Symposi-Hmm #1: Girl Online

For better or for worse, performing as a girl online can be a powerful way to subvert the algorithm. And thanks to the whiplash of the girlboss epidemic, a meeker and cute self-image is taking hold. Trends like girl math, babygirl, and girl dinner reflect a tendency across genders to self-infantilize, with a growing resistance to industrialized understandings of adulthood, often tied to economic strains and shifting life expectations, particularly amongst younger generations.

At the same time, the notion of girlhood itself is being questioned, reframed, and adopted in online spaces. As AI isolates our feeds even more by sorting us into predetermined categories, labels influence how we’re seen—and how we see ourselves. With machine learning gradually influencing more of our daily lives, how will our online actions and self-understandings change as a whole?

Girl Online is a full-day programme hosted by The Hmm, a platform for internet cultures, taking place across SPUI25 and University of Amsterdam locations on Friday 16 May. Expect talks, performances, workshops, and more. This first ever Symposi-Hmm will dive into girl trends, self-infantilization, girl as a strategy in digital spaces, and the future of girlhood. It is part of This is who you’re being mean to, The Hmm’s broader 2025 year theme, exploring gender expression online.

📅 Date: Friday 16 May 2025
🕗 Time: 14.00 – 21.30 CEST
📍 Location: SPUI25, Spui 25-27, Amsterdam, and online.
🎟 Tickets available soon

♿️ Accessibility note

During the event we can provide live closed captioning for those with hearing impairments and disabilities. Please reach out to us if you are joining on-site and have this access need, so that we can reserve a seat for you within view of the screen with captions. If you are joining online via our livestream, live captioning will be available as one of the streaming modes.

💙 This event is kindly supported by the Creative Industries Fund NL and the Netherlands Institute for Cultural Analysis.