WTF: Acacia Brinley, the 2010s era defined by women-hating-women

Social media has recently narrowed in on specific ways that women can act to put other women down—see “the pick me girl” or “the girl who wants your boyfriend/chill girl” trends of TikTok. But before society became self-aware, there was Acacia Brinley, at the exact wrong place at the exact wrong time.Internalized misogyny has been the enemy of women for as long as society has been dominated by men, but the girls on Instagram and Twitter were so cruel and unrelenting from 2012-2015 that their actions seem monstrous today. Perhaps it was because we were in our tween and barely-teen years during this pocket of time. Perhaps it was the lack of social advocacy against competition between women. Perhaps it was the craze over One Direction—1D—and Five Seconds of Summer—5SOS, which seems to have no parallel in the years following 1D’s breakup.If you were a hard-core directioner, which almost every tween seemed to be with the increasing popularity of fandoms over social media, you probably knew about Acacia Brinley. But before we get there, we have to cover 5SOS.1D introduced their fanbase to 5SOS in 2013 during 1D’s “Take Me Home Tour.” The 1D craze spread to 5SOS. The sheer amount…
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