A WIP about girl-interrupted/cool girl syndrome

In 2021 I assigned myself a reading list, an attempt to understand the psyche and perhaps, on some level, absorb the inimitable cool of the it-girl that swept the internet this summer. Do not be mistaken, I am not referring to the ‘That Girl’ trend the dominated Tiktok, though the two may ultimately posses very similar motivations, the woman I refer to does not need pilates and yoga classes to maintain her figure, opting for the waif-like build that is attained only by sense of superiority over such mere human impulses as appetite, preferring to stare interestingly out of windows while listening to Fiona Apple and drink black coffee. A green smoothie would imply you were actually trying to whittle your body down, that you value physical aesthetics over intellectual pursuits, nay, ‘tis easier to claim you simply are to sad, or pensive, or slightly neurotic to indulge your body’s base urges.

            This aesthetic/trend has been referred to as ‘girl-interrupted syndrome’, being a ‘deranged woman’ or ‘sad girl’, even ‘femcel’, poking fun at the ‘incel’ subculture, as these femcels do not claim to be undesirable due to their lack of physical attractiveness, but rather their overtly ‘feminine’ interests, their perceived mental illness and indeed, their desire to be well read and philosophical. I have not been very successful in my attempts to actually nail many specifics about this trend, it floats amorphously in many sub-groups and split branches, that ultimately are united by a vague aesthetic and mindset. These girls are politically aware, and generally left leaning, but in a cool, aloof way; they listen to dubiously leftist podcasts that criticise mass media, they watch movies that romanticise mental illnesses in women such as ‘The Virgin Suicides’ and ‘Girl, Interrupted’ (two books which are on my list). I have attempted to set a chronological boundary to the facets of this trend, but the more I look, the more I realise that aspects of this trope of womanhood have always existed, whether in the cinematic ingenue or the ‘Lolita’ obsessed Tumblr girls of the early 2010s. These girls are watching “vintage” anime from the 90s and 00s, like ‘Neon Genesis Evangelion’ and ‘Nana’, portraits of young women like them experiencing the difficulty of coming-of-age, often experiencing extreme mental duress.

            This reading list is still a work in progress, and I may never finish reading the books I have noted so far, nor indeed may I be able to finish the list, but I will give you what I have so far. Maybe you’ll be able to understand, a little, the phenomenon I am trying to explain to you, and maybe you’ll read some of them with me, so pull on your 10 denier tights and play your best depression music, and come be a cool girl with me.

·      Donna Tartt , The Secret History

·      Ottessa Moshfegh, My Year of Rest and Relaxation

·      Sylvia Plath, The Bell Jar

·      Albert Camus, The Stranger

·      Jeffrey Eugenides, The Virgin Suicides

·      Elizabeth Wurtzel, Prozac Nation

·      Gillian Flynn, Gone Girl

·      Virginia Woolf, A Room Of One’s Own

·      Sally Rooney, Normal People

·      Joan Didion, Play It As It Lays

·      Marie Calloway, What Purpose Did I Serve In Your Life

·      Jacqueline Susann, Valley Of The Dolls

·      Margaret Atwood, The Edible Woman