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Nowadays,<\/span> <\/span>with the rise of the internet<\/span> <\/span>and the pandemic making most of our lives occur digitally<\/span>, <\/span>people f<\/span>i<\/span>nd themselves on the<\/span>ir phones<\/span> <\/span>more often<\/span>.<\/span> <\/span>It might go so far<\/span>, that some individuals can <\/span>be qualified as chronically online, which is a term used to describe people who find themselves <\/span>online<\/span> <\/span>f<\/span>or an unhealthy amount of time.<\/span> <\/span>It<\/span> <\/span>can be said that this has gravely influenced most people\u2019s <\/span>lifestyles rather negatively.<\/span><\/span>
However, t<\/span>his<\/span> <\/span>change in behavior was met with many<\/span> <\/span>new ideas and various alternatives to this <\/span>harmful<\/span> <\/span>lifestyle<\/span>.<\/span> <\/span>Especially on many social media platforms, influencers used their range to spread <\/span>and share the way that they have been using<\/span> <\/span>the isolation during the pandemic to their benefit. As <\/span>the matter of lifestyle, aesthetics and individualism are so closely relat<\/span>ed and relevant to today’s <\/span>teenagers, mostly girls, this<\/span> <\/span>short essay will focus on the different TikTok aesthetics that have <\/span>developed throughout the pandemic.<\/span><\/span>
As previously mentioned, society’s prior lifestyle has been relatively sedative, comfortable,<\/span> <\/span>and as <\/span>energy efficient as possible. In addition to that, people paid little to no attention to an <\/span>environmentally friendly and conscious life.<\/span> <\/span>Although the internet obviously already existed, it was <\/span>not until the pandemic that<\/span> <\/span>communities and ideas were s<\/span>uddenly so easily spread and shared, <\/span>picked up<\/span>,<\/span> <\/span>and promoted. This has made it easy for many people, but mostly impressionable <\/span>adolescents, to find comfort in<\/span> <\/span>other<\/span> <\/span>communities<\/span> <\/span>and partake in their<\/span> <\/span>aesthetics<\/span>, lifestyle, ideology<\/span>, <\/span>and more.<\/span><\/span>
Focusing on fe<\/span>male adolescents, some examples of lifestyle and<\/span> <\/span>aesthetics<\/span> <\/span>would be \u2018THAT Girl\u2019 <\/span>also known as<\/span> <\/span>the<\/span> <\/span>\u2018Clean Girl\u2019<\/span>–<\/span>aesthetic. People partaking in this community are all about a healthy <\/span>lifestyle and having their lives together. This consist of waking up early<\/span>,<\/span> <\/span>doing yoga, meditating, <\/span>being productive, taking some time for self<\/span>–<\/span>care every day, and being overly organized and <\/span>consistent. In terms of physical appearance, their signature look involves wearing white and cream<\/span>colored articles of clothing and gold ac<\/span>cessories, having their hair slicked back, and applying little <\/span>to no makeup, however always some lip<\/span>–<\/span>plumping, glossy lip<\/span>–<\/span>gloss. Naturally, a counteract to this <\/span>aesthetic<\/span>s<\/span> <\/span>developed, being the \u2018Feral<\/span> <\/span>Girl\u2019 aesthetic<\/span>s<\/span>. In<\/span> <\/span>contrast to the \u2018Clean Girl\u2019, the \u2018Feral Girl\u2019 <\/span>uses chaos and complete disorganization to depict their character. They often look a bit rough and <\/span>tend to wear darker colors and darker makeup. They romanticize heartbreak and female agony and <\/span>chose madness<\/span> <\/span>r<\/span>ather than conformity<\/span> <\/span>as a response to the injustice women face in society. <\/span><\/span>Other honorable mentions of sub<\/span>–<\/span>communities would be the \u2018Soft Girls\u2019 participating in and <\/span>embracing hyper femininity, the spiritual \u2018Witch Girls\u2019 believing in zodiac signs, esote<\/span>ric and tarot <\/span><\/span>readings, the \u2018Indie\/Grunge Girl\u2019 listening to records on an old record player and going thrifting <\/span>frequently and many more.<\/span><\/span>
Although<\/span> <\/span>this aesthetics<\/span> <\/span>seem harmless at first, almost all of them have a problematic side to them <\/span>that<\/span> <\/span>must<\/span> <\/span>be add<\/span>ressed. For example, it must be noted that most of these lifestyles are very <\/span>exclusive, discriminating<\/span>,<\/span> <\/span>and whitewashed although they are most definitely<\/span> <\/span>stolen<\/span> <\/span>from<\/span> <\/span>black <\/span>communities. Take the \u2018Clean Girl\u2019 aesthetic, women of color have worn their hair sl<\/span>icked back for <\/span>centuries<\/span>, and t<\/span>hey were made fun of for applying clear lip<\/span>–<\/span>gloss and wearing gold hoop earrings<\/span>. <\/span>However,<\/span> <\/span>as soon as white runway model Bella Hadid or Hailey Bieber<\/span> <\/span>start wearing these, it is as <\/span>if they invented a totally new look and are<\/span> <\/span>given all credit for it. In addition to that, \u2018THAT Girl\u2019<\/span>
forces an unhealthy image on people of having to be perfect and put together the whole time,<\/span>
leaving no room for insecurities or imperfections,<\/span> <\/span>when, it<\/span> <\/span>is normal to not feel comfortable in<\/span>
one’s bo<\/span>dy from time to time.<\/span><\/span>
Now turning to the \u2018Feral Girl\u2019, this lifestyle can be highly dangerous to impressionable teens, as it<\/span>
romanticizes and spreads toxic femininity. They want to suffer and see others, mostly men, suffer<\/span>
alongside<\/span> <\/span>themselves.<\/span> <\/span>It<\/span> <\/span>promote<\/span>s<\/span> <\/span>things<\/span> <\/span>such<\/span> <\/span>as<\/span> <\/span>shoplifting,<\/span> <\/span>viewing<\/span> <\/span>men<\/span> <\/span>as<\/span> <\/span>lesser,<\/span> <\/span>or<\/span>
manipulating and gaslighting. At their worse and most extreme they can be viewed as femcels,<\/span>
which is the opposite of incels, usually used to describe involuntarily celibate men. In both cases,<\/span>
the lack of interest these individuals face makes them feel undesirable and unwanted, resulting in<\/span>
self<\/span>–<\/span>loathing behavior. This does not only affect the individual but also their peers.<\/span><\/span>
In the most ideal scenario, these occurrences and lifestyles are jus<\/span>t a trend and will come and go<\/span>
after people realize the problematic themes within them. Even better than that would be, that<\/span> <\/span>this<\/span>
specific toxic aesthetics<\/span> <\/span>will not reoccur at all and that in cases of the \u2018Clean Girl\u2019, credit is given to <\/span>the people who rea<\/span>ll<\/span>y<\/span> <\/span>deserve it. Of course, there are also trends, like some of those mentioned<\/span>
earlier, that show no significant flaws and even aesthetics that truly change someone\u2019s life for the<\/span>
better.<\/span><\/span>
In conclusion<\/span>,<\/span> <\/span>since society is mostly living online it can be said<\/span> <\/span>that people can find the <\/span>communities and representing<\/span> <\/span>lifestyle<\/span> <\/span>they want to partake in much more easily than before.<\/span>
Although not every community is met with the same acceptance as others, it is good that individuals <\/span>can at least find comfort within these<\/span> <\/span>safe spaces online.<\/span> <\/span>We need to work towards supporting our <\/span>differences while still calling problematic behavior out and striving to change them.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n