With the theme: “This is who you’re being mean to” we’re exploring gender expression online.
You’ve probably seen one: a sad, cute, or esoteric creature accompanied by the line, “When you’re being mean, this is who you’re being mean to.” Posts like these act as a form of self-expression, relating the poster to a fragile, miniature being with limited agency in an overwhelming world. It’s part of a broader trend where cuteness becomes a kind of digital skin. Similar dynamics appear in trends like “girl dinner” or “girl math”, where users reclaim and ironically reframe infantilizing stereotypes.
Looking back, the early internet is often remembered as an emancipatory space where people freely explored identity and gender. Something that supported the rise of the transgender movement. But in the post-COVID era, there’s been a resurgence of content that centers cisheteronormative roles and aesthetics, signaling a retreat from earlier, more expansive views of beauty and gender. What do these tensions and shifts reveal about internet culture today?
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