WEIRD GIRL RENAISSANCE

Words Emmy Hallahan

@emmyhallahan

It seems as if the tables have finally turned in recent years. In fact, it might have never been a better time in history to be a weird girl. Of course, back in the day — and I mean the days of puritans, or maybe even, if we’re being honest like…2012? — being weird was a societal no go. Not unless you wanted to be tried as a witch, or ostracised by your peers.

Anyone really good at holding their breath?

It’s interesting, how as we’ve got more online as a society (that sentence makes me want to vomit, by the way, please forgive me) the weird is reflected less outwardly than it used to be. That being said - there’s a difference between weird cool and just plain weird. Weird cool is when someone has their own out-there sense of style, is a bit off-putting, but in a way that makes them more interesting. Regular weird is just unsettling - to others.

Think about it. Was there someone in school who seemed to have a glowing light above their head saying ‘weird’? Congratulations, you’ve found the odd girl. (Was it you? Be honest.)

Even a few years ago, it was something a lot of us — myself included — were running away from. Trying to write ourselves manuals on how to be the most normal person in the entire world. But now? It seems to be embraced.

Plenty of people have taken to talking about their weird years with almost a sense of pride, sharing the things they did as a teenager. Being shunned back then makes for a medal now. Maybe it’s a commentary on how, as life has shifted further online, and we’ve all begun to assimilate into more and more of a shared experience, we want our weirdness back. It’s natural to want to be different, to be special, to have a chance to stand out - and it shows a lot in the way we’re consuming media.

There was a wave a few years ago of very plain characters. After all, it’s easy to see yourself in someone who is likeable, who is inoffensive, who is - for the most part - good. Obviously, these forms of media still exist, and probably always will. It’s incredibly easy to pander to the majority, to play it safe. However, there’s been a soaring amount of media based entirely around women who are strange, unlikeable, even unforgivable at times. And, yet, we love them. There are girls who point to characters like Carrie White (you know, pig’s blood girl?) and say ‘she’s just like me fr’, and they mean it. They want to be unlikeable and strange. Consider Irina, of Eliza Clark’s Boy Parts. She’s by all means a terrible person, but she has moments of real relatability that make her feel so much more human than any of those ‘nice’ characters could even dream of (not that they’d dream, let’s be real).

This angers some, those chronicallyonline-puritanical-oh-my-god-pleasetouch-grass kind of people. They don’t want flaws, because you can’t like things that are flawed because that means you’re bad and you’re going to hell and you don’t deserve any bit of goodness in your life. No nuance. Yeah, they’re really like that - take one look in a comment section.

But for the most part, for the rest of us, weird girls are having a renaissance. After all, we’ve always been more interesting than anyone else. I’m definitely not biased.