braid in it and he took it out stating that he’d wear it outside of school but wouldn’t be caught dead with a braid in school.

Why?