so glad someone really delved into the literary it girl, it's a topic that has left a bit of a sour taste in my mouth especially bc i feel like it's sort of dark academia made edgier. thanks for writing it !!
This was such a lovely read, especially with the newer discourse about Chappell roan and the outcry of negative just because she wants some privacy. I feel as though we think because we listen/read/ watch someone’s art, then they owe some sense of their life to us; to be at our beck and call. The distortion of female artistry to be some revelation or telescope into their life rather than their art is becoming a lot more prominent, this essay truly captured what I’ve been thinking over the past couple of months.
Such a great piece, thank you so much for writing it! I've been thinking about this very topic as well, but wouldn't have been able to put it into words the way you have.
I especially loved this bit: "When we strive to be something that doesn’t really exist, that is nothing more than the figment of the algorithm’s imagination, we can compromise our originality, risk our authentic voices and artistic development being subsumed by the tidal wave of content and conversation that we have come to call the discourse."
I wonder just how much of this is tied to being chronically online. The literary it girl was of course a thing before the advent of social media too, but to me it feels like the evolution of particular women into literary it girls was more organic and somehow also more substantial as well (being invited to openings, launches, lunches, etc.) - as opposed to now, when so much of it is just digital clout. The solution, to me, seems simple enough: keep writing and keep honing our craft, without advertising so much of it. But unfortunately you just cannot get by without branding yourself anymore, not unless you go down more traditional avenues of publishing your writing.
Anyway, I have many thoughts and many feelings about this, and you have done an incredible job of compiling some of those into a very insightful, interesting piece. So thank you!
Wow what an insightful piece!! You wonderfully communicating a topic I think a lot of people resonate with, but may not have had the words to thoroughly examine. Such a good read!!
It’s gonna take some time to fully digest this, (mostly due to it being almost 11:00 at night as I read it) but I am so incredibly glad I clicked on this one!
“In the world of letters as well as the world at large, we expect women to be more available to us, more accessible than their male counterparts. We want to be able to own a piece of them, to hang it, like Carloto, on our walls. Under patriarchy, women are taught to present ourselves as commodities, and this influences our self-presentation in the public sphere”
This ⬆️
I’m a fairly attractive ballerina with an eye for appealing aesthetic. I often think how much better I’d do in the metaverse if I’d only use my assets BUT I don’t want to. I want digital modesty. I don’t want to spend my time creating content. I want to read. I want to write. When I share my thoughts on insta stories my views are dismal when I show my face tenfold. Even the algorithm is sexist. It’s all so tiresome.
This was such a refreshing read. Sometimes I have fallen into a trap of thinking sincerity will undermine intelligent writing, and then I read a piece like this that is simultaneously kind and critical, and most of all, eye-opening. Thank you in spades!! ♠️
This really made me think, which in my books is the biggest compliment. I love that for once, I get the references and have read the books :) Even got me inspired to write something since feeling uninspired recently. i will continue to read your writing with much joy!
Fascinating and perceptive, although I always find "we" to be a very slippery pronoun in such essays; here, for instance, I read it to perhaps mean "we women," or occasionally "we, men and women both" (but not of course "we men"). I don't suppose anyone would be shocked if women tend to have a different perspective on the 'it girl' than do men. Thank you for writing.
thank you for reading! and interesting - I will think more about the pronouns. possibly for me it comes from being in (British) academia which very much discourages the use of the ‘I’ pronoun.
so glad someone really delved into the literary it girl, it's a topic that has left a bit of a sour taste in my mouth especially bc i feel like it's sort of dark academia made edgier. thanks for writing it !!
thank you! I actually wrote a piece on dark academia a few months ago too - and I totally agree (also as a fellow hel love your blog name)
hehe thank you!! i will absolutely check out the dark academia essay :)
thank you for compiling everything I've been thinking for the last several months since I started writing "for real" on the internet
thank you! am so glad it resonated 💓
This was such a lovely read, especially with the newer discourse about Chappell roan and the outcry of negative just because she wants some privacy. I feel as though we think because we listen/read/ watch someone’s art, then they owe some sense of their life to us; to be at our beck and call. The distortion of female artistry to be some revelation or telescope into their life rather than their art is becoming a lot more prominent, this essay truly captured what I’ve been thinking over the past couple of months.
Such a great piece, thank you so much for writing it! I've been thinking about this very topic as well, but wouldn't have been able to put it into words the way you have.
I especially loved this bit: "When we strive to be something that doesn’t really exist, that is nothing more than the figment of the algorithm’s imagination, we can compromise our originality, risk our authentic voices and artistic development being subsumed by the tidal wave of content and conversation that we have come to call the discourse."
I wonder just how much of this is tied to being chronically online. The literary it girl was of course a thing before the advent of social media too, but to me it feels like the evolution of particular women into literary it girls was more organic and somehow also more substantial as well (being invited to openings, launches, lunches, etc.) - as opposed to now, when so much of it is just digital clout. The solution, to me, seems simple enough: keep writing and keep honing our craft, without advertising so much of it. But unfortunately you just cannot get by without branding yourself anymore, not unless you go down more traditional avenues of publishing your writing.
Anyway, I have many thoughts and many feelings about this, and you have done an incredible job of compiling some of those into a very insightful, interesting piece. So thank you!
thank you for such a lovely response ❤️
Hahahahaha i have never been called out by an article so hard, but love this!
Wow what an insightful piece!! You wonderfully communicating a topic I think a lot of people resonate with, but may not have had the words to thoroughly examine. Such a good read!!
It’s gonna take some time to fully digest this, (mostly due to it being almost 11:00 at night as I read it) but I am so incredibly glad I clicked on this one!
“In the world of letters as well as the world at large, we expect women to be more available to us, more accessible than their male counterparts. We want to be able to own a piece of them, to hang it, like Carloto, on our walls. Under patriarchy, women are taught to present ourselves as commodities, and this influences our self-presentation in the public sphere”
This ⬆️
I’m a fairly attractive ballerina with an eye for appealing aesthetic. I often think how much better I’d do in the metaverse if I’d only use my assets BUT I don’t want to. I want digital modesty. I don’t want to spend my time creating content. I want to read. I want to write. When I share my thoughts on insta stories my views are dismal when I show my face tenfold. Even the algorithm is sexist. It’s all so tiresome.
This was such a refreshing read. Sometimes I have fallen into a trap of thinking sincerity will undermine intelligent writing, and then I read a piece like this that is simultaneously kind and critical, and most of all, eye-opening. Thank you in spades!! ♠️
Incredible work! It's unsettling to see "woman'd" being hurled as in insult or downgrade from "girl".
What a stunning piece!
This really made me think, which in my books is the biggest compliment. I love that for once, I get the references and have read the books :) Even got me inspired to write something since feeling uninspired recently. i will continue to read your writing with much joy!
this was a brilliant read, left me feeling frustrated and angry in the best way possible
So fucking good and eloquently stated
This is so incredible, it's intelligent, thoughtful, insightful, thankyou for putting so many of own thoughts into words ❤️❤️❤️
Fascinating and perceptive, although I always find "we" to be a very slippery pronoun in such essays; here, for instance, I read it to perhaps mean "we women," or occasionally "we, men and women both" (but not of course "we men"). I don't suppose anyone would be shocked if women tend to have a different perspective on the 'it girl' than do men. Thank you for writing.
thank you for reading! and interesting - I will think more about the pronouns. possibly for me it comes from being in (British) academia which very much discourages the use of the ‘I’ pronoun.
Thanks for replying! Please don't feel obliged to think more. Appreciate the essay.