Trends: The aesthetic of female sadness has returned once again | The Dartmouth

The internet trend may look different, but its resurgence has potentially dangerous ramifications. by Jessica Sun Li | 1/23/23 2:15am Social media’s obsession with microtrends has created a revolving door of popular aesthetics — “e-girl” became “cottage-core” which evolved to “dark academia” and has recently transformed into “ballet-core.” A scroll through TikTok in the last few months reveals the increasing popularity of the television show “Fleabag,” books from Sally Rooney and music from Phoebe Bridgers. Although not explicitly named, all of these aspects and obsessions point to a larger trend: the revival of the aesthetic of being a sad teenage girl. The modern popularity of the sad girl originated on Tumblr between 2011 and 2014. It included listening to music from Lana del Rey, Arctic Monkeys and Lorde; clothing like black Converse, ripped black skinny jeans and anything from American Apparel. In some ways, Tumblr of this time period was a way for girls to express themselves, find friends and feel heard online — when they couldn’t offline.  What became a problem, though, was the way in which these physical aesthetics became a symbol of a romanticization or glorification of poor mental health. One former Tumblr user, Levi, told i-D
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